Below you will find more information on basic course, advanced teams, placement opportunities and internship.

Basic Courses in Clinical-Community Psychology

Students specializing in clinical-community psychology take advanced coursework in theory, assessment and intervention that reflect community psychology principles and techniques.  Examples of graduate courses and seminars typically offered for the clinical-community concentration include Principles of Community Psychology, Social Systems Assessment, and Feminist Psychology and Diversity.

Advanced Teams in Clinical-Community Psychology

In addition to coursework, Clinical-Community Advanced Team practica provide structured opportunities for graduate students to engage in community research and action.  Clinical-Community Advanced Teams are 16 week practica that take a community perspective to social problems.  The Team usually consists of 4-6 graduate students and the focus of the team is shaped by the interests of team members and differs each time it is taught.  Clinical-Community Advanced Teams offer a “learning laboratory” approach that allows students to decide on an interest area, learn systems entry and collaboration skills, and work with various community stake holders to achieve mutual goals aimed at facilitating social change. On a number of occasions, projects started in the context of a Clinical-Community Team have gone on to become grant-funded research projects, graduate student placements in the community, or intervention programs that are taken over by community mental health agencies.

Below are a few recent examples of Clinical-Community Advanced Team projects to give a flavor for practicum experiences.  Click on the title to learn more about each project.

• Speaking from Experience
• Coping with Psychiatric Disabilities:  The Lived Experience
• Searching for a Normal Life
• Research and Action at Home: GRADUATE TRAINING ISSUES

Placement Opportunities

Placement provides advanced clinical students with opportunities to engage in community-based clinical work that is consistent with their interests.  A number of outside placement opportunities exist, including work in community mental health centers, a clubhouse for adults with serious mental illness, the university counseling center, hospital-based rehabilitation centers, treatment centers for children and families, and programs for individuals with severe mental disabilities and emotional disorders. For clinical community students, at least one year of clinical placement should be with an agency or setting that conducts systems-level interventions (e.g., family therapy, preventive interventions, community education, consultation) or work with “high risk” populations (e.g., adults, children, adolescents, and/or families experiencing serious mental health issues). Previous clinical community students have participated in placements at Behavioral Connections, The Connection Center, Children’s Resource Center, and the Psychological Services Center.

Internship Opportunities

A year-long clinical psychology internship in an APA-approved program is typically completed during the fifth year of the program. Students from our clinical-community program compete very favorably at well-respected training centers throughout the United States. The sites selected by students include medical schools, community mental health centers, VA installations, university counseling centers, private hospitals, military medical centers, prisons, and state hospitals.

Principles of Community Psychology is an introduction to the social values, concepts and methods most strongly associated with community psychology.  Through primary readings and discussions, students become familiar with theories of empowerment, social ecology, social advocacy and social action used to guide the work of clinical-community psychologists.  Intervention techniques appropriate to work with families, organizations, and community groups on a variety of social problems are discussed.  Students are encouraged to apply material to a community group or social issue of their concern. 

Social Systems Assessment focuses on the values, strategies, and techniques available to clinical-community psychologists to assess and evaluate social systems.  Students become familiar with traditional community needs assessment, and classical approaches to program evaluation and community consultation.  Equal emphasis is given to empowerment evaluation techniques, and action research strategies as students are confronted with the challenges and rewards of assessing various types of social systems.  Attention is given to the role of the evaluator in the process of community consultation and collaboration.  Within the context of the course, students conduct projects using social systems assessment techniques to address a community issue or concern.  

Feminist Psychology and Diversity is an introduction to theory, research, psychotherapy, and social action from a feminist perspective.  The epistemological assumptions underlying feminist approaches to research and practice are examined.  Students become familiar with aspects of research and action consistent with feminist psychology such as qualitative methods of inquiry, the creation of alternative settings, grass roots organizing, and feminist psychotherapy.  Attention is given to issues of culture, diversity, authority, power, and privilege in clinical research and practice.

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