Doctor of Clinical Psychology

Our Approach

The Psy.D. program at CIIS is carefully designed to prepare students for practice-focused careers in clinical psychology. Rooted in the practitioner-scholar model, our students engage in rigorous academic coursework and comprehensive clinical training, in addition to completing their dissertation.

Classes are grounded in the philosophical foundations of psychoanalytic thought, psychodynamic perspectives on the therapeutic relationship, personal and social dimensions of the unconscious, and radical and critical approaches in psychodynamic psychotherapy. These courses are taken simultaneously with professional seminars in which students are taught to link theory and practice through in-depth discussion of clinical cases. The program also actively cultivates a dialogue between Western psychology and other wisdom/spiritual traditions. Students take electives in areas such as Buddhism and psychotherapy, mindfulness and meditation, comparative mystical practice, psychedelic studies, dialectical-behavioral therapy and other third wave interventions.

As part of the program, students also have the opportunity to conduct their clinical practicum hours at the Psychological Services Center, one of the six award-winning clinics at CIIS. Under faculty supervision, students provide individual, couple, family, and group counseling and assessment to Bay Area residents.

Career Paths

The mission of the Clinical Psychology program is to train students to become resourceful and integrative clinicians, skilled in the application of psychological theories and their specific interventions, capable in client assessment and diagnosis, and researchers able to produce scholarship that contributes to the psychological profession. With an understanding of human differences, and the deconstruction of the dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression. We provide extensive theoretical and practical experience so that our students graduate ready to make the most of any opportunities, which includes: 

• Comprehensive preparation to sit for CA licensing exams.
• Training and experience in clinical intervention modalities.
• Expertise in all current assessment and diagnostic techniques.
• Advanced skills in designing and conducting primary research in a range of clinical topics.
• Skillset and mindset to lead at the forefront of evolving clinical practice.
• Practical knowledge directed toward building a private practice.
• Cultural sensitivity and experience to work successfully with diverse populations.

Curriculum

The Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology is an in-person program taught by experienced faculty who are experts in their fields. Students take three years of coursework in addition to two years of practicum starting in their second year. Upon completion of the core courses and the practicums, students will complete an oral examination for approval to begin the required 2000 hour pre-doctoral internship. Students are also required to complete and defend a dissertation before completion of the degree. Students begin writing the proposal in their second year, allowing ample time for topic development and research.

Clinical Training

Clinical training in our program is fully integrated with the academic work. Each student gains two years of practicum experience in community agencies, requiring about 20 hours a week at the training site. A minimum of one hour per week of individual supervision by a licensed psychologist, group supervision, and didactic trainings are offered at these off-campus sites.

At the same time, students complete professional seminar courses at CIIS with a core faculty member; "prosems" support integration of theory, research, and clinical materials from classroom learning with the real world experience of psychotherapy in clinical settings. Prosem is the heart of clinical training in the Psy.D. program. Read about the Contemporary Psychodynamic Training Model this program employs.

When all required coursework and practica have been completed, students may begin the clinical internship at an approved training site. Specific sites are listed on the California Psychology Internship Council website.

The internship may be one year of full-time or two years of half-time work and must be completed within two and a half years from the beginning date. In their internship, students deepen their skills in offering a variety of psychological services including treatment planning and psychotherapy, psychological assessment, case consultation, and supervision, often working in multidisciplinary teams, across the spectrum of psychopathologies.

Support for the process of selecting, applying for, and completing practicum and internship experiences is offered by the Psy.D. Director of Clinical Training and Field Placement Specialist.

Research and Training

The mission of the Clinical Psychology program is to train psychology practitioners rather than researchers. However, all Psy.D. graduates will have mastered research skills sufficient to produce a clinical dissertation and prepare them to be proficient consumers of psychological science.

Research training is conducted in the context of psychological science as the cornerstone of effective clinical practice. Students are also expected to gain a scientific understanding of how individuals interact with others, behave in groups, and relate to the broader contexts in which they live their lives.

Our Psy.D. program is notable in the breadth of research methodologies and topics chosen by students, for example: treatment outcome studies, applied program evaluation studies, studies of underserved populations, and studies of psychospiritual issues.

Curriculum Highlights

PSY 6146 Psychodynamic Work With Dreams (2 units) In psychotherapy, dreams provide an opportunity for therapist and client to encounter unconscious material together. Consequently, dreams are crucial to the psychodynamic approach. Psychodynamic theory concerning the nature and purpose of dreams will be surveyed in this course. Building on that foundation, and using clinical case examples, the course will focus on methods of working with dreams and the transference/countertransference implications of dreamwork. Issues of assessment and of trauma in dreams will be addressed.

PSY 6203 Psyche and Technology (2 units) This elective course considers the current impacts of technology on psychological and relational experiences as well as ways in which our psyches and relationships inform and drive technological innovations. In this course, which is part philosophy, part technoethics, and part anthropological exploration, we will consider the current technological context in which the therapeutic endeavor occurs. This course will also prepare students to address common clinical issues, such as parenting dilemmas and technology, connections and disconnections in communities and relationships and technology, dating and hookup apps, problematic porn use and technology use, and technologically assisted psychotherapy, among other relevant and contemporary topics.

PSY 6724 Buddhism and Psychotherapy (3 units) The course surveys principles and practice of major schools of Buddhism—Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan—to bear on contemporary varieties of psychological suffering. Central themes such as the nature of self, impermanence, suffering, insight, and liberation will be explored from both Buddhist and Western psychotherapeutic perspectives. The specific Buddhist and psychotherapeutic approaches to be highlighted in the course may vary depending on the expertise and orientation of the instructor. Likewise, the extent of experiential exploration of Buddhist meditation and its use in psychotherapy in this course may vary depending on the instructor.