Health Psychology and Clinical Science

Doctoral students in  Health Psychology and Clinical Science (HPCS) will receive a thorough training in clinical and health psychology, including current theoretical perspectives, the conduct and evaluation of scientific research methods, and evidence-based prevention and intervention practice across a diverse set of populations. HPCS has a commitment to the interaction between physical and mental health, a focus on health disparities and the influence of sociocultural contexts, and the advancement of health equity from a biopsychosocial perspective.

The program embodies a clinical science model of training in the evidence-based practice of health service psychology.  The program for predoctoral students includes core coursework and intensive supervised research and clinical and health science practica in laboratory, health care, and community settings. The program utilizes a mentorship model in which students will work closely with one or two faculty advisor(s). The faculty has strong expertise in a number of processes relevant to clinical and health psychological science, including: biopsychosocial determinants of physical and mental health and illness; neurobiological bases of emotion function and dysfunction; stress, coping, and adjustment to chronic illness; social-cognitive risk factors for mental disorders and physical illness; adherence to treatment; emotion regulation; health communication; and health disparities.

Beyond a firm foundation in psychology, we offer strong methodological training. These areas of concentration in the program are supplemented by further expertise among the faculty with specific disorders and diseases including cancer; HIV/AIDS; mood, anxiety, and stress disorders; suicidal behavior; and musculoskeletal diseases, with foci on specific populations such as women, LGBT individuals, and racial and ethnic minorities.

Graduates of the program will be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of clinical science and health psychology. Students will develop expertise in the psychological bases of physical and mental health and illness, including such topics as the biopsychosocial determinants of health and illness, stress and coping processes, how the social, cultural and temporal contexts alter health-behavior processes. They also will develop a broad knowledge of many of the basic areas of psychology (e.g., social psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience) and other related areas (e.g., public health), as these areas interface with clinical science and health psychology. In addition to the mechanics of research design, students will develop the ability to conceptualize research problems in terms of broader theoretical descriptions and explanations as a means to understand physical and mental health-relevant phenomena in more meaningful ways. Students will be expected to develop their professional identity through research experiences, attendance at specialized research conferences, and membership in one or more professional associations, such as the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, Division 12 (section 3) of the American Psychological Association (APA), Society for Health Psychology (APA Division 38), Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM), American Psychosomatic Society (APS), and the Association for Psychological Science (APS), among others.

Students will develop advanced research skills, including the ability to understand, integrate, and critically evaluate the literature in the breadth of scientific psychology, and the ability to design, conduct, and analyze empirical research. The program emphasizes the development of laboratory, field and translational research skills, including the conduct of randomized clinical trials and program evaluation. Students are expected to maintain an active research program in collaboration with faculty members throughout their doctoral training so as to enhance the breadth and sophistication of their research skills and to produce new knowledge in one or more specialized areas through directed research experiences and the successful completion of a dissertation.

Students become equipped to competently engage in activities related to health service psychology, including therapeutic intervention, psychological assessment, clinical supervision, teaching and mentoring, and professional consultation. Our program provides exposure to a broad range of client populations through highly structured and supportive practicum experiences in preparation for internship.

Students will develop proficiency in teaching, writing research grants, presenting their work at research conferences, and publishing in professional journals. Many students choose to enter academia when their graduate work is completed so training includes opportunities to garner teaching experience, including a Teaching of Psychology course and teaching at one of the senior colleges. Students will also develop publication and presentation skills through the Proseminar, the Professional Development course, and their individual research experiences.

For inquiries about APA accreditation of clinical psychology training programs, contact:
American Psychological Association (APA) Commission on Accreditation: 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002,  (202) 336-5979.

The PhD Program in Health Psychology and Clinical Science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York makes every effort to provide education that is compliant with national standards and to prepare students to practice clinical psychology. As recognition of our compliance with national standards, our Program is accredited (on contingency, as of May 2019) by the American Psychological Association [1]. The practice of psychology, however, is regulated at the state level. State licensing authorities, commonly referred to as “State Boards,” determine the specific educational and training requirements for licensure in their State. Of note, many States require post-doctoral training as well as examinations beyond educational and training requirements. As such, a PhD degree from HPCS is not sufficient, in and of itself, to meet licensure requirements in most states.  
 
If you are planning to pursue professional licensure or certification, it is strongly recommended that you contact the licensing entity in the state for which you are seeking licensure or certification to obtain information and guidance regarding licensure or certification requirements before beginning an academic program.  Given that State requirements for licensure or certification vary and may change over time, it is also strongly recommended that you review licensing or certification requirements as you get closer to seeking licensure or certification. You are encouraged to review the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards’ online tool, PsyBook, which summarizes requirements for most states and territories. You are also encouraged to directly confirm state licensing requirements directly with the state in which you are interested in seeking licensure or certification.  

HPCS, to the best of its ability, determined that the curriculum offered by our program meets – or does not meet – the educational requirements for licensure or certification to practice psychology in each of the states listed in Table 1. For states in which the Program’s educational offerings do not meet a specific State’s requirements for licensure or certification, students may be required to obtain alternate, different, or more courses, or more experiential or clinical hours required. These findings are accurate, to the best of our ability, as of June 30, 2020.


[1] For further information about APA accreditation or specific information about the accreditation status of our PhD program, please contact Jacqueline Remondet Wall, PhD Director, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 202-336-5979, http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation.