The Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) is the highest level degree for those who wish to apply their knowledge as practicing clinicians. Clinical psychologists are highly trained in various theories, tools, and intervention techniques, and often work with clients who have experienced severe trauma or serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or phobias. They conduct clinical interviews and psychological testing, create treatment plans, consult and collaborate with physicians and other professionals, and provide multiple forms of therapy to alleviate mental illness, behavioral problems, and emotional distress.

Many clinical psychologists choose to work in private practice, while others work in hospitals, school counseling centers, substance abuse treatment facilities, mental health clinics, or residential facilities. Some join comprehensive treatment teams, collaborating with a range of physicians and other specialists—such as those working in rehabilitation settings providing care to patients coping with spinal cord injuries, chronic pain, or various neurological conditions.

Some clinical psychologists focus strictly on providing clinical services, while others extend their professional work to become higher education professors and administrators, supervisors and administrators in clinical settings, as well as advocates for mental health and social change.

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology (Post-Masters)

• Offered in Westwood and Irvine.
• An accelerated, post-masters program that can be completed in just two to three years, including internship. (Program is offered in a flexible format suitable for working professionals.)
• Program prepares graduates to sit for the California Board of Psychology (BOP) licensure exam.
• Students choose from one of three concentration areas: Marital & Family Therapy, Psychodynamic Psychology, or Generalist.
• Psychodynamic concentration curriculum was developed by California Graduate Institute, the world’s first independent school of professional psychology and one of our nation’s most respected pioneers in teaching applied psychodynamic psychology. Students in this concentration gain essential diagnostic, therapeutic, and consultative skills as well as in-depth knowledge of psychodynamic theory and exposure to a broad range of dynamically-based clinical applications—such as modern psychoanalysis, clinical hypnosis, dream analysis, play therapy and others—to assist the therapeutic process.
• Graduates are equipped with expert knowledge in theory, research, and practice in clinical psychology—preparing them to serve as head practitioners and/or senior administrators in both educational and clinical settings.
• Students may apply for the unique opportunity to complete their clinical training hours at one of our California Graduate Institute Counseling Centers, two of southern California’s largest and most well-respected community counseling centers. Through our innovative apprentice model, students learn marketing and operations related to running a private practice, assist with building their own client case loads, provide individual and group psychotherapy services—and graduate with a thriving client base already established as they sit for licensure and prepare to launch their careers.

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology (Post-Bachelors)

• Offered in Chicago and Los Angeles.
• Five years full time. (Los Angeles program available in both a traditional weekday format as well as a weekend/online format that is convenient for working professionals.)
• The Chicago School’s oldest and most selective program. Our Chicago campus program recently received the maximum possible re-accreditation by the American Psychological Association.
• Internship and practicum placement rates consistently rank among the best in the country, typically approaching 95% for internships and 98% for practica.
• Approximately 80% of participating students secure internships during the nationwide APPIC Match Day process and an additional 15% are placed by the end of the subsequent Clearinghouse phase.
• In 2007, 88% of placements were paid internships and 84% were at APPIC-member sites.
• Chicago School students are placed at hundreds of prestigious sites including Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Hospital, Yale University Department of Psychiatry, Brooklyn Veterans Administration Hospital, and the Great Lakes Naval Hospital.
• Program integrates the eight core competencies informed by the educational model of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP), helping prepare students to sit for the national licensure exam.
• Students develop essential diagnostic, therapeutic, and consultative skills through rigorous coursework, challenging practicum and internship experiences, and an applicable dissertation.
• All students complete basic coursework in four intervention tracks (Cognitive/Behavioral, Psychodynamic, Humanistic/Existential, and Systems) and then select one track as a specialty, completing advanced coursework and their Clinical Competency Examination within that track.
• Students also choose from one of seven concentration areas: Child and Adolescent Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Health Psychology, Multicutural/Community Psychology, Organizational Psychology, School Psychology, or Generalist.
• Students are awarded a master’s degree mid-way through the program (after completing 48 semester hours of required coursework, including two semesters of practicum).
• Students may complete additional specific coursework to be eligible to sit for the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) exam in Illinois and/or to obtain a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

Psy.D in Clinical Psychology—Child & Adolescent Track (Post-Bachelors)

• Offered in Chicago
• Five years full-time
• A highly selective and specialized track available by application and/or invitation only
• Equips students with essential diagnostic, assessment, therapeutic, and consultative skills needed to become child and adolescent psychologists—including specialized training in child development; child and adolescent psychopathology; physical and neurological health; and child, adolescent and family interventions.
• Students learn form expert practitioner-faculty, visiting guest lecturers who are recognized as national and regional leaders in child and adolescent psychology, and from tailored practicum and internship experiences working with child and adolescent populations.
• Students are awarded a master’s degree mid-way through the program (after completing 48 semester hours of required coursework, including two semesters of practicum).
• Students become informed, critical consumers of scholarship who contribute to the field of child and adolescent psychology in a scholarly manner through a Research Clerkship that consists of two core components: (1) a two-year course sequence that provides a comprehensive analysis of statistics and research design, as well as teaching tools related to all aspects of research, scholarly writing, and program design and (2) four years collaborating with a Research Mentor on ongoing research.
• Students hone critical thinking and presentation skills through formal presentations and poster presentations at Research Clerkship Day and Dissertation Day.
• Students may complete additional specific coursework to be eligible to sit for the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) exam in Illinois and/or to obtain a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)