Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

Program Goals

The Doctor of Psychology Program at Azusa Pacific University:

• Seeks to educate and train students to be "practitioner-scholars" so they are equipped to provide quality psychological services to their communities based upon the findings of research and the science of psychology.
• Approaches the knowledge of psychology from a Christian perspective and trains students to exemplify the servanthood of Christ in their practice of psychology.
• Provides an integrative sequence of courses so students may understand the interrelationship between ethics, moral and spiritual identity formation, theology, and psychology.
• Emphasizes family psychology, the distinctive focus on the interaction between individual, interpersonal, and environmental aspects of human behavior.
• Recognizes the diversity of human experience and enables students to respond to the variety of human needs.
• Encourages individual growth and development as part of the educational experience so students develop congruence and authenticity as they balance the demands of professional and personal life.

Chanté Deloach '03 Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology: Family Psychology Counseling and Psychological Services Intern California State University, Long Beach

"At APU, I found a unique atmosphere of sensitivity and commitment to students and their success I had not found at larger research universities. This program offers excellent clinical training by faculty who are expert clinicians. They have a vested interest in facilitating growth in their students' interpersonal process as individuals and professionals. I have stellar diagnostic, assessment, and treatment skills compared to my counterparts at other institutions."

The Seven Core Competencies of the Psy.D. Program

The curriculum for the Psy.D. Program is competency based. Such a curriculum recognizes that it is essential to identify core competency areas in psychology as the primary organizing principle for a professional degree. Successful degree completion requires the achievement of the competencies necessary to function well in the field of psychology. The APU Psy.D. curriculum reflects concern for the development of seven core competencies in psychology: research and evaluation, relationship, assessment, intervention, diversity, consultation and education, and management and supervision. The seven professional competency areas may be defined briefly:

1. Research and evaluation comprise a systematic mode of inquiry involving problem identification and the acquisition, organization, and interpretation of information pertaining to psychological phenomena. Psychologists have learned to think critically and engage in rigorous, careful, and disciplined scientific inquiry. Education and training in the epistemological foundations of research, the design and use of qualitative and quantitative methods, the analysis of data, the application of research conclusions, and sensitivity to philosophical and ethical concerns is needed in order for psychologists to develop in this area.
2. Relationship is the capacity to develop and maintain a constructive working alliance with clients. This competency is informed by psychological knowledge of self and others. In the development of the relationship competency, special attention should be given to the diversity of persons encountered in clinical practice. Curriculum design includes education and training in attitudes essential for the development of the relationship competency, such as intellectual curiosity and flexibility, open-mindedness, belief in the capacity to change, appreciation of individual and cultural diversity, personal integrity and honesty, and a value of self-awareness. Experiential learning with self-reflection and direct observation and feedback by peers and experts are essential in the development of this competency.
3. Assessment is an ongoing, interactive, and inclusive process that serves to describe, conceptualize, and predict relevant aspects of a client. Assessment is a fundamental process that is interwoven with all other aspects of professional practice. As currently defined, assessment involves a comprehensive approach addressing a wide range of client functions. Assessment takes into account sociocultural context and focuses not only on limitations and dysfunctions, but also on competencies, strengths, and effectiveness. Assessment increasingly addresses the relationship between the individual and his or her systemic context. The assessment curriculum is not limited to courses but involves a pattern of experiences covering general principles as well as specific techniques. Supervised skill training is an essential component of the assessment curriculum.
4. Intervention involves activities that promote, restore, sustain, or enhance positive functioning and a sense of well-being in clients through preventive, developmental, or remedial services. The intervention competency is based on the knowledge of theories of individual and systemic change, theories of intervention, methods of evaluation, quality assurance, professional ethical principles, and standards of practice. Effective training for intervention includes knowledge of a broad diversity of clients and teaching materials, practicum client populations, teachers, and supervisors. Service systems reflect diversity. The issues of power and authority are particularly relevant to this competency.
5. Diversity refers to an affirmation of the richness of human differences, ideas, and beliefs. An inclusive definition of diversity includes but is not limited to age, color, disability and health, ethnicity, gender, language, national origin, race, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status, as well as the intersection of these multiple identities and multiple statuses. Exploration of power differentials, power dynamics, and privilege is at the core of understanding diversity issues and their impact on social structures and institutionalized forms of discrimination.
   
   Training of psychologists includes opportunities to develop understanding, respect, and value for cultural and individual differences. A strong commitment to the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support high regard for human diversity is integrated throughout the professional psychology training program and its organizational culture.
6. Consultation is a planned, collaborative interaction that is an explicit intervention process based on principles and procedures found within psychology and related disciplines in which the professional psychologist does not have direct control of the actual change process. Education is the directed facilitation by the professional psychologist for the growth of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the learner. Students are required to complete experiential tasks in consultation and education as part of their coursework or internship.
7. Management consists of those activities that direct, organize, or control the services of psychologists and others as offered or rendered to the public. Supervision is a form of management blended with teaching in the context of relationship directed toward the enhancement of competence in the supervisee. This competency is informed by the knowledge of professional ethics and standards, theories of individual and systemic functioning and change, dysfunctional behavior and psychopathology, cultural bases of behavior, theoretical models of supervision, and awareness of diversity. Self-management processes and structures are provided for students. Demonstrated competence in supervision includes the development of receptivity to supervision and the acquisition of skills in providing supervision.*

*Adapted from Bent, R. (1992). The professional core competency areas. In R.L. Peterson, et al. (Eds.) The core curriculum in professional psychology. (pp. 77-81). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.