Missions

Our fundamental goal is the development of ethical, competent, generalist psychologists trained in the local clinical scientist model (Diddams, MacDonald, & Skidmore, 2004; Stricker & Trierweiler, 1995; Trierweiler & Stricker, 1998), who are respectful of human diversity, knowledgeable about and committed to social justice, and who contribute to their communities and to the field of psychology. Our educational focus is preparation in the applied practice of clinical and counseling psychology based upon the body of scientific knowledge and ethical principles of our profession.

Our primary mode of training is “learning by doing.” In addition to this experiential training focus, we are aware that we are all members of a broader global community. Consequently, we provide an array of training seminars, training supervisors, and training experiences with a practical, experiential approach. To the extent possible, we use the naturally occurring events, not only in the university community but nationally and globally as well for opportunities in training. These experiences often provide a valuable means of meeting training objectives.

1. We are committed to training in the Local Clinical Scientist model; an augmentation of the Scientist-Practitioner Model.
2. We are committed to a broad range of skill development encompassing counseling, therapeutic, programmatic and educational interventions.
3. We are committed to training in understanding and respecting human diversity and to providing effective services to diverse clientele and collaboration with diverse colleagues.
4. We are committed to facilitating the development of professional identity and professionalism.
5. We are committed to flexibility in developing each intern's training program.

The PWCs provide: sufficient breadth to ensure that the training program is adequately training competent generalists who are prepared for post-doctoral practice; a structure for the evaluation of interns in the training program; alignment with the Standards of Accreditation as published by the APA’s Commission on Accreditation. They are:

1. Research
2. Ethical and legal standards
3. Individual and cultural diversity
4. Professional values and attitudes
5. Communication and interpersonal skills
6. Assessment
7. Intervention
8. Supervision
9. Consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills.

Each intern is given at least one opportunity to demonstrate their competence in each of these nine areas. For instance, throughout the internship year interns will demonstrate their competence with consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills through outreach activities.