Overview of the Clinical Curriculum

In order to meet the objectives of the clinical program, students are expected to obtain advanced understanding of the core knowledge domains of adult and child clinical psychology, acquire rudimentary clinical skills in psychological assessment and intervention, and develop recognized expertise in psychological research.  To achieve these goals, the doctoral clinical program consists of 60 credit hours of academic course work, independent research projects, a comprehensive examination, clinical practica, internship, and thesis research.

Courses and other program requirements cover nine critical content areas:

The following are the courses and other requirements that must be satisfied for the Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology:

• Psyc 6001 Statistics and Design I
• Psyc 6002 Statistics and Design II
• Psyc 6003 Multivariate Statistics or Psyc 6004 Qualitative Research Methods
• Psyc 6101 Ethical Standards
• Psyc 6102 Professional and Ethical Issues in Clinical Psychology
• Psyc 6202 Adult Psychopathology
• ­Psyc 6203 Psychological Problems of Children and Adolescents
• Psyc 6205 Foundations of Clinical Psychology
• Psyc 6211 Assessment Skills with Children and Adolescents
• Psyc 6212 Assessment Skills with Adults
• Psyc 6311 Therapy Skills with Adults
• Psyc 6312 Basic Therapy Skills with Children
• Psyc 6401 Seminar in Clinical Psychology I
• Psyc 6519 Advanced Research Apprenticeship                    
• Plus courses totalling 6 credits outside the clinical area
• Plus 2 advanced skills courses (Psyc 6214, 6313, 6314, 6315, 6316, 6318, 6404)¹
• Psyc 6521 Master’s Research Apprenticeship
• Psyc 6522 Ph.D. Research Apprenticeship
• Psyc 6523 Co-Teaching Apprenticeship
• Psyc 6525 Clinical Comprehensive Examination
• Psyc 6621 Practicum in Adult Clinical Psychology
• Psyc 6622 Practicum in Child/Adolescent Clinical Psychology
• Psyc 6623 Advanced Practicum in Clinical Psychology
• Psyc 6624 Predoctoral Clinical Internship
• Psyc 6998 Dissertation²

There are four types of instruction or training that clinical students will receive in this program. 

(i)        Academic Seminars - most of these courses take the traditional academic seminar format with reading lists, student presentations, and papers or examinations; others use a problem-based format. 

(ii)       Clinical Skills Training Courses - these courses offer direct clinical skills training to students using a performance-based approach and are designated by the term “skills” in the course title.  Skills courses are taught by full-time clinical faculty or clinical associates, all of whom are licensed with the College of Psychologists of New Brunswick.  Students can acquire a predetermined number of practicum hours from their participation in a clinical skills course.

(iii)      Independent Study - these course designations are for independent projects that students undertake usually with the supervision or consultation of a faculty member (e.g., research projects, co-teaching apprenticeship).

(iv)           Clinical Training Experiences - students are required to complete 1000 hours of practicum training in at least two direct service agencies.  They must have at least 350 hours in child/adolescent and 350 hours in adult, with the remaining 300 hours of their choosing.  One practicum must be a full-time four month placement at a single external treatment facility.  All clinical students are also required to complete a CPA-accredited one year full-time predoctoral internship.

In addition to courses in psychological assessment, intervention, and research, students in the clinical program must fulfill course requirements in the following five core content areas: 

1.         Individual Behaviour

This requirement is fulfilled by completing Psyc 6202 Adult Psychopathology and Psyc 6203 Psychological Problems of Children and Adolescents.  Both of these courses are

required of all students in the clinical program.

2.         Historical and Scientific Foundations of General Psychology

This requirement is fulfilled by obtaining a B+ or greater in a three credit one semester undergraduate course in History of Psychology.  Students entering the clinical program without an undergraduate History of Psychology course must take a course in this subject matter in order to fulfill this program requirement.  Even though the student will not receive graduate credit for taking this course, a mark of at least B+ must be attained in order to satisfy this program requirement.

The remaining three core content areas can be satisfied by one three-credit graduate course or two three-credit undergraduate courses.  However, students must take at least two graduate courses so that two of the three content areas are fulfilled at the graduate level.  That is, only one of the following content areas can be satisfied by undergraduate courses.   The Director of Clinical Training (DCT), in consultation with relevant faculty, will determine which undergraduate courses on a student’s transcript might be used to fulfill a content area.

3.         Biological Bases of Behaviour (e.g., physiological psychology, perception,   neuropsychology, psychopharmacology).

4.         Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behaviour (e.g., learning, cognition, motivation).

5.          Social Bases of Behaviour (e.g., social psychology; cultural ethnic and group processes; sex roles; organizational and systems theory). 

To help students plan their program so that they fulfill all requirements, a “Student Completion Record of Clinical Psychology Program Requirements” form is provided to students during their first term in the program; it is also available on the Psychology Department website.