Clinical Psychology Program
Our APA-accredited Clinical Psychology Program educates students in the scientist-practitioner tradition. Our goal is to provide students with experiences that will make them comfortable and proficient with theory, empirical work, and clinical practice. To achieve this, we provide a strong foundation in general psychology, theory, and research, as well as specialist training in clinical psychology, through an integrated series of intensive educational experiences in class, laboratory, and practicum clinical settings within the University and in other agencies. This broad education and training prepares our students to become leaders in the field. Our students are prepared to meet the varied demands of different settings in which clinical psychologists currently function. They also gain the knowledge to develop innovative conceptual approaches and methods in clinical psychology and to contribute to the research base of the field.
The clinical program includes coursework and practica with adults and children. Practicum experiences include assessment and therapy with adults and children as well as marital and family intervention. In addition to learning traditional clinical skills of assessment and therapy, students are encouraged to acquire knowledge suited to a broader range of roles and contexts, such as consultation in schools and other community settings. The program has educational, research, and clinical ties with a number of agencies and institutions in the Worcester and Boston areas, including the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the Worcester Public Schools, and Head Start. View Clinical Program student data.
The clinical faculty (listed below) are all active in research, and all clinical graduate students are welcome and expected to join in this activity. We provide strong training in research methods and skills through both close mentoring of our students and coursework. Faculty interests include familial and other factors that place children at risk, men’s mental health, marital interaction, and prevention of depression, as well as other areas. While we emphasize research and scholarship, we also provide closely supervised and broad-based training in our clinical practica. Our graduate students ordinarily are accepted at very good internships. All members of the faculty include some aspect of clinical activity or clinical teaching as part of their activities, in addition to their other teaching and research responsibilities.
While our program emphasizes research and scholarship, it also provides closely supervised and broad-based clinical training to allow our students to be licensable practitioners.
The clinical psychology program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). For more information, contact the APA Committee on Accreditation at 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 2002-4242 or (202) 336-5979. For further information, contact the Director of Clinical Training, Dr. James Cordova at jcordova@clarku.edu.
Clinical Psychology Faculty
Michael E. Addis, Ph.D.
Psychotherapy process and outcome, masculinity and help-seeking, lay theories of treatment and psychopathology
Esteban V. Cardemil, Ph.D.
Minority mental health, prevention and treatment, depression
James V. Córdova, Ph.D.
Couples' relationship health and deterioration; couple's therapy research; intimacy, acceptance, depression, and motivating the adoption of relationship healthy practice; the Marriage/Relationship Checkup and Couples Therapy for Depression
Abbie Goldberg, Ph.D.
Gender, family, and work; contextual influences on development and mental health (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, social class); gay and lesbian families; risk/resilience in adolescents
Wendy S. Grolnick, Ph.D.
Motivation and development, self-regulation of emotion and behavior in infancy and early childhood, parent and
teacher influences on children's motivation and adjustment, child clinical psychology
Other Active Psychology Faculty
Roger Bibace, Ph.D.
Relationships in educational, clinical and research contexts
Clinical Program Student Data
| Applicant Data | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Number of Applicants | 140 | 149 | 144 |
| Number Accepted for Admission | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| Actual Size of Incoming Class | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Number of Incoming Students Receiving Financial Aid | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Of Those Accepted for Admission In | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| GRE-Verbal: | |||
| Average Score | 594 | 581 | 622 |
| Median Score | 620 | 610 | 590 |
| GRE-Quantitative: | |||
| Average Score | 636 | 681 | 686 |
| Median Score | 650 | 660 | 670 |
| GRE-Advanced: | |||
| Average Score | 657 | 683 | 718 |
| Median Score | 680 | 680 | 670 |
| Average Undergraduate GPA | 3.49 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Success in Obtaining Internships | Obtained Internship | Paid Internship | APPIC Internship | APA-Approved Internship | Half-Time Internship |
| 2001 | 100%(3) | 100%(3) | 100%(3) | 100%(3) | 0%(0) |
| 2002 | 100%(4) | 100%(4) | 100%(4) | 100%(4) | 0%(0) |
| 2003 | 100%(4) | 100%(4) | 100%(4) | 100%(4) | 0%(0) |
| 2004 | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 80%(4) | 100%(5) | 0%(0) |
| 2005 | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 0%(0) |
| 2006 | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 100%(5) | 20%(1) |
| 2007 | 75%(3) | 75%(3) | 75%(3) | 75%(3) | 0%(0) |
| Time to Program Completion | Number of Students |
| Fewer than 5 Years | 0%(0) |
| 5 Years | 8.3%(2) |
| 6 Years | 4.2%(1) |
| 7 Years | 58.3%(14) |
| More Than 7 Years | 29.2%(7) |
Mean=7.7 years
Median=7 Years
Attrition Rate: The Program's attrition rate for 2001-2007 is 7.7% (2 out of 26).
Licensure: 66.7% (16 out of 24) of Program graduates between 1997-2005 have obtained licensure.