The California Institute of Integral Studies was the first accredited university in North America to offer programs that synthesize the insights of Western psychology with Eastern spirituality. A pioneer of integral education, the University is dedicated to the creation and integration of knowledge beyond the confines of traditional academic disciplines. We strive to connect the fragmentary aspects of contemporary thought and culture into meaningful wholes, as well as to facilitate the integration of mind, body and spirit in a manner that reflects the diversity of the world's cultures and traditions. We believe that such syntheses facilitate deep understanding of the human condition, as well as insight into the most effective ways of helping those in need.

Our distinctive approach to doctoral education in clinical psychology reflects these commitments. We are guided by a vision of psychotherapeutic clinical practice that emphasizes holism, depth, and difference. We teach the value of open inquiry and multiple ways of knowing, emphasizing that knowledge is contextual. At the center of this kind of inquiry are whole persons enlivened through a matrix of relationships, including those with essential others; with nature and spirit (the original Latin meaning of ‘psyche'); and with communities, power structures and cultural meaning systems. We believe that psychological suffering often arises from the fracturing of these crucial relationships.

Our faculty views the educational process itself as holistic and relational, as we aspire to "walk our talk" in the learning environment—one that is creative, inclusive and transformative on both personal and professional levels.