PhD Program in Clinical Psychology

Nature of the Program

The Clinical Ph.D. program is accredited by the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Accreditation.:

American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First St. NE Washington, D. C. 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-5979

The Clinical Program is integrated into the mission of the university as a whole, which values progressive social thinking, and the mission of The New School for Social Research (the Graduate Faculty), which values critical thinking, pluralism, diversity, and interdisciplinary dialogue. Our training philosophy is consistent with the scientist-practitioner model of clinical psychology. In following this model our philosophy is in line with the values of the The New School for Social Research, which emphasizes the importance of pursuing and maintaining an integration between scholarship and real world concerns. The program places a strong value on respect for and understanding of cultural and individual diversity. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding the roles of culture and context (both social and historical) in mediating healthy psychological development, psychopathology, and psychotherapeutic change.

In its clinical training, the program is pluralistic, with an emphasis on psychoanalytically informed practice.  The psychoanalytic legacy of our program can be traced back to  1926, when Sandor Ferenczi, one of Freud’s closest colleagues, taught a course at the New School. Other psychoanalytic pioneers who have taught at the New School include: Alfred Adler, Ernst Kris, Karen Horney and Erich Fromm. Our psychoanalytic legacy can also be traced to the origins of the The New School for Social Research during World War II, when a number of its founding members were interested in the synthesis of social and political thought, psychoanalysis and the humanities.

Many of our basic clinical skills courses have a broadly based psychodynamic emphasis. Others have a cognitive-behavioral emphasis. Students are also exposed to other therapeutic orientations (e.g., humanistic, existential approaches). They are encouraged to approach clinical practice with an open, inquiring mind and an absence of doctrinarianism. Critical inquiry and debate are encouraged and students are encouraged to seek out training experiences in a range of different orientations during externship placements. Our faculty represent a range of different theoretical viewpoints. Students are exposed to diverse orientations, and taught to examine similarities, differences and points of complementarity between them. They are taught to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and to explore different approaches to integrating both interventions and theories from different perspectives (e.g., technical eclecticism, theoretical integration, common factors approaches, assimilative integration).

Our clinical program is one of the few that combines a psychoanalytic emphasis with an adherence to the scientist-practitioner model. Following the scientist-practitioner model of training for clinical psychology, we are committed to teaching our students to integrate research and practice in a meaningful way. We teach them to view the activities of conducting research and engaging in clinical practice as mutually enhancing in nature - to understand that clinical practice generates important questions and insights that can have a valuable influence on the conceptualization and execution of research; and that both research findings and the process of conducting research can have an important impact on clinical practice. Consistent with the Gainesville conference on scientist-practitioner education, the emphasis in our training model is on the integration of science and practice in all activities a clinical psychologist undertakes. From this perspective the hallmark of the scientist-practitioner model is thus not just publishing in scientific journals, but rather bringing the integrative perspective of the scientific-practitioner model to all professional activities. Many of our graduates choose to work in clinical settings, and when they do so we expect them to approach their work with the critical sensibility that is the hallmark of science, to value and seek out up-to-date information, including expertise in both clinical techniques and empirical findings regarding assessment, psychopathology and therapeutic methods, and to evaluate this information critically. When they do research we expect them to be attuned to real world clinical concerns, and to use their clinical experience to generate meaningful hypotheses.

We also believe it is important for students, from the outset, to struggle with the fact that the practice of clinical psychology often falls short of the ideals of the scientist-practitioner model, and that there is an increasing recognition in the field that there is often a gap between researchers and clinicians. Research can fail to take into account the realities of real world clinical practice, and as surveys indicate, many practitioners are uninterested in research findings. An important goal is thus to train students to think critically about the factors leading to the researcher/practitioner gap and to explore various ways of reducing it. We attempt to create an atmosphere in which critical spirit will flourish. Ongoing questioning and dialogue are encouraged, formally and informally, not only in class and seminar rooms, but also at guest lectures, case conferences, research conferences and various faculty and student meetings.

To summarize, our training philosophy emphasizes the importance of 1) integrating theory, research and practice in a meaningful way; 2) developing a solid grounding in the breadth of scientific psychology and learning to integrate this knowledge with both research and practice in clinical psychology; 3) developing attitudes necessary for life-long learning, critical thinking and an ongoing ability to grow and develop as professionals in the field; 4) developing the requisite skills for entry into professional practice; and 5) developing an appreciation and respect for the values of diversity and pluralism (cultural, ethnic, theoretical and methodological).

The most recent American Psychological Association site visit in March, 2006 resulted in the Ph.D. program’s continued accreditation for a full seven years. The site visitors commented on the excellence of the program’s training in scholarship, research and practice and on our success in integrating the three realms. To quote the site visit report:

The focus of the program is not only on present knowledge available but on understanding the value of developing a stance of lifelong scholarly inquiry and the basic value of science as an important part of clinical practice. There is an emphasis on the constant change in knowledge and ideas that occur in the field and on the importance of both being aware of these changes and of being involved in them. The advanced students appear to have developed a very strong attitude of lifelong learning and also assist in the development of this attitude by being models and passing on the attitude to the new students.

The program excels in the area of clinical training. The New School-Beth Israel Center for Clinical Training and Research provides a strong beginning to the students’ clinical experience. A wide range of agencies are used for advanced practica and all are required to provide adequate supervision and appropriate professional supervisors. The clinical training experience is integrated with all appropriate courses. The practica from the very first year Beth Israel placement on throughout the program are designed to fit with and be part of developing competencies and to meet both immediate and long term training during each year of the program. Since practicum training is part of the training during each year in the program, the amount, intensity and breadth of experience is well beyond what is expected by most internship sites.

The program tracks placements of its graduates and is justly proud of the excellent jobs its students regularly obtain. In our interviews with supervisors in sites that support student placements and internships we learned that most of them consider New School graduate students to be the best graduate students they see.

Admission to the Program

Only students who are currently completing the M.A. program in the General Psychology Program at the New School for Social Research can apply to the Clinical Psychology PhD program. This involves an application directly to the Clinical Psychology PhD program (applications available from the Clinical Coordinator, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 328) and is accompanied by two interviews and passage of part I of the PhD qualifying examination (or, for Research Master’s track students, sufficient progress on research master’s theses, as indicated by research advisors). During the two independent interviews, students are evaluated by the clinical faculty for suitability to pursue clinical work. Students are informed of the outcome of the interviews before they sit for part I of the PhD qualifying exam.
  
All students (who must hold a master’s degree in psychology from The New School for Social Research) must apply directly to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program for consideration by completing a Clinical Ph.D. application.  Applications are available in late November from the clinical program coordinator and due to the program in early February.  Applicants should hand in applications directly to the clinical program coordinator whenever possible; applicants who are unable to do so should follow up with the clinical program coordinator on or before the application deadline to make sure that their applications were received. 

Students who hold a master’s degree in psychology from The New School for Social Research and are not currently enrolled must apply both to the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program for consideration and to Graduate Admissions to initiate student status.  The priority deadline (separate from the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. application deadline) for filing a Graduate Admissions application for scholarships and other funding is in mid-January (contact Graduate Admissions for exact dates).

Students begin their studies toward the Ph.D. by obtaining an M.A. in General Psychology, which includes courses in psychopathology and the psychology of individual differences. Only after this can they apply for admittance to the Clinical Program.  As part of their grounding in general psychology, students take courses in experimental psychology, human development, physiological psychology, statistics, social psychology and personality.  The background in general psychology and research design acquired during the M.A. portion of the program provides a baseline of “normal” psychological processes to support the study of clinical disturbances, distortions and deviations in cognition, perception, emotion and social behavior.  It also provides a research perspective toward clinical work that will be applied when designing research projects and doing dissertation research.

Successful completion of the M.A. in General Psychology does not guarantee admission to the Ph.D. program; however, strong M.A. students have a very good chance of progressing to the Ph.D. program. The Clinical Program admits approximately 15 students per year.  Clinical admissions procedures are detailed on page 26 of the Psychology Handbook.

* Average GPA of the successful M.A. applicant from 2007-2008 was 3.83.

Program Overview

The program leading to the degree of doctor of philosophy in clinical psychology is a ninety-credit program accredited by the American Psychological Association. The first thirty credits lead to the master's degree in general psychology, as described earlier; students must also have completed the one-semester, no-credit proseminar. Future Clinical program students are required to take the psychopathology sequence and assessment of individual differences at the master's level, and physiological psychology at the master's or doctoral level. Once admitted to the Clinical program, students will be expected to take courses on: clinical theory and technique, diagnostic testing, evidence based practice, culture and ethnicity; complete two full-year externship seminars; take a course on professional issues; and fulfill the requirements for a PhD in psychology. Students also will progress through a series of clinical training placements at The New School-Beth Israel Center for Clinical Training and Research and at affiliated sites throughout the city. The clinical component of training culminates in a paid, full-time, APA accredited internship, procured through a national match process. (American Psychological Association, 750 First St. NE Washington, D. C. 20002-4242, Phone: (202) 336-5979)

Length of Program

The program is designed to enable students to complete their Ph.D.s in four years (this does not include the two- year M.A. program). It is structured so that students will spend three years completing academic and practicum requirements, and one year completing an APA accredited pre-doctoral internship.  It is not unusual for students to take longer, however, given the plentiful and challenging concurrent academic and clinical experiences that they are afforded throughout their training.

General Overview of Training and Major Deadlines Years I-III
 of Clinical Ph.D. Program

Time to Completion Statistics 2002-2008

• Percentage of students who failed to complete the program once matriculated from Fall 2001-Spring 2008. Students out of 176. (.03%).

As a result of changes in the overall structure and coherence of the program that were initiated in the early 1990’s, there has been a general decrease over the last decade in the amount of time students take to complete the program. For example, over the last seven years, the average time to completion decreased from 6.91 years in 2002, to 5.8 years in 2007. As well, there has been a sharp decrease in the percentage of students taking 7 years to complete the program (45.46% in 2002, down to 12.5% in 2008). Students who are intent upon completing the degree within 4 years generally are able to due so.

Internship

Students are required to apply to APA-accredited internships. Permission is required from the Director of Clinical Training in order to apply to a non-accredited internship program. The internship application process is time consuming, and students should be prepared to allow themselves sufficient time for the planning and preparation of their applications. 

Statistics on Students’ Internships

Licensure

Between 1997-2005, 145 graduates have completed the program, of that number 100% have achieved licensure.

Faculty Research Topics/Interests Include:

• Gender, culture, and mental health, including ethnic minority psychology and immigrant adjustment, domestic violence in Asian communities, cultural competence in service delivery, and mental health care in the People's Republic of China
• Attention deficit disorder: Effects on quality of life, medication effects, underlying brain mechanisms
• Autism: Underlying brain mechanisms, characterization of the attentional impairment
• Laterality: Lateralization of emotions, anomalous laterality in Tourette disease, attentional factors in laterality testing
• Consciousness: neurological bases, awareness of deficits
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy with borderline patients; the role that shame plays in borderline personality disorder and other forms of psychopathology—with the goal of developing treatment approaches informed by this understanding
• Health psychology
• Women’s health--an emphasis on gender/cultural influences on health behavior; feminism and body image, cultural differences in women’s body image, and body image during pregnancy; body image among breast cancer survivors, including women’s expectations for and satisfaction with breast reconstruction, and ethnic differences in the use of breast reconstruction post mastectomy
• Developments in psychoanalytic theory, research and practice
• Research on psychotherapy process and outcome
• Psychotherapy integration
• Psychotherapy and Buddhism
• The therapeutic alliance, therapeutic impasses, transference and counter-transference,
• The internal processes of the therapist
• The relationship between attachment processes and therapeutic change
• Personality, Personality Change, Personality Disorders, Psychological Assessment
• Psycholinguistics—how meaning is socially constructed through conversational interaction
• The development of attachment, in particular the bonds between parents and children and the intergenerational consequences of attachment; adoption and foster care
• Children’s understanding of mixed emotions, parent-child relationships, the effects of trauma and loss on children and adults; long-term consequences of early attachment experiences
• Psychopathology and therapeutic mood and theory
• Motives and consequences of social identification; perception, entitativity, essentialism, agency and intentionality at the collective level; attribution of collective responsibility; institutions and identities in the European Union; intergroup and international relations; dehumanization of the other; image theory
• Study of attention and the cognitive neuroscience of memory; implicit memory and social remembering
• Causes of cooperation and conflict between groups and on inter-group relations
• Individual and developmental differences in cognitive styles, creativity, and metaphor with special emphasis on the influence of intelligence, personality, and gender
• Family violence
• Attachment across the life-span
• Attachment and adoption
• Cross-Cultural Psychology
• Problems of perception and inattention
• Culture and psychology with a focus on interpersonal motivation, theory of mind, social support, norms of reciprocity, moral development, family and friend relationships

Psychology Handbook (Adobe PDF Format)

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