Clinical Program

The Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1972. The clinical training program is based on a scientist-practitioner training model with a roughly equal emphasis on the scientist and practitioner components of training. In fact, our students indicate that the integration of these two aspects of training is a major strength of the program. Our graduates are able to pursue positions in clinical practice, research, teaching, or a combination of these. The clinical program does not offer a terminal master’s degree, but students often obtain an MA as they work towards the Ph.D.

Throughout content and applied areas of training, the program encourages awareness of and respect for diversity of culture, language, national origin, race, gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, lifestyle, and other individual differences.

Announcements

• Applications for Fall 2010 Admission are due January 2, 2010.
• The 2010 Interview Day will be held Friday, February 19.
• Dr. Catherine Epkins and Dr. James Clopton will not be taking graduate student for Fall 2010.
• Dr. Sid O'Bryant (Adjunct Assistant Professor) will be recruiting a graduate student that has interests in Clinical Neuropsychology.

Clinical Program Overview

Several aspects of the Clinical Psychology Training Program at Texas Tech University deserve highlighting. A wide variety of clinical and research training opportunities are available, and students often report having difficulty choosing among them. Class sizes are small enough to allow for a great deal of one-on-one attention from professors as well as encouraging class discussion, critical analysis of material, and creative thinking. Clinical training within the program is provided through a series of courses in psychological assessment, psychotherapy, and clinical practica. In addition, a growing number of part-time employment opportunities in University affiliated and community agencies are available to students and are coordinated with the student’s training program. Thus, students have many opportunities to gain valuable assessment and therapy experience, experience which can be very helpful in obtaining internship placements. Feedback from internship sites across the country that have accepted students from our program consistently indicates that our students demonstrate strong assessment and therapy skills in addition to an impressive level of professionalism.

The research mentoring experience matches the student’s level of training with the level of expectations for student input into the conceptualization, design, implementation, and analysis of the study. Many of our students are excited enough about their research that they present at state, regional, and national conventions or conferences and/or publish in psychological journals.

Clinical students from all levels of the program are supportive of each other, and the input and advice received from more advanced students can be very valuable for first- and second-year students. The Clinical Council, an organization serving the needs of clinical graduate students, organizes social events, shares information, supports students completing various program requirements (e.g., proposing or defending dissertations, applying for internship), and works with faculty to maintain the very positive relationship that exists between graduate students and faculty.

The roughly equal emphasis on the scientific and practitioner aspects of training, with particular attention given to their integration, enables our graduates to pursue careers in clinical practice, teaching, clinical research, or a combination of these.

Research Training

Research training in the clinical program involves both methodology courses and completing original empirical research (research involving data collection).

Course work in research includes three required graduate statistics courses (Experimental Design, Advanced Correlational Methods and Factor Analysis, and one advanced course, including Multivariate Statistics, Structural Equation Modeling, or Analysis of Single Subject and Time-Ordered Designs). In addition, all first year clinical students take a course in clinical research methods focusing on experimental and quasi-experimental design, design of single subject experiments, and psychometric concepts, all with particular application to clinical populations and research issues.

The second major component of research training involves completion of two original research projects: the " second year project " and the dissertation. Both projects are designed and implemented with input, supervision, and monitoring from a faculty research advisor or dissertation committee. The level of independent student input to the conceptualization, design, implementation, and analysis of the study increases from the second year project to the dissertation. Students are admitted to the program with the expectation that they will begin their research training with the clinical faculty member who was the primary person involved in their recruitment. Most students remain with their initial faculty research advisor for the second year project and dissertation. However, it is recognized that the student’s (or faculty member’s) research interests may change or that certain pairings may not work out for other reasons. In such cases, the student is expected to switch to another research advisor within the clinical division. Of course, students take numerous courses from faculty outside of the clinical division and often include counseling and experimental faculty with similar interests on their dissertation committee.

Faculty within the clinical division conduct programmatic research that has attracted national attention. Areas of research presently being pursued by clinical faculty include eating disorders, personality assessment, assessment of child/adolescent psychopathology, cognitive development and social problem solving in children and adolescents, effects and treatment of child abuse and other trauma, neuropsychological assessment, development of clinical case formulations, cognitive and behavioral therapy of anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adults, nicotine addiction, and health psychology, and spanish-speaking and community interventions. The clinical and research interests of each clinical faculty member are described in the accompanying pages.

Teaching Opportunities

Students interested in careers in academic settings may wish to obtain formal training and experience in the teaching of psychology courses. First year graduate students often assist a faculty instructor. Second year students are frequently employed as teaching assistants for the introductory psychology course, which involves teaching a small section of the class. During their first semester of teaching, graduate students receive formal training in the teaching of psychology via a weekly seminar. Opportunities also exist for advanced clinical students to assist in graduate courses (e.g., objective or projective assessment, advanced clinical practicum, introductory or multivariate statistics) and to teach a section of a more advanced undergraduate course (e.g., abnormal psychology, abnormal child psychology, adolescent psychology, developmental psychology, elementary statistics, physiological psychology, introduction to professional psychology).

Career Options for Clinical Ph.D.s

Historically, most of our Ph.D. graduates pursue careers involving primarily clinical practice. However, in recent years, an increasing proportion of our graduates have obtained positions involving a combination of research, teaching, and practice. We believe that our APA approved program provides a solid foundation in the clinical, academic, and research areas so that our graduates may successfully pursue careers in any one or combination of these areas.

Accreditation

The Ph.D. doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Texas Tech University is fully accredited by the American Psychology Association (APA).

	The following is contact information for the accrediting association:
	American Psychological Association Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation 750 First Street, N. E. Washington, DC 20002-4242
	Phone: 202-336-5979 TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123 Fax: 202-336-5978 Email: apaaccred@apa.org

Clinical Psychology Program Handbook

Download the 2008-2009 Clinical Psychology Graduate Student Handbook