Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology

The mission of the Clark University Clinical Psychology Program is to train scientist-practitioners as socially engaged clinical scholars. In keeping with the motto of Clark University to “Challenge Convention and Change Our World,” the Clinical Program aims to train scholars who will be actively engaged in the world and use their work to improve the quality of the world in which we live and the lives of the people in our communities. Thus, the Clark University Clinical Psychology Program adheres to the Scientist-Practitioner model in which our students are trained to be skilled scientists and clinicians who can integrate the science of psychology with its professional practice. We train scientist-practitioners who think critically about the assumptions underlying their work, the theory guiding it, and the evidence supporting it. This process includes the careful identification and definition of a particular issue or problem, the conceptualization of the problem from one of multiple theoretical viewpoints, and the specification of how to choose appropriate research or clinical interventions in order to approach the problem. This particular emphasis enables our graduates to skillfully use their clinical and research training, and to actively contribute to the creation of new models of intervention and inquiry. This educational philosophy and training model is consistent with the mission of the larger Psychology Department and University as a whole. The Department emphasizes theoretically-guided research training that orients knowledge and inquiry to how it can be put to use. This use-based approach is connected to Clark University’s long-standing tradition of innovative and transformative research that addresses important social issues through the integration of theoretical, basic, and applied scholarship. Given this educational philosophy and adherence to the Scientist-Practitioner training model, the Clinical Program emphasizes strong training in both research methods and clinical practice. Moreover, the integration of science and practice is built deeply into the core of the program. We aspire to train graduates who can function as competent scientists and competent clinicians, and who understand the mutually supportive relationship that psychological practice and psychological science have with each other. In keeping with the Scientist-Practitioner model, the Clinical Training Program at Clark has three broad goals: Goal #1: To produce competent scientists whose work is theoretically driven, and who are able to critically evaluate the role of assumption, theory, and evidence. Goal #2: To produce competent clinicians whose work is theoretically driven, who are able to critically evaluate the role of assumption, theory, and evidence. Goal #3: To produce competent professionals whose clinical work is informed by psychological science, and whose research and scholarship is informed by clinically-based knowledge.