Clinical Psychology

Program Mission

The clinical program is dedicated to training psychological clinical scientists who will (1) conduct research that helps advance our understanding of the etiology, assessment, and treatment of behavioral health problems with the goal of ameliorating these problems, (2) engage in the delivery of empirically-supported interventions for a variety of behavioral health problems, and (3) work to disseminate psychological clinical science through a variety of activities, such as publishing, teaching, training/supervising therapists in empirically-supported interventions, program development and evaluation, and development of policy that may change the way we care for those in our society who suffer from behavioral health problems. We adhere strongly to a clinical science model, which means that our training program has been designed to reflect the integration of science and practice across all aspects of training. Thus, graduates of our program might be found in multiple settings, including academia, medical centers, and administration. In these positions, our graduates often engage in both research and direct provision of psychological services.

Successful students in our program typically have a strong background and interest research, and many of our graduates continue to contribute to foundational knowledge in psychological clinical science during their career. Thus, applicants who are interested primarily in the provision of mental health services and/or who are not interested in conducting research would not be a good fit for our training program.

Program Strengths

Our research strengths lie in the following areas: addictions and drug abuse, including treatment outcome research, mechanisms of behavior change in the treatment of addictive behaviors, eating disorders, cultural adaptation of empirically based interventions for diverse populations, health disparities, sexual victimization, pediatric psychology and pediatric neuroscience, positive psychology, and health psychology.

We also offer program emphases in the following areas: Health Psychology, Diversity/Multicultural Psychology, and Quantitative Methods.

Accreditation

The Ph.D. program in clinical psychology is accredited by Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) through 2031 and the Commission on Accreditation of American Psychological Association (APA) and is a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS). 

PCSAS contact information: Joseph E. Steinmetz, Ph.D., Executive Director; 1101 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47401; jsteinmetz@pcsas.org; 479-301-8008

Curriculum

In addition to the courses required of all students, clinical students complete the following courses: Introduction to Clinical Science, Psychopathology, Pre-Clinical Practicum, Cognitive and Neuropsychological Evaluation, Personality Assessment, Diversity/Multicultural Issues, Clinical Ethics, Empirically Supported Treatments, four clinical electives, and courses needed to satisfy the APA Discipline Specific Knowledge (DSK) requirements (i.e., courses across Affective, Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, and Social areas). Notably, the program courses that meet the DSK requirements are integrative in nature, as we believe training in psychological clinical science should capitalize on the knowledge base of related disciplines (please see the graduate handbook for additional information regarding our curriculum and other training opportunities). Clinical students are not required to complete a minor; however, we offer a training emphasis in the following areas: Multicultural Diversity, Health Psychology, and Quantitative Methods. Because we realize that student training goals are disparate, students are permitted flexibility in their choice of clinical electives.

Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data

Current Practicum Opportunities

Clinical Faculty

• Cassandra Boness
• Kristina Rewin Ciesielski
• Sarah Erickson
• Joshua Grubbs
• Margo Hurlocker
• Theresa Moyers
• Bruce Smith
• Jane Ellen Smith
• Kamilla Venner
• Steven Verney
• Katie Witkiewitz
• Elizabeth Yeater