Courses
PSYD 701. Dissertation: Introduction and Overview. (1).
This course introduces the dissertation process. Students develop topics into research questions with an exploration of methods that can be used to test hypotheses. The content of the dissertation sections will be explored: introduction, literature review, research methods, results, and discussion, as well as how to form committees, propose, IRB application, data collection, analysis, writing, and defense.
PSYD 705. Research Methods. (3).
This course examines both quantitative and qualitative research designs most frequently used in psychological and social science research. Special attention will be given to understanding experimental designs, group comparisons, case studies, survey research, psychometric studies, grounded theory, and meta-analyses. Students will learn to distinguish the nature of designs that enable causal inferences from those that do not, evaluate the appropriateness of conclusions derived from psychological research, and articulate strengths and limitations of various research designs. Aspects of individual and cultural diversity will also be covered as well as the ethics related to protecting human participants in research.
PSYD 706. Statistics and Data Analysis. (3).
The goal of this course is to build competence in the statistical procedures of empirical research that aid data analysis and interpretation. Building off of the foundations of research methodology, this course will develop a conceptual understanding of robust tests, parametric and non-parametric inferential statistics, correlations, regressions, multivariate statistics, hierarchical linear modeling, factor analysis, meta-analysis, and various qualitative analytic procedures. Selected data analysis techniques will be highlighted through application and practice, as well as the interpretation and explanation of results in APA format.
PSYD 716. Biological Aspects of Behavior. (3).
This course examines brain-behavior relationships. An emphasis is placed on understanding neuropsychological functions, physiological mechanisms and biochemical processes.
PSYD 717. Human Development. (3).
This course examines theory and research related to lifespan development. Clinical application of course material will be emphasized.
PSYD 718. Cognitive-Affective Aspects of Behavior. (3).
This course examines current theory and research in human cognitive and affective. The impact of cognitive and affective processes on the individual are studied and applied to clinical material.
PSYD 719. Social Psychology. (3).
This course examines the social and cultural bases of human behavior by examining relevant theory and research. Consideration is given to the ethnic/cultural issues that impact clinical practice.
PSYD 721. Practicum 1. (2).
The Practicum is structured to provide clinical experience in conducting psychotherapy. Students provide psychotherapy services to clients at CLU Community Counseling Services under the close supervision of licensed clinicians who are part of the PsyD program's clinical faculty.
PSYD 722. Practicum 2. (2).
Continuation of PSYD 721.
PSYD 723. Practicum 3. (2).
The goal of this course is to help the student currently working in community agencies to present and discuss their cases. Continuation of PSYD 722.
PSYD 724. Practicum 4. (2).
The goal of this course is to help the student currently working in community agencies to present and discuss their cases. Continuation of PSYD 723.
PSYD 725. Practicum 5. (2).
The goal of this course is to help the student currently working in community agencies to present and discuss their cases. Continuation of PSYD 724.
PSYD 726. Practicum 6. (2).
The goal of this course is to help the student currently working in community agencies to present and discuss their cases. Continuation of PSYD 725.
PSYD 728. Practicum Orientation (0).
Students in their first year receive clinical supervision during the Summer 2 session at CLU Community Counseling Services.
PSYD 729. Practicum Summer. (0).
Students in their second year receive clinical supervision during the Summer 1 session at CLU Community Counseling Services.
PSYD 740. Diagnostic Interviewing. (2).
Diagnostic and therapeutic interviewing skills are essential for a clinician. In this course, students will develop techniques for conducting diagnostic interviews of clients with a range of symptoms and psychological disorders. The course involves hands-on interviewing exercises and a review of etiological and treatment issues specific to psychological disorders, such as anxiety, depression and eating disorder. Includes interviewing strategies that focus on symptoms, behaviors and dynamics that are specific to each disorder.
PSYD 741. Basic Attending Skills. (2).
This course examines one of the basic skills necessary for effective psychotherapy - the development of listening skills. The course explores concepts such as empathy, sympathy, reassurance, the importance of process versus content, and the importance of examining obstacles that interfere with a therapist's basic listening skills, including countertransference.
PSYD 743. Child and Adolescent Interventions. (2).
This course will examine specific treatment strategies for psychotherapy from the approaches of psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral and family systems theories. Students will learn how to organize their clinical interventions according to these psychotherapeutic models and how to direct their treatment goals accordingly.
PSYD 745. ABA and CBT Interventions. (3).
This course examines the conceptual foundations underlying behavioral and cognitive approaches to assessment and treatment. The principles and techniques of applied behavioral analysis and cognitive behavioral therapy will be reviewed. In addition, relevant outcome research will be presented to support the use of these therapies with specific populations.
PSYD 746. Couples and Family Therapy. (2).
This is an advanced course on the study of conjoint therapy with couples and families. A number of theoretical perspectives and related clinical techniques will be studied including cognitive-behavioral, system theory, and psychodynamic approaches. The intervention techniques can be applied with pre-marital couples for couple enrichment and as part of psychotherapy with distressed couples. Interventions will be taught for dealing with a variety of marital and divorce issues, e.g., dual-career, multicultural/multinational, domestic violence, alcoholism, and remarriage. Instruction is through lectures, discussions, role-playing, and video. Students will complete a course project either through a practicum experience or some other applied experience developed with the instructor.
PSYD 747. Group Psychotherapy. (2).
This course is designed to help students learn about group theory and the practice of group psychotherapy. Students acquire information and skills on different types of psychotherapy groups, including inpatient and outpatient groups, as well as psycho-educational groups, symptom-focused groups (e.g., eating disorder group), and others. The course examines the value, as well as the potential for iatrogenic effects, of group work as it is impacted by diagnostic categories, age populations and other relevant factors.
PSYD 750. Child and Adolescent Disorders. (3).
This course will integrate psychological and neuroscientific research on child and adolescent development with issues of learning disabilities, behavioral and impulse disorders, addictions and other psychopathologies. The student will understand how psychological, social, cultural and biological factors influence the problems and disorders experienced by children and adolescents.
PSYD 751. Psychodynamic Treatment of Personality Disorders. (3).
This course will provide an introduction and overview of personality disorders and their corresponding treatment interventions from a psychodynamic theoretical perspective. Students will learn DSM-5 criteria for diagnoses of personality disorders while developing a psychodynamically-informed understanding of personality formation and pathology. The course will include an emphasis on the evidence-base both within psychodynamic theory and practice and across the various personality disorders and their treatments.
PSYD 752. Mood and Anxiety Disorders. (3).
This course provides an in-depth examination of mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia) and anxiety disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobia, panic disorders). The course examines the etiology and course of the disorders from multiple perspectives. In addition, the course requires a critical review of psychotherapeutic interventions that have been proven effective from a variety of theoretical and treatment modalities. The most current approaches to assessment are reviewed.
PSYD 753. Gender and Sexual Disorders. (2).
This course will explore gender and sexual disorders from multiple perspectives including historical, object relational, attachment, cognitive, behavioral, systems, biological and social. Diagnostic criteria and etiology will be examined while considering the influence of culture and societal values. Multiple treatment approaches and interventions will be examined as found in relevant research. Students will explore their own sexual attitudes and develop an awareness of and comfort with the complexities of human sexuality.
PSYD 754. Substance Abuse. (2).
The course examines the major theories addressing substance abuse. Students will understand substance abuse from a variety of theoretical frameworks (including psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic and social learning theory), as well as findings from neuroscience. The course emphasizes a developmental perspective in the understanding of this issue.
PSYD 755. Schizophrenia and Other Cognitive Disorders. (3).
This course examines major theories on the etiology of schizophrenia and other cognitive disorders and their symptomatic manifestations. The course includes a historical overview of the disorders as well as recent findings from the fields of biology and neuroscience. The course also includes a review of medications and the neural pathways by which psychotropic medications are thought to affect thought disorders.
PSYD 756. Introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (3)
In this introductory course, students will learn the structure of DBT (during individual sessions, team consultation, et), gain exposure to core DBT strategies and principles (e.g., behavioral methods, validation), become proficient in case conceptualization within DBT, and learn dialectical philosophy as applied to balancing strategies of acceptance and change.
PSYD 758. Methods in Suicide Risk Assessment and Management (3)
Students in this course will learn the risk factors predictive of suicide, gain familiarity with research examining the function of suicide, become proficient in conducting suicide risk assessments, learn principles of crisis intervention, and become proficient at conducting crisis interventions in a variety of clinical scenarios.
PSYD 761. Professional Seminar. (2).
The purpose of this course is to assist students in the development of a professional identity. Students will investigate the various roles of clinical psychologists. They will examine practice issues in light of relevant ethical and legal issues. Each student will develop a plan for transitioning from student to professional.
PSYD 762. Test and Measurement. (3).
This course introduces students to test theory and the psychometric properties of tests. Controversies and ethical issues in assessment are explored from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective. Particular attention is given to potential test biases and the potential misuse of testing in clinical psychology.
PSYD 763. Ethics. (3).
This course is designed to explore the advanced legal and ethical issues for professional psychology. Students will examine and discuss complex and controversial legal and ethical issues as they pertain to clinical practice and research. Students will be expected to demonstrate a good working knowledge of many legal and ethical concepts and to demonstrate their ability to offer a critical analysis of the professional literature. Classroom discussion is an essential part of this course and students are expected to come to each meeting prepared to ask questions and debate topics. Several take-home assignments and a final exam will also be used to assess grades.
PSYD 770. Adult Cognitive Assessment. (3).
This course is designed to provide graduate-level students with training in the administration, scoring, and interpretation cognitive assessment measures commonly used with adults. Issues relating to the appropriate use of intelligence tests, theories of intelligence, ethical test use, testing culturally diverse populations, integration of data and effective report writing will be addressed.
PSYD 771. Assessment: Personality. (3).
This course is designed to provide graduate-level students with training in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of personality measures including projective drawings, sentence completion, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT, CAT, RAT), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2, MMPI-A), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), California Personality Inventory-R (CPI-R), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). In addition, other measures of personality assessment will be reviewed. Issues relating to the appropriate use of personality measures, theories of personality, ethical test use, testing culturally diverse populations, integration of data, and effective report writing will be addressed.
PSYD 772. Assessment of Children. (3).
This course is designed to provide doctoral students with training in the administration, scoring and interpretation of the current editions of widely utilized measures of cognitive assessment, academic achievement, and behavior rating scales in the psychological assessment of children. Issues relating to the appropriate use of tests, theories of intelligence, ethical test use, testing culturally diverse populations, integration of data and effective report writing will be addressed.
PSYD 780. History of Psychology. (2).
The intention in this course is to guide you to understand psychological science through its history, and through the histories of the societies in Europe and North America within which that science has been embedded. Much of psychology's past has found its roots within the social histories of the countries where Western psychology has developed - Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States. This course will take you on a journey into some of the fascinating theories developed by our intellectual forefathers who proved to have a profound influence on later psychological thought, combining those with investigations into the cultural-historical contexts within which these works were written. Often we erroneously assume that what has been written decades or even centuries ago is too old and must be outdated. Yet, as we will see, the great dinosaurs from the old schools of psychology are still able to teach us modern psychologists a great deal.
PSYD 781. Consultation/Supervision. (3).
This course examines the role of psychologists as consultants and as supervisors. Theories of consulting and supervising will be presented, as well as experiential exercises. Students will consider the roles of consultant and supervisor from developmental perspectives.
PSYD 782. Multicultural Psychology. (3).
This is a course for interested students who want to learn about cultural perspectives in psychology at large, particularly in the cases of human development within varied cultural contexts. Crucial philosophical, theoretical, and methodological research issues that are central to developmentally focused cultural psychology will be covered in this course. This course is tailored toward students with philosophical and interdisciplinary interests, whose goals are to learn more about our basic scientific understanding of human psychology. The course is primarily based on an active learning approach founded on the principles of Accountable Talk, which dictates that all students must be held accountable to their learning community, to accurate and appropriate knowledge, and to rigorous thinking. In other words, this will not be a standard lecture course in which students passively absorb knowledge, rather the course format will take a partnership approach in which students help one another build knowledge (based on the course textbook and instructor guidance), in order to make sense of who we are and the culture in which we live.
PSYD 783. Dissertation: Design and Method I. (2).
This course guides students toward developing specific research questions and testable hypotheses. The emphasis will be on research design and methodology. Students will end the course with feasible dissertation topics, clear and well-elaborated methods and procedures, and a basic grasp of the literature review process. Pre-requisite: PSYD 701 Dissertation: Introduction and Overview.
PSYD 784. Dissertation: Design and Method II. (1).
This course extends the work completed in PSYD 783 with an emphasis on finalizing the method section and developing either a data analysis plan (descriptive statistics, preliminary analysis, decisions about sample size, or qualitative analogs). Students will draw linkages between prior research, hypotheses, and methods, and will develop improved skills in synthesizing and summarizing relevant research. Pre-requisite: PSYD 783 Dissertation Design and Method 1. Note: is course spans the entire summer (Summer I and Summer II).
PSYD 785. Dissertation: Scientific Writing. (1).
This course focuses on all chapters of the dissertation, emphasizing the introduction and literature review. Students will work to synthesize studies and summarize research findings. Clear and concise scientific writing and presenting information according to APA style will be a central theme. Co-requisite: PSYD 786 Dissertation: Proposal Draft. Pre-requisite: PSYD 784: Dissertation Design and Method II.
PSYD 786. Dissertation: Proposal Draft. (1).
This course involves preparing the written document for the proposal in consultation with the dissertation chair and dissertation committee. Pre-requisite: PSYD 785: Scientific Writing.
PSYD 787. Dissertation Proposal. (1).
This course involves the final preparation of the manuscript for the proposal before the dissertation committee and completing revisions recommended by the committee. Pre-requisite: PSYD 786: Dissertation: Proposal Draft.
PSYD 788. Dissertation: IRB, Data Management, and Data Collection. (1).
This course involves the writing and submission of the IRB proposal, data management, and piloting data collection. Pre-requisite: PSYD 787: Dissertation Proposal.
PSYD 789. Dissertation: Data Collection, Analysis, and Results. (1).
Data collection and analysis are completed in this course, along with interpreting results and drafting the discussion section. Pre-requisite: PSYD 788: Dissertation: IRB, Data Management, and Data Collection.
PSYD 790. Dissertation: Discussion and Defense. (1).
This course involves the final preparation of the manuscript for defense before the dissertation committee and completing revisions recommended by the committee. Pre-requisite: PSYD 789: Dissertation: Data Collection, Analysis, and Results.
PSYD 791. Psychopharmacology. (2).
This course will examine the principles of psychopharmacology and will review individual classes of drugs as well as their mechanisms. Special attention will be given to drug-to-drug interactions, particularly with the elderly. Students will become familiar with the FDA drug review process and will consider relevant legal and ethical issues.
PSYD 797. Dissertation: Continuation. (1-3).
This course is taken if additional work is required prior to or following the defense. Pre-requisite: PSYD 789: Dissertation: Data Collection, Analysis, and Results.
PSYD 798. Internship. (0-3).
Students complete their doctoral internship. At a minimum, students enroll in 1 credit hour for Internship in Fall and 1 credit hour internship in Spring.
PSYD 7CO. Clinical Competency Exam. (0).
Students enroll in this course the semester they complete their clinical competency exam.
PSYD 7XD. Dissertation: Completion. (0).
This course is passed when dissertation revisions have been approved and passed by the committee. The dissertation has been presented at a professional forum and uploaded to ProQuest. Pre-requisite: PSYD 790: Dissertation: Discussion and Defense.
Course Transfers and Waivers
Course Transfers
Students are permitted to transfer up to nine (9) credits into the doctoral program if those credits were taken in clinical psychology at the graduate level*. Transferring a course will import the credits earned to be applied toward the 114 that are required for the program. Transferred credits are not calculated into your GPA. Transfer work must be:
- Graduate level (applicable to a graduate degree at the institution granting credit)
- Completed within seven years
- Completed with a grade of “B” or higher
- Documented by official transcripts from the institution
- Listed on a “Petition for the Transfer of Credit” form (available from the CLU Registrar)
- Approved by the program director.
Course Waivers
You may waive an additional fifteen (15) credits beyond the coursework that has been transferred in the PsyD program if you have taken commensurate courses at the graduate level*. Only required courses may be waived. When a course is waived, it means that you are not required to take it again, but the credits from the course are not imported and do not count towards the program requirement. For example, a student waiving a 3-unit course will be required to take three credits of electives in addition to the number of electives required to reach 114 total program credits. The following requirements must be met for course waivers to be approved.
- Courses must have been taken within the past seven years
- You must have successfully passed the course with a grade of “B” or higher
- You must have an official transcript on file that lists the course
- You complete the “Request for Course Waiver” form (available from the PsyD Program)
- You must submit both the Request for Course Waiver form and the course syllabus for the time that you took the class to the CLU instructor teaching the class that you desire to waive. The CLU professor has full discretion in determining if the previous course is sufficient for a waiver.
- The academic advisor or program director must also approve the waiver.
*Courses ineligible for Transfer or Waiver: Transfer of credit or course waivers are not granted for practica, internships, theses, dissertations, or elective courses. We consider these courses fundamental to the program’s character and must certify that students have received training according to those standards. Additionally, some topics in clinical psychology require ongoing training and development throughout our professional careers. These include ethics and cultural competency. As such, course transfers and waivers are not accepted for PSYD 763 – Ethics and PSYD 782 – Multicultural Psychology.