This program is committed to training students as both psychologists and mental health care providers. Many students are interested in direct delivery of mental health services in psychology, and so students are trained to represent the field of psychology and to immediately begin providing services upon graduation. Doctoral graduates should be eligible for licensure as psychologists, probably in all states, after completing postdoctoral work experience requirements.
Some students are interested in academic and research careers.
The program has strong training in those areas as well. This model emphasizes that those trained in the applied areas of psychology should have research and academic strengths along with skills in providing direct services to the public. This approach sets apart people trained in psychology from those trained in other mental health delivery professions. Thus, psychologists are well trained to evaluate the research literature and incorporate only techniques with demonstrated worth. Furthermore, they frequently contribute to our scientific knowledge and are usually looked to as the ones within an organization most capable of evaluating, organizing, and implementing programs and of interacting with the scientific community.