Training goals are conceptualized to cover four broad areas.


Training Goal I:
Students will achieve foundational and practical knowledge and skills in research methodology and statistical analysis, enabling them to become both critical consumers and producers of basic and applied research in diverse settings.

Implementation I:
Students will attain competency in Research and Evaluation methods including critically evaluating and synthesizing research findings from different sources and applying these to clinical work; carrying out original research studies including critical evaluation and use of past research findings from different sources, formulating research questions, executing all phases of research on both the Pre-dissertation Research and Dissertation Research Projects including data gathering, application of quantitative and qualitative analysis, evaluation of limitations and significance of findings for future research, and demonstration of authorship through presentation or publication of research findings in a professional venue. 


Training Goal II:
Students will be trained at the entry level to diagnosis, assess and utilize therapeutic interventions for diverse populations.

Implementation II:
Students will attain competency in Relationship skills including therapeutic communication, establishment and maintenance of therapeutic alliance, understanding of therapeutic processes such as transference and counter-transference, and understanding the roles of ethnicity and culture. 

Students will attain competency in Assessment skills including test construction; standard assessment battery administration, interpretation and report writing; identification and use of additional diagnostic assessment tools (e.g., for assessment of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders) as indicated; assignment of appropriate DSM-IV-R diagnoses; understanding of the impact of ethnicity, race, gender and other factors on assessment outcomes.

Students will attain competency in Intervention skills including the ability to create case formulations utilizing theories of etiology (e.g., psychodynamic) with knowledge of alternative theoretical explanations, the ability to integrate understanding of psychopathology with clinical/symptom presentation, the ability to apply accurate diagnoses across all DSM Axes, the ability to plan a course of treatment informed by current clinical research and accepted standards of practice, the ability to present and critically discuss clinical case material incorporating knowledge of psychotherapy process and outcome literature, the ability to understand the contributions of race, class, culture and other factors on the course of treatment.

Students will attain competency in Consultation, Education, Management and Supervision skills including an understanding of the role of psychologists in complex systems, and an understanding of the principles and practice of consultation, education, management and supervision.



Training Goal III:
Students will learn critical inquiry, based upon the current body of knowledge in psychology and the integration of research and practice; maintain lifelong interests in the value of empirically informed practice, and conduct and/or critically consume research that evolves from practice in diverse settings.

Implementation III:
Students will become scholar-practitioners through attainment of competency in foundational and practice dimensions of clinical psychology.  Content areas of practice competencies are listed above.  Content areas of foundational competencies include: History and Systems, Developmental, Social, and Biological Bases of Behavior.


Training Goal IV:
Students will attain the ethically based professional skills in research and clinical practice needed for professional competency, including the ability to address human diversity in a multicultural society.

Implementation IV:
Students will attain competency in Diversity including the ability to function professionally in a multi-cultural society through self-awareness of one’s own attitudes about diversity including but not limited to age, sex, gender, race, class, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, and disability; the ability to understand clinical phenomena with reference to cultural and social context; the ability to formulate and execute treatment with reference to diversity issues.  Students will attain competency in Professional Standards and Ethics including knowledge and use of ethical principles in professional practice in accordance with the APA Ethical Code of Conduct; ability to critically evaluate and monitor ones own work and appropriately use other professionals for consultation and supervision; knowledge and use of legal and state (Board of Registration) regulations governing psychological practice; the ability to reflect and be aware of oneself as a significant factor in the therapeutic relationship.