Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology

Doctoral Program

The doctoral program in Clinical Psychology, which is accredited by the American Psychological Association, is offered by the Department of Psychology of the University of Detroit Mercy. The goal of the program is to train professional psychologists who can offer a variety of psychological services to the community. Our graduates are clinician-scholars who are professionally grounded in the theoretical underpinnings of assessment and intervention strategies, able to critically evaluate and assimilate new findings and hypotheses, and able to contribute to the body of knowledge within the field.

The curriculum is designed to help students acquire a variety of assessment and treatment skills with an emphasis on the theoretical rationales upon which these skills are based. While the student is exposed to a variety of theoretical orientations, the major theoretical base of the program is psychoanalytic. No curriculum can prepare a student with skills applicable to every area in which a psychologist may practice. It is our hope, however, that with in-depth training in selected areas and familiarity with a number of other areas students will be able to learn the skills required in their work using the basic principles of evaluation and intervention emphasized in the program.

Program Description

Program emphasis may be divided into course work, practice, research, and scholarship. The courses in the curriculum are designed by content and sequence to fulfill several goals. One goal is to acquire a firm foundation in psychology. A second goal is to acquire breadth and depth of knowledge in clinical skills. Clinical experiences are designed not only to afford opportunities to learn skills in clinical settings but also to integrate skills and the theories shaping and guiding those skills. Scholarship is demonstrated throughout course work in the form of examinations and student papers. In addition, students, within the context of a comprehensive examination, will be asked to demonstrate their ability to understand, integrate, and communicate their knowledge of psychology in general and clinical psychology in particular. The dissertation, which may be experimental or clinically empirical, is an opportunity to show how students can contribute new knowledge within the field.

We accept applications from students with either a baccalaureate or a master’s as a terminal degree, who have completed as a minimum the prerequisite courses (on either the undergraduate or graduate level) listed below:

a) One term: Statistics
b) One term: Theories of Personality
c) One term: Abnormal Psychology
d) One term: Developmental Psychology
e) Two laboratory courses, for example:

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