Clinical Psychology

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Department of Counseling & Clinical Psychology

Program Description

Master's Program

The Master of Arts degree in Psychology in Education is designed to provide students with a foundational knowledge of psychopathology, treatment theories, and research methods. The degree program also provides focused engagement with specific content areas in clinical psychology in the form of areas of focus, which are suites of 4 courses that students may take to deepen their understanding of a specific content area.

The degree program is appropriate both for students who have obtained undergraduate degrees in Psychology and for those with a more limited background in the field. Students will have the opportunity to develop the critical thinking skills needed to interpret scientific knowledge, to review traditional and contemporary treatment models, to engage in innovative research, and to seek out fieldwork and research opportunities throughout New York City.

During their tenure, students are closely guided by the master's degree program advisors. Advisors are doctoral-level students who provide guidance and support to M.A. students in course selection, the development of their integrative projects, clarifying students’ academic goals, the application process for doctoral programs, and professional development.

It is important to know that graduates of this academic M.A. degree program are not trained for the independent practice of psychotherapy or psychological assessment. For this, a doctoral degree is typically required. Our graduates are very successful in gaining admission to Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs across the United States, and often find employment in research centers, social service agencies, non-profits, community colleges, and hospitals.

While areas of focus are not mandatory, they are helpful for streamlining the academic experience. Students may take the majority of their courses in the following areas of interest:

Child and Family
Community Psychology and Mental Health Services
Forensic Psychology
Global Mental Health and Trauma
Health Psychology
Neuropsychology and Neuroscience
Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Perspectives
Research Methods
Sexuality, Women and Gender
Spirituality Mind Body Practices
Technology and Clinical Psychology

For a complete listing of degree requirements, please continue on to this program's "Degrees" section in this document.

Doctoral Program

The Clinical Psychology Program offers a course of scientist-practitioner education leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). The Master of Science (M.S.) and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degrees are earned en passant.

Graduates from this program seek positions in teaching, research, policy, administration, and psychotherapy. Completing a 95-point doctoral degree, including an internship, typically takes five to seven years. Practicum work is done in the Teachers College Dean Hope Center for Psychological and Educational Services (Director: Dr. Dinelia Rosa).

Our scientist-practitioner model means that we are dedicated to training students to generate empirically-based knowledge in clinical psychology and to perform clinical work that is constantly informed by traditional and emerging scholarship in the field. We fully expect our students to learn to expertly produce, analyze, and present scientific material. We also expect our students to become proficient at providing clinical services to a diverse population. Furthermore, we expect our students to learn to integrate these goals. Finally, we are committed to the belief that training as a clinical psychologist must be deeply rooted in psychology itself, its body of knowledge, methods, and ethical principles that form the basis and context of clinical research and practice.

Thus, the primary goal of the Clinical Psychology Program is to provide rigorous training in both contemporary clinical science and clinical assessment and intervention. The research programs of our faculty span a wide range, including studies of clinical intervention in diverse sociocultural and geographic contexts; religious and spiritual development; altruism and caregiving; emotion and coping with trauma; suicidality; adolescence; and psychotherapy process and outcome (see individual faculty web pages). Our on-site clinic, The Dean Hope Center, now functions as both a research and clinical training center. The Center is currently participating in a nationwide study of client demographics, risk factors, and mental and physical health status.

Our clinical training has an ongoing psychodynamic tradition with increasing opportunities for additional specialization in the areas of CBT and IPT therapies, child and adolescent therapy, family systems, and neuropsychological assessment. This training emphasizes intervention and assessment across the lifespan within the context of schools, families, and communities. We are committed to an enhanced focus on ethnic, cultural, and theoretical diversity not only in our curriculum and clinical training but also among our students, faculty, and clinical supervisors. Numerous practica and externship opportunities are available throughout the New York area, and our doctoral students commonly secure placement at the most competitive internship sites. It should be noted, however, that those students whose career goal is full-time private practice without a significant research commitment will find our program inappropriate for their needs.

All Clinical Psychology doctoral students are staff members in the Dean Hope Center after their first semester in the Program and carry a regular caseload of clients. The Center sponsors case conferences, at which students present and discuss cases. Clinical work is supervised by core faculty members or by adjunct faculty who are psychologists in private practice in New York. Students usually carry four clients as part of their psychotherapy practicum and receive two hours of supervision each week with two different supervisors.

Faculty

Faculty
- George A. Bonanno Professor of Clinical Psychology
- Christine Boram Cha Honorary Research Associate Professor
- Barry A. Farber Professor of Psychology and Education
- Ayorkor Gaba Assistant Professor
- Douglas Mennin Professor of Clinical Psychology
- Lisa Jane Miller Professor of Psychology and Education
- Helen Verdeli Associate Professor of Psychology and Education
Professors of Teaching
- Matthew Blanchard Assistant Professor of Teaching
- George Coolidge Nitzburg Assistant Professor of Teaching
- Daniel Joseph Tomasulo Assistant Professor of Teaching
Adjunct Faculty
- Richard Angle Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Susan Ann Bodnar Adjunct Associate Professor
- Allison Casta Branch Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Bj Cling Adjunct Associate Professor
- Jeffrey Raymond Cole Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Joseph Carl Geraci Adjunct Associate Professor
- Deborah F Joffe Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Mark Kuras Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Christa Dawn Labouliere-Edwards Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Jonathan Lam Adjunct Assistant Professor
- David Livert Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Sari Locker Adjunct Associate Professor
- Vinus Mahmoodi Adjunct Assistant Professor
- David M. Mantell Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Nancy E. Nereo Adjunct Associate Professor
- Elizabeth Ann Owen Adjunct Associate Professor
- Dinelia Rosa Director
- Paul Steven Saks Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Derek H Suite Adjunct Assistant Professor
- Richard Waxman Adjunct Associate Professor
- Scott Thomas Wilson Adjunct Assistant Professor

Courses

CCPX 4001 - Integrative Project Preparation

This non-meeting, zero-credit course is required for students engaged in completing their Integrative Project during their final semester. You may enroll only once, and only in the final semester of your studies. Enrollment grants full-time student status for your final semester.
CCPX 4023 - Technology, Psychology, Psychotherapy

Provides students with understanding of how relationships have been impacted by advent of information technology, an orientation to how IT it being used to deliver therapeutic interventions, and discussion regarding ethics of tech and treatment of psychopathology.
CCPX 4029 - Archetypal Symbolism

This course explores the transformative power of symbols and archetypes in art and psyche. It places the imagination and our creative engagement with it to be at the heart of learning, change, and well-being. Whether it is the artist, the patient, or the healer, the psyche’s creative processes are revealed through its universal mytho-poetic structure. Symbols are everywhere around us and inside of us: in the media, visual art, literature, and client material. Yet we rarely take the time to encounter these portals of self-understanding, nor might we know how to extract the meaning offered. We will examine the metaphors, images, dreams, and fantasies that contain our symbolic life. Experiential and theoretical material will be provided as we create (collage, drawing, video); wonder; and dialogue with the language of symbols in service of optimizing creativity and health. Students will understand how to invite, recall, and interpret the symbolic structure of the psyche and to envision how to do the same for others.
CCPX 4030 - Psychology of adjustment

Healthy and pathological adjustment throughout the lifespan: stress, defense mechanisms, and coping.
CCPX 4032 - Assessment and treatment of alcohol and chemical dependency

Overview of the clinical principles governing assessment and treatment of addictive disorders; stages of addiction; issues of comorbidity; resistances to treatment.
CCPX 4035 - Personality and behavior change

Seminar covering the major theories of personality; mechanisms of behavioral change.This course will provide an introduction to the classic psychological theories of personality by considering the contributions of some of the great creative thinkers in this field including Freud, Jung, Horney, Maslow, Rogers, Erikson, Allport, Cattell, and Skinner.
CCPX 4036 - Psychology of human sexuality

This is an introductory course for students who are new to sexuality topics. The course includes basic human sexuality information related to psychological, biological, and socio-cultural aspects of sexual development from childhood to adulthood, sexual health, reproduction, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual behaviors, lifestyles, sexual dysfunction, and more. We will address how to apply information about human sexuality to education, counseling, and therapy. (For students who have previously taken a course in sexuality, the following are more suitable: CCPJ 4180, HBSS 4113, CCPJ 4903.)
CCPX 4037 - Introduction to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)

Overview of the essential principles and techniques of CBT for mood and anxiety disorders.
CCPX 4038 - Comparative psychotherapies

Survey and analysis of representative psychotherapies in current practice: psychoanalytic, neo-Freudian, Gestalt, Jungian, client-centered, existential, behavior therapy, and others.
CCPX 4039 - Critical Perspectives on Non-Traditional Psychotherapies

Overview and evaluation of nontraditional treatment approaches including existential, Jungian, spiritually-oriented, holistic, and transpersonal psychotherapies, Ericksonian hypnosis, and Eastern-oriented models.
CCPX 4040 - Introduction to psychological testing and assessment

This is an introductory and survey course of the basic principles, theories, issues, and practices in the field of psychological assessment.
CCPX 4043 - Cognition & Psychopathology

The central theme of course CCPX 4043 focuses on how cognitive systems are impacted by and in turn impact on behavioral, affective and psychosocial manifestations of psychopathology. This course is designed to provide the student with foundational knowledge of cognitive science as it plays a major role in the expression of abnormal behavior. Following a brief review of biological systems which contextualize cognition and abnormal behavior, the student will learn about major cognitive systems including; orientation, attention, sensation, perception, motor organization, language, learning, memory, problem solving and executive functions as they are influenced by and interact with motivation, affect and social behavior. These systems will then be examined within the context of maladaptive behavior, particularly focusing on cognitive deficits contributing to the clinical profiles associated with psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders and dementias triggered by degenerative and acquired neurological insults. Applications of cognitive assessment, cognitive remediation and behavior management will be examined as strategies employed to extend our understanding of the relationship between cognition and psychopathology.
CCPX 4044 - Positive Psychology

This course will investigate the use of evidence based interventions and their modifications derived from positive psychology. We learn to see not only what is wrong-but also what is strong in ourselves and others. Lectures, experiential and meditative exercises, videos, demonstrations, and discussions.
CCPX 4050 - Intro to Health Psychology

This course will give students an overview of health psychology, a transdisciplinary field that synthesizes findings from several branches of psychology (clinical, social, behavioral, and developmental, among others) and as well as other disciplines including medicine, epidemiology, genetics and allied health.
CCPX 4055 - Spirituality Mind-Body Medicine: Varieties of Transformative Experience in Psycho-Spiritual Growth

In this course we will explore the depths of our human capacity for transformation from a variety of perspectives, including neuroscience, quantum physics, psychology, Buddhism and other spiritual perspectives, anomalous phenomena, and the mind-body connection. We will learn how, as embodied beings, we can integrate spiritual dimensions into our daily lives, and how this integration can facilitate healing on many levels. There will be particular focus on relating what we read and discuss to the clinical practice of psychotherapy. The class will provide a safe environment for exploring our unique personal perspectives and challenges regarding psycho-spiritual growth.
CCPX 4060 - The psychology of loss and trauma

Focus on how humans cope with significant losses and trauma: historical developments, recent empirical advances, cross-cultural variations, and clinical and social implications.
CCPX 4070 - Explorations in Madness

What does it mean to be "mad"? This course covers current theoretical, clinical, diagnostic, and empirical knowledge of psychotic disorders. Using the DSM-5 TR, academic texts, clinical material, and first-hand accounts, we will try to understand these conditions, always mindful of the humanity and dignity of those who seek help for schizophrenia, psychosis, and other altered states of consciousness. We will ask what it means to receive these diagnostic labels. Methods of treatment including psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, biological and psychosocial techniques will be explored, along with the sometimes terrifying and often creatively beautiful realm of psychotic experience.
CCPX 4112 - Purpose-Driven Innovation Blending Behavioral Science and Spiritual Practice

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CCPX 4120 - Psychotherapy through fiction and film

Psychotherapy, the therapist, and psychopathology as reflected in current fiction and film.
CCPX 4125 - Women and mental health

Examination of a range of theories of women's psychological development, interpersonal experience and social roles, as well as the intersection of women's biology and health with psychological status.
CCPX 4126 - The mother-child matrix: Developmental and clinical implications

The mother-child relationship: Implications for development and influence on clinical theory and practice, focus on theories of parenting, ruptures in the relationship and therapy with mothers and children.
CCPX 4127 - Spiritual Wellness

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CCPX 4132 - Perinatal Mental Health

Issues related to mental health before, during, and after pregnancy and family building. Students will understand the etiology, theories, and treatment modalities for psychopathology around pregnancy.
CCPX 4140 - Spirituality in Education

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CCPX 4141 - Spirituality in Education Part 2

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CCPX 4150 - Introduction to forensic psychology

The practice and application of forensic psychology to medical-legal problems and nomenclature in diagnosis, evaluation, assessment, treatment, and testimony regarding criminal behavior, psychopathology, and civil, family, and criminal law.
CCPX 4170 - Child & Adol Foresnc Asmnt

This introductory course reviews widely used forensic assessment instruments and interview protocols and guidelines for pre-school to late teenage children who are court involved. The selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of assessment results are illustrated in redacted, court ordered evaluations and in court decisions. A wide range of clinical disorders including PTSD, reactive attachment disorder, violence risk assessment, and child sexual abuse aftermath issues are covered.
CCPX 4171 - Spirituality and the Animal Human Bond

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CCPX 4230 - Fieldwork in applied psychology

Supervised practice in field placements for M.A. students in applied or general psychology.
CCPX 4900 - Research & Independent Study: Clinical Psychology

Permission required.
CCPX 5010 - Introduction to global mental health

This is a foundation course in global mental health and includes topics central to research, practice, and policy of common and severe mental health conditions around the globe with emphasis on under-resourced regions. It encourages learners to think critically about the cultural, clinical, research, and ethical assumptions of the global mental health field.
CCPX 5011 - Psychotherapy Around the Globe

This course covers Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy and the WHO Mental Health Gap Humanitarian Intervention Guide. This training is designed for students interested in working with populations exposed to severe adversities and trauma. Teachers College students must enroll for 3 credits.
CCPX 5020 - Cognition, Emotion, and Culture

This course covers the seminal and contemporary theories and research on human thought and emotion, with an additional focus on cultural influence and clinical application. Students will learn emotion theory, models of cognition, and information processing research, reading landmark studies and applying the material to everyday life.
CCPX 5026 - Rational Emotive Beh Therapy

Exploration of Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), it’s benefits, and of its tools for application to their own lives and for others in their lives. For students who intend to work as therapists: the course provides clear tools, methods and techniques for applying with clients they will work with.
CCPX 5032 - Adult psychopathology

Major clinical disorders of adulthood viewed from clinical and research perspectives; current issues in diagnosis and treatment.
CCPX 5033 - The evolution of Freud's psychological theories

Intensive examination of selected psychological works of Sigmund Freud from 1892 to 1940, focusing on theoretical innovations, modifications, and elaborations.
CCPX 5034 - Child psychopathology

Major clinical syndromes of childhood and adolescence viewed within the context of normal development. Consideration of various theoretical, diagnostic, etiological, and therapeutic viewpoints.
CCPX 5035 - Clinical Psychopharmacology

Basic principles of neuroscience, medical physiology, psychopathology, and pharmacology; uses and limitations associated with psychotropic medication. Particular attention will be given to clinical considerations and complexities involved with the use of this class of drugs, including but not limited to therapeutic benefits, adverse effects, drug-drug interactions and contra-indications.
CCPX 5036 - Clinical work with diverse populations

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CCPX 5037 - Dynamic Psychotherapies

Theories and approaches of contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapies. Covers Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy (TLDP) and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) among other recent approaches.
CCPX 5038 - Cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal therapies

Open to doctoral candidates in psychology, others by permission. Introduction to theory and technique underlying treatment within the following modalities: Cognitive, Behavioral, Interpersonal, and Short-Term Psychodynamic. The course will explore the application of these various treatment approaches to a range of disorders including depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, OCD, and schizophrenia.
CCPX 5045 - Psychotherapy, religious diversity, and spirituality

This course will focus on the role of religion and spirituality in psychotherapy. Research, theory and case material will be used to clarify healing dimensions of religion and spirituality. Discussion will focus on a re-examination of models of psyche and goals of treatment.
CCPX 5061 - No Title Found in Banner

This course introduces students to the field of military psychology, including its history and practice/research with military Servicemembers and Veterans. Students will evaluate the range of psychological responses to combat and other military-related traumas and stressors. They will study topics including military selection and assessment, suicide prevention, Prisoner of War (POW) experiences and training, moral injury, and the implementation and limitation of PTSD/mTBI treatments. Students will be able to explore innovative approaches to address current psychological issues facing Servicemembers and Veterans.
CCPX 5062 - Neuropsychology

Following an introduction to the philosophical and historical roots of neuropsychology, students will review current theories and concepts that help define neuropsychology as a contemporary science. Traditional concepts such as nature – nurture, human development and psychopathology, will be examined within the contemporary context of neuroplasticity, neural networks, brain connectivity, cognitive and brain reserve and intra and inter species adaptation. Students will learn about research strategies and methodologies employed in the study of neuropsychology as they review the anatomy and physiology of the CNS and PNS. Using this information as a foundation, students will learn about neurocognitive systems including: attention, sensation, perception, motor organization, language, learning, memory, mood and motivation and executive functions. Students will examine these systems from the adaptive and maladaptive perspectives as they relate these concepts to the pathophysiology of acquired, degenerative and neuropsychiatric brain disorders. To facilitate their understanding of clinical applications of neuropsychology, students will be introduced to methods and procedures of neuropsychological assessment, cognitive rehabilitation and behavior management.
CCPX 5075 - Psychology, Law, & Sexualized Violence

This course explores the intersection of the field of Psychology with the field of Law, specifically around sexual harms to women and children. In particular it looks at rape, interpersonal violence, sexual harassment and the Me Too movement, sex trafficking, stalking, and child sexual abuse and Megan's Law (requiring sex offenders to register).
CCPX 5110 - Research apprenticeship

Permission required. Involvement as a research extern in community agencies or as a research assistant to departmental faculty.
CCPX 5160 - No Title Found in Banner

This course provides an introduction to forensic assessment of children and adolescents who are court involved as victims, perpetrators and co-litigants. The course addresses the child and adolescent evaluation issues that are involved in child protection, juvenile justice, family and criminal court cases and the assessment instruments used by forensic clinical psychologists to respond to referral requests by these courts.
CCPX 5230 - Fieldwork in clinical psychology

Limited to doctoral candidates in clinical psychology. Supervised practice in field placements. This course requires a minimum of 27 hours per week of out of classroom work.
CCPX 5330 - Principles and techniques of clinical assessment

Limited to doctoral candidates in clinical, counseling, and school psychology. Theory and practice of psychological testing; focus on cognitive assessment. CCPX 5333 Practicum in Clinical Supervision and Consultation Design, methodology, and artifact in research. Development of research proposals. Critical review of journal articles.
CCPX 5333 - Practicum: Psychological Testing and Assessment

Limited to doctoral candidates in clinical, counseling, and school psychology. Theory and practice of psychological testing; focus on cognitive assessment.
CCPX 5334 - Practicum: Clinical work with children and adolescents

Limited to doctoral candidates in Clinical, Counseling, and School psychology. Psychological assessment of children and adolescents, including interviewing techniques, observational methods, and psychodiagnostic testing.
CCPX 5533 - Research methods in clinical psychology

Design, methodology, and artifact in research. Development of research proposals. Critical review of journal articles.
CCPX 5534 - Research Methods in Clinical Psychology

Design, methodology, and artifact in research. Development of research proposals. Critical review of journal articles.
CCPX 5535 - Research practicum in clinical psychology

Permission required. Supervised research in clinical psychology.
CCPX 5539 - Clinical assessment: The interview

Open ONLY to Doctoral students in Clinical Psychology providing intake services at the Dean Hope Center. Introductory didactic and practice seminar in clinical interviewing.
CCPX 5610 - Clinical psychology colloquium

Clinical faculty and guest speakers. Permission required.
CCPX 5630 - Case conference

Permission required. Corequisite: CCPX 5333, CCPX 6335, CCPX 6336, CCPJ 5360, CCPJ 6360, or CCPJ 6364. For practicum students in the Dean Hope Center. All trainees must attend at least five conferences each term.
CCPX 6020 - History and systems of psychology

Survey of the history of psychology from the ancient Greeks to the present. Discussion of theoretical systems including Associationism, Structuralism, Behaviorism, Psychoanalysis, and Existentialism.
CCPX 6278 - Social Psychology

This course is designed for doctoral and masters students to deepen their understanding of social psychological research and theory. Familiarity with the methods of psychological science is assumed. We will also consider the myriad applications of social psychology methods and findings in other disciplines and in a range of settings.
CCPX 6333 - Practicum in clinical supervision

Permission required. Seminar and supervised practice in the teaching and supervision of clinical assessment and intake.
CCPX 6335 - Practicum:Clinical Interventn

Permission required. For second-year doctoral students in clinical psychology, two semesters (3; 0-1 during summer). Supervised practice in psychotherapy as staff members of the Dean Hope Center.
CCPX 6336 - Adv Prcm:Clinical Intervention

Permission required. Prerequisite: CCPX 6335. For third-year doctoral students in Clinical Psychology.
CCPX 6338 - Advanced Practicum in Clinical Intervention II

Permission required. Prerequisite: CCPX 6336. For fourth-year students in clinical psychology, two semesters, (0 or 1 points each semester).
CCPX 6430 - Internship in clinical psychology

For advanced doctoral students in clinical psychology. Experience under supervision in approved mental health agency. One year full-time or part-time equivalent.
CCPX 6900 - Advanced research and independent study

Permission required.
CCPX 7500 - Dissertation seminar

Permission required. Development of doctoral dissertations and presentation of plans for approval. Registration limited to two terms.
CCPX 8900 - Dissertation advisement

Individual advisement on doctoral dissertations. Fee to equal 3 points at current tuition rate of each term.

Clinical Psychology | Counseling & Clinical Psychology