The School of Professional Psychology at CIIS balances traditional clinical training with a concern for contemporary social, cultural, and spiritual issues. Courses of study encourage integration of new and alternative approaches to psychological health while adhering to rigorous standards of scholarship, research, and practice. Depending upon the course of study, psychology programs provide comprehensive training in the foundation areas of psychology, research design and statistics, clinical skills, and ethics.
Clinical training is integrated through the use of practica prior to internship.
Many students train in one of the school's four clinics, drawing upon the rich opportunities for clinical experience in the San Francisco Bay Area. The School of Professional Psychology also supports a research laboratory for the study of biofeedback and states of consciousness, which permits interdisciplinary study of psychology, meditation, and alternative interventions. Psychology courses are complemented by elective study in the Institute's rich palate of complementary disciplines, including philosophy and religion, women's studies, East-West psychology, and anthropology. Students experience the range and quality of university courses in an environment of professional education.