Counseling Psychology Program
The American Psychological Association (APA)-approved Counseling Psychology Program prepares PhD psychologists in the scientist-practitioner model, who can understand and work with both specific and general problems of human behavior, as well as with social processes and systems.
| Name & Title | Office | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ainslie, Ricardo Professor | SZB 262D | (512) 471-0364 | rico.ainslie@mail.utexas.edu |
|
Cokley, Kevin Associate Professor | SZB 262N | (512) 471-7498 | kevin.cokley@mail.utexas.edu |
|
Drum, David Professor | SZB 262E | (512) 471-0367 | ddrum@mail.utexas.edu |
|
Guzman, Michele R Clinical Associate Professor | SZB 262J | (512) 471-0374 | michele.guzman@mail.utexas.edu |
|
McCarthy, Christopher Professor & CP Program Director | SZB 262G | (512) 471-0368 | chris.mccarthy@mail.utexas.edu |
|
Rochlen, Aaron Associate Professor & Counselor Ed. MEd Program Director | SZB 262C | (512) 471-0361 | aaron.rochlen@mail.utexas.edu |
|
Rude, Stephanie Professor | SZB 262L | (512) 471-4409 | stephanie.rude@mail.utexas.edu |
|
Sherry, Alissa Associate Professor | SZB 262H | (512) 471-0372 | alissa.sherry@mail.utexas.edu |
Bennie Crum, Counseling Psychology Administrative Associate
Overview of Admissions Process
Program Goals
The program strives to prepare students for innovative professional and intellectual careers within the broad fields of social science, human service, or social and community endeavor. Counseling Psychology students are expected to acquire the following competencies:
Goal 1: The ability to critically evaluate social science research and the ability to employ empirical methods toward the understanding of psychological and psychosocial processes. This should include a willingness to question foundational assumptions and openness to alternative perspectives and paradigms.
Goal 2: Understanding of the major theories of personality and psychotherapy that underpin counseling work.
Goal 3: Knowledge of research and theory in the basic domains of scientific psychology including social, biological, developmental, learning/motivation, and educational psychology, and in-depth knowledge of selected areas according to interest.
Goal 4: Competencies in understanding, assessing, and intervening in human behavior at several levels, including individuals, families, other personal relationships, and larger social systems. Such competencies will include skill and sensitivity in working with diversity issues, including age, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
Goal 5: A sense of social responsibility, including a commitment to the maintenance of ethical professional behavior.
The program faculty seeks to stimulate discussion and inquiry among faculty and students concerning questions on the frontiers of psychology. It is expected that students will gain the skills needed to become competent counselors and psychotherapists; however, the program seeks students whose primary commitment is to develop abilities in research, theory, and scholarship that will allow them to contribute in creative ways to a changing field in a changing world. Sensitivity to diversity (e.g. ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, sexual orientation) is emphasized in all levels of training, and viewed as an important focus of this program.
Graduates of the program contribute to the field of counseling psychology through teaching, training, counseling, psychotherapy, consultation, administration and research. The contexts in which they work include educational institutions (primarily colleges and universities), mental health centers, hospitals, research agencies and private practice.
As a result of the breadth and depth of training available, experiences and interest vary widely among student depending upon their professional goals and commitments. This diversity is made possible by the extensive course offerings, practicum and internship opportunities available, and professional interests, experiences, and theoretical orientations of the faculty. In agreement with guidelines for program accreditation set by APA, students' progress as counseling psychologists is regularly evaluated and written feedback is provided. Throughout the program, efforts are made to help students assume responsibility for continuous self-evaluation and self-directed professional growth.
Overview of Admissions Process
The Counseling Psychology program typically receives 130-150 applications each year and, out of this group, we invite about 30 students to interview. The final class will consist of about 8-10 students. Students will typically be notified that they are being invited for an interview at the end of January or beginning of February. Interviews will be held on one day--usually a Monday or Friday during the last half of February. Telephone interviews are available for students not able to travel to UT. There is not a minimum GRE or GPA, although students with weakness in this or any other area would need to show outstanding performance in other areas in order to be given serious consideration. Selection of students is based on multiple factors including GRE scores, undergraduate grades, letters of recommendation, apparent match between student and faculty interests, and evidence from the recommendation letters and personal statement of intellectual curiosity, tenacity, open-mindedness, interpersonal sensitivity, and integrity.
Time to Complete the Program
| Year Completed |
No. of students Graduating |
Average no. of years to completion |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 9 |
6 |
| 2005 | 10 |
6 |
| 2004 | 7 |
7 |
| 2003 | 5 |
6 |
| 2002 | 14 |
6 |
| 2001 | 18 |
9 |
| 2000 | 16 |
8 |
Attrition from the Program
Once students enter the program it sometimes happens that they discover that their interests lie elsewhere. In rare instances students are counseled out of the program. Over the past seven years 10% of the students who matriculated left the program without graduating.
Sample Course Sequence
The Counseling Psychology Program requires courses in the general background of counseling psychology, assessment, research, and practice of counseling psychotherapy. The curriculum consists of course work, research, and practicum/internship experiences in educational, community, and medical settings. Workshops and informal seminars are provided along with the more structured curriculum for student and faculty professional growth. Students join the faculty in planning and arranging for these special enrichment activities. Importantly, participation in research and scholarly writing is an important component of the doctoral program.
Among the required courses listed below are eight "Domain" courses and three "Professional Interest Component" courses. For both the Domain and Professional Interest Component courses, students select from a menu of choices. Domain courses cover the psychological foundations of psychology, including research methodology, statistics, learning, motivation, social, and developmental psychology. Professional Interest Component courses cover topics in the professional specialty of counseling psychology.
Note: Curriculum requirements shown are for the current academic year (2007-2008) and are subject to modification for students who enter after 2007.
| Course Number | Course Title |
Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fall First Year | ||
| EDP 196 | Counseling Psychology Colloquium | 1 |
| EDP 196 | Departmental Colloquium | 1 |
| EDP 381 | Counseling Skills & Procedures | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Theories of Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Professional Issues in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| Spring First Year | ||
| EDP 196 | Counseling Psychology Colloquium | 1 |
| EDP 381 | Assessment in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Research in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| EDP 482K | Stats & Experimental Design (Domain 1) | 3 |
| Summer First Year | ||
| EDP ___ | 1st Professional Interest Component (PIC) | 3 |
| EDP ___ | 2nd Domain Requirement (see note #3 below) | 3 |
| Fall Second Year | ||
| EDP 381 | Rorschach and TAT | 3 |
| EDP 397 | Psychopathology | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Ethics Seminar & Practicum | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Multicultural counseling | 3 |
| Spring Second Year | ||
| EDP 381 | Practicum in Counseling Psychology (Attend Seminar) | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Integrative Assessment | 3 |
| EDP ___ | 3rd Domain Requirement | 3 |
| EDP ___ | 4th Domain Requirement | 3 |
| Summer Second Year | ||
| EDP ___ | 5th Domain Requirement | 3 |
| Fall Third Year | ||
| EDP ____ | 6th Domain Requirement | 3 |
| EDP 396T | Directed Research (Prospectus) | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Practicum in Counseling Psychology (Attend Seminar) | 3 |
| EDP ____ | 2nd Professional Interest Component (PIC) | 3 |
| Spring Third Year | ||
| EDP ____ | 7th Domain Requirement | 3 |
| EDP 396T | Directed Research (Prospectus) | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Practicum in Counseling Psychology (Attend Seminar) | 3 |
| Submit Prospectus | ||
| Summer Third Year | ||
| EDP ____ | 3rd Professional Interest Component (PIC) | 3 |
| Fall Fourth Year | ||
| EDP 381 | Practicum in Counseling Psychology (Optional) | 3 |
| EDP 382 | Biological Bases of Behavior | 3 |
| 1st Out-of-Department Requirement | 3 |
|
| Fall Fourth Year | ||
| EDP 399R | Dissertation | 3 |
| EDP 381 | Practicum in Counseling Psychology (Optional) | 3 |
| EDP ____ | 8th Domain Requirement | 3 |
| Fall Fifth Year | ||
| EDP 399R | Dissertation | 3 |
| 2nd Out-of-Department Requirement | 3 |
|
| Spring Fifth Year | ||
| EDP 399W | Dissertation | 3 |
| 3rd Out of Department Requirement | 3 |
|
| Sixth Year | ||
| EDP 394K | Fall Internship in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| EDP 394K | Spring Internship in Counseling Psychology | 3 |
| EDP 194K | Summer Internship in Counseling Psychology | 1 |
Advising/Mentoring
Each student accepted into the Counseling Psychology program is assigned a core member of the faculty as an adviser. In assigning advisers to students an attempt is made to find a good match between student and faculty interests. The role of the student's adviser is to serve as a research mentor and to oversee the student's selection of course work.
The adviser will serve as a research mentor during the student's first two years in the program and, if mutually agreed, beyond that. The normal expectation is that students will consult with the adviser during the fall of the first year to arrive at a plan for the Collaborative Research Project (see section below) and will begin work on this project soon afterward. Typically, the adviser will serve as the student's primary contact for information and advice about course work and training experiences throughout the program and will usually serve as the student's dissertation chair. The goal of the research mentoring system is to establish a close working relationship between students and their advisers that will provide continuity of training experiences through the program. Although the advisers will be the students' primary research mentors, students may also choose to pursue opportunities to work with other faculty in the program and department (or sometimes even in related departments such as psychology or social ecology) as teaching assistants or on research projects.
Practicum
Students must complete a minimum of four semesters of practicum, although, generally, to be competitive for an APA-approved internship, students need more than four. All placements are in agency settings with on-site supervision. Placements are available, for example, in University settings, such as the UT Counseling Mental Health Center; in medical settings, such as the Austin State Hospital and the VA hospitals in central Texas; and in community settings, such as MHMR Centers, the Austin Child Guidance Center, and Bastrop Correctional Facility. The Program faculty and students are currently seeking to develop innovative community psychology or preventive mental health practicum training experiences. During the first four semesters that students register for practicum they also attend a small seminar with program faculty.
Internship
Students in the Counseling Psychology Program complete a twelve-month, full-time internship in a setting approved by the Program Executive Committee and accredited by the APA. Typically, students are ready for internship by their fifth or sixth year in the Program. Settings include college counseling centers, VA hospitals, medical centers, and private hospitals and clinics. Internship is usually the final step in the doctoral program. Individually-tailored internship placements are sometimes available. Most students pursue internship training outside of the Austin area.
Students receive stipends from the cooperating agency or institution during their internships. We strongly recommend students complete the dissertation and other requirements prior to internship.
| Year of Internship | No. applied / No. Placed |
Paid |
Approved by APA & APPIC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-2008 | 12 / 11 | 11 |
11 |
| 2006-2007 | 11 / 11 | 11 |
11 |
| 2005-2006 | 7 / 7 | 7 |
6 |
| 2004-2005 | 11 / 11 | 11 |
10 |
| 2003-2004 | 6 / 6 | 6 |
5 |
| 2002-2003 | 6 / 6 | 6 |
6 |
| 2001-2002 | 16 / 16 | 16 |
16 |
| 2000-2001 | 10 / 10 | 10 |
10 |
The Counseling Psychology Program is accredited by the American Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association
Committee on Accreditation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202)336-5979
www.apa.org
