Integral to 蜜桃APP鈥檚 Clinical Psychology programs鈥� training program is didactic and experiential, supervised training in evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches. Training occurs at onsite and at external training facilities affiliated with our program. Both internal and external practicum settings employ evidence-based practice. Clinical training is sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity: To illustrate -- to prepare for beginning to provide clinical services in their 2nd year, 1st year students: (1) complete coursework in psychopathology, evidenced-based intervention, and professional considerations (including ethics), (2) attend practicum supervision meetings to become familiar with clinic policies and procedures, (3) enroll in a one hour practicum that focuses on introductory therapy skills, and (4) shadow senior graduate student therapists. Once they have attained basic skills and information, they gain direct supervised clinical experience through their practica.
Students in 蜜桃APP鈥檚 clinical psychology graduate program are required to complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of practicum prior to leaving for internship. Most students complete many more hours than this minimum. Students begin seeing clients in the context of practicum beginning in their 2nd year in the program. Practicum experiences are vital in helping students acquire knowledge and competence in psychological assessment, measurement, and intervention. Demonstrating this competence is required by the American Psychological Associations Standard II.B.1 b., which states that students in accredited programs must 鈥渄emonstrate the ability to work effectively with individuals whose group membership, demographic characteristics, or worldviews differ with their own.鈥�
The on-campus community outpatient clinic is the Psychological Services Center (PSC). The PSC is a community-based outpatient training clinic that serves children and adults from the greater Baton Rouge area with a variety of presenting problems. Students are required to obtain assessment and intervention training at the PSC. Specifically, prior to applying for internship, students are required to complete 4 psychological evaluations and complete 40 hours of intervention at the PSC.
There are also a number of program-approved practicum sites off campus. Please see our current list of program approved practicum training sites. As evidenced by this list, students have ample opportunity to gain a variety of clinical experiences. Although settings for practicum are diverse, they all share the following in common: (1) sites are committed to training, (2) sites provide supervised experience working with diverse individuals with a variety of presenting problems, (3) sites provide opportunities for experience to gain profession-wide competencies, (4) training is appropriate for student level of training, (5) all cases are supervised by licensed doctoral-level psychologists who meet with student therapists on a weekly basis, and (6) all case supervisors observe student delivery of psychological services at least once per evaluation period.
Prior to internship, students are required to conduct clinical services under the direct clinical supervisor of at least two different core clinical faculty. Most students complete at least one year of PSYC7688/9 with their major professor and one year with a different core clinical faculty member. Given that not all major professors provide clinical supervision in the context of PSYC7688/9, some students will gain experience conducting clinical work under the direct supervision of two core clinical faculty other than their major professor.
For all practicums, students receive weekly supervision from a licensed clinical psychologist and receive feedback on their clinical performance throughout the year from their practicum supervisor during individualized supervision and/or team practicum meetings. In addition, students receive written feedback on their performance in these areas on the Practicum Evaluation Form that is complete at least yearly for all students.
A practicum experience linked to the assessment course sequence (Psychological Assessment I and II) is required of students in the clinical program. There is an experiential component required in these classes.
All Clinical students are required to complete a formal, one year, full-time pre-doctoral internship at an APA-accredited internship program. The internship is generally completed in the 5th year. A decision to delay the internship beyond the 5th year is made in consultation with the student鈥檚 major professor. This timeline allows students time to complete all coursework, defend their general examination, and propose their dissertation project prior to internship. We require that the dissertation proposal be successfully defended before applying for internship to help ensure that students can successfully complete all requirements of the Ph.D. by the time they complete their internships. Also, students must be in good standing with the program prior to applying for internship. Students are required to have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours of practicum prior to leaving for internship. Most students complete many more hours than this minimum. While on internship, students must enroll in at least 1 hour of PSYC 7997 Clinical Psychology Internship during every semester they are on internship.
As an APA Accredited Clinical Training Program, our program prepares students for careers in health service psychology, such that they are equipped to be both excellent scientists and excellent clinicians. The vast majority of our graduates obtain professional licensure as clinical psychologists. However, given that licensure is controlled by individual governmental bodies in each state/territory and that every jurisdiction may impose their own unique requirements, we cannot guarantee that the specific training we provide will meet the criteria for licensure in any individual state. Students are encouraged to become familiar with state licensing laws and discuss your curricular plan with your major professor and DCT.
For information on psychology licensure in the state of Louisiana, please visit the .
For information on psychology licensure in the United States and Canada, please visit the .
Over 85% of graduates over the last 5 years have obtained licensure.