Research & Training Program for Psychology
This program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association and is a founding member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science. The specific goals of the program are the following:
- Develop a broad foundation and understanding of the knowledge base in psychology and, more specifically, in the field of clinical psychology, as well as an understanding of current issues in the field.
- Create a training environment that fosters the acquisition and application of the knowledge base and skills needed to make significant research contributions, develop grant proposals, and contribute to the empirical and theoretical literatures.
- Produce skilled clinicians who understand and can apply empirically supported principles and techniques of assessment and intervention in clinical activities, supervision, and consultation.
- Promote and provide training experiences in the integration of science and practice.
- Foster appreciation for and knowledge of cultural and individual diversity, together with the ability to apply such knowledge in both research and practice.
- Provide a grounding in ethical and legal principles that relate to research and practice.
Our program develops competent and creative clinical scientists who are capable of functioning successfully in academic, research, clinical, and community settings. Within this multifaceted training framework, we seek to train students who are interested in research careers. Our training program is primarily an apprenticeship for a career that will encompass making significant contributions to scientific clinical psychology. The program is not appropriate for those interested solely in clinical practice and not in research.
In addition to our strong emphasis on research training, students in our program also receive excellent clinical training because we believe that in order to be a good clinical researcher, one needs to be a good clinician as well. At many levels, therefore, we seek to integrate clinical and research training. The program has its own on-campus training clinic, the Psychological Services and Training Center. In addition, many other training sites are available in the Seattle area. The quality of clinical training in the University of Washington Clinical Psychology Program is nationally recognized, and nearly all of our students are successful in obtaining either their first or second choice in the highly competitive national Predoctoral Internship Match Program.
Our goal is to help students develop strengths in research and clinical practice as well as the critical thinking skills and abilities necessary to integrate these domains. We expect that our graduates will become leaders and innovators in the field of psychology in clinical, research, or academic settings. Within this framework, we endorse nurturing and supportive models of learning and teaching that combine coursework, clinical research, and professional practice with heavy emphasis on traditional mentorship relationships.