The Adler School of Professional Psychology

Course Requirements

The concentration/certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling requires the following twelve (12) credits of coursework:

438 Introduction to Addictive Disorders 3 cr.

436 Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Aspects of Addictions 3 cr.

437 Treatment of Addictive Disorders 3 cr.

505 Professional Development, Issues & Ethics 3 cr.

Specialized Practicum for Substance Abuse Certificate

In addition to the specialized coursework in AODA counseling, students in the AODA concentration/certificate will acquire and develop practical skills in the AODA core functions through specialized field placements.

Students should expect to spend from ten to twenty hours per week at an AODA approved practicum site and must concurrently enroll in two semesters of Practicum Seminars during their field training. A minimum of five hundred (500) total clock hours of practica are required.

The Director of Training and Community Service and the Director of the Substance Abuse Counseling Program work in collaboration with concentration/certificate students to identify clinical experiences which will meet the required training hours and experiences.

The certificate in Substance Abuse Counseling requires the following four (4) semester credit hours of practicum (500 hours) coursework:

447 M.A. Practicum in Substance Abuse Counseling I 1 cr.

446 M.A. Practicum in Substance Abuse Counseling II 1 cr.

445 Practicum in Substance Abuse Counseling I (250 clock hours 1 cr.

448 Practicum in Substance Abuse Counseling II (250 clock hours) 1 cr.

Completion Requirements:

1. Satisfactory completion of all required credit hours of AODA coursework.

2. Satisfactory completion of the three (3) semester hour course on Professional Development,
Issues & Ethics.

3. Satisfactory completion of four (4) semester hours of practicum coursework including five hundred

(500) clock hours of AODA clinical practicum.

Practicum Requirements – M.A. Degree Programs

This information contained in this section applies to all M.A. degree programs. Certificate programs may have specialized practicum requirements. Please refer to individual program descriptions for specialized or additional practicum requirements.

An integral part of all Master’s programs offered at Adler is the acquisition of practical counseling and scholarly skills gained in field placements. Ongoing involvement in counseling and scholarly activities at professional training sites, including Adler Community Health Services (ACHS) at the Chicago campus, gives students the closely supervised opportunity to apply and further develop the knowledge, skills, values, and competencies they gain in course work. Practicum training requirements begin with a first year Community Service Practicum that focuses on developing skills related to community-based interventions, advocacy, social justice, and systemic interventions that benefit human welfare and well-being. Counseling training provided in students’ second practicum (sometimes referred to as practicum/internship) focuses on developing the competencies needed to prepare students for entry-level practice upon graduation. Because the focus is on integrating Master’s level education at Adler with Master’s-level supervised counseling training, no transfer credit is granted for practicum credits earned elsewhere. Students must successfully complete course prerequisites specific to their degree program, prior to being approved to begin their counseling practicum.

First year students will spend 8-10 hours per week over the course of six months at an approved Community Service Practicum site and must concurrently enroll in required coursework. A minimum of 200 clock hours of Community Service Practicum is required. At least one of the following courses must be taken concurrently with Community Service Practicum I & II (213-214), Community Psychology (350), Professional Development, Issues and Ethics (505), Introduction to Adlerian Psychology and Psychopathology (402), and/or Social Psychology and Individual Differences (641).

During the second year of a two-year sequence, or the third year of a three-year Master’s program, students are required to spend the equivalent of at least two full days per week (16-20 hours) over the course of at least nine months at an approved counseling practicum site, and must concurrently enroll in Practicum Seminars throughout their field training. A minimum 700 total clock hours of counseling practica (which includes master’s practicum and internship) are required. The Department of Training and Community Service works in collaboration with students in identifying counseling experiences which meet the standards and requirements of their specific program. For more details, students should refer to the Practicum Handbook, which is available on Moodle. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the practicum application, interview, and match process beginning in the fall of the year before starting practicum. Information about the process is conveyed through small group information sessions, announcements through Student Services, and postings in the Training and Community Engagement section on Moodle. Many parts of this process are conducted through the online Practicum Management Tool, through which students find potential sites and indicate their intention to apply to training sites in the community. All placements require a Master’s Pre-registration Contract, which must be submitted to the Department of Training and Community Engagement at least three weeks prior to starting practicum. For further information, consult the Master’s and Certificate Clinical Practicum Handbook.

Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology

The Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) program is designed to prepare students for the general practice of professional clinical psychology with a particular focus on socially responsible practice that includes education and training regarding the broader social and systemic factors that contribute to human dysfunction (e.g., poverty, oppression, marginalization) and methods for ameliorating these broader factors (e.g. primary prevention and policy change). The program follows the scholar-practitioner model of training and education developed by the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology. This model identifies as objectives the development of knowledge, skills, and values in seven core competency areas: relationship, assessment, intervention, research and evaluation, consultation and education, management and supervision, and individual and cultural diversity. These competencies are based upon a strong education in the foundations, knowledge base, and science of psychology.

Two additional competency areas that complete the education and training model in the doctoral program are distinctive to the Adler School. The first is focused training in the theories and methods of Alfred Adler. This focused training provides students with a strong and thorough grounding in a particular theory and method of psychology that forms of foundation for other theoretical perspectives offered in the doctoral program. The second is socially responsible practice that enables students to understand the role of social context in human functioning and to integrate this understanding into their professional practice. The Adler School’s commitment to social justice continues the visionary work of Alfred Adler and enables its graduates to practice in a wide range of settings while also working to implement changes that will reform the social structures that adversely impact the well-being of members of the community in which they work and live.

The program follows the guidelines set forth by the American Psychological Association (APA), and Institute of Medicine (IOM) in regards to respecting and teaching evidence-based practices in psychology. Our students are trained to recognize, critically evaluate and contribute to the evidence-base for socially responsible professional practice.

The program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association and meets the requirements of the National Register of Health Care Providers in Psychology and state licensure guidelines.

The program currently offers students the opportunity to enroll in one of two tracks. The track in Military Clinical Psychology features coursework specifically focused on training clinical psychologists to function in a broad array of settings, serving current and retired military personnel, their families and those serviced by other federal healthcare entities, such as the United States Public Health Service, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Indian Health Service and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because of this, a number of new, track-specific courses have been developed. These constitute the required coursework for enrollees in the track, and many can serve to satisfy elective options within the broader program and/or concentrations, for those not enrolled in the Military Clinical Psychology track.

The track in Child and Adolescent Psychology has been developed to provide students with expanded training and educational opportunities, chief of which is the advanced practicum experience focused on clinical work with children, adolescents and their families. This will permit students in the track to gain clinical experiences with children, adolescents and adults. The total 6-credit advanced practicum training sequence (3 terms of practicum training with concurrent seminars) satisfies two (2) advanced intervention elective requirements in the doctoral program. As a track within the existing doctoral program in clinical psychology, coursework in Child and Adolescent Psychology will provide focused training by utilizing the restricted elective method outlined previously.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the Psy.D. program must have a baccalaureate degree earned from a college or university regionally accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or an equivalent academic degree from a foreign college or university. Applicants should have a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate and graduate course work. The Graduate Record Examination or Miller Analogies Test scores are not required; however, applicants who have taken either of these exams can submit their scores for consideration with other application materials. Applicants should have at least 18 semester credit hours in psychology with grades of “C” or better. Minimum required courses should include introductory or general psychology, personality theory, abnormal psychology, and research methods. All prerequisites should be completed by the end of a student’s first semester at Adler School.

Practicum or work experience in psychology or a related field is highly desirable and is considered in the evaluation of applicants. Applicants who have a record of commitment to and experiences in community service nationally and/or abroad are particularly invited to apply for the doctoral program.

Approved applicants will be invited to a personal interview as a final step in the application process.

Review of Applications

The application priority deadline is February 15th. Successful applicants who submit all required materials by the deadline, and have completed the interview portion of their application, will be notified in writing of acceptance their by April 1st.

Accepted students must notify the Office of Admissions in writing by April 15 of their intent to matriculate. Space permitting, late applications are accepted subject to the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) criteria which state that any acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits students not to solicit or accept an offer from the Adler School without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has already been made.

Length of Program

The doctoral program is structured to be typically completed in five years for students attending full-time. Full-time students (ten credit hours or more per term) should plan to spend four years in course work and practicum experience followed by a one-year full-time or two-year half-time internship. Students are required to enroll full-time in order to complete the program in a timely fashion. However, half-time study is permitted based upon approval of the student’s academic advisor. Due to the demands of study and clinical training, students should limit employment while completing the program. Adherence to the satisfactory progress policy described in the section on general academic policies is required of all students and essential to timely completion of all program requirements.

The doctoral curriculum is based upon attendance in school throughout the calendar year. Course requirements must be completed through attendance in all three academic terms. The suggested course sequence for the doctoral program curriculum provides guidelines for students to complete requirements in a manner that is timely and complies with academic requirements. Students are strongly encouraged to complete their dissertation prior to their internship.

Time to Completion

The maximum time permitted for a student to complete all requirements for the Psy.D. is 7 years from the date of first registration following admission to the program. Students are expected to complete the program within two years of completing the internship. Failure to do so may result in administrative withdrawal from the program.

Residency Requirement

A residency requirement must be satisfied following admission to the Psy.D. program. It is expected that students fulfill all degree requirements through courses offered at the Adler School. Students can transfer up to 24 credits (21% of the total credits required) of coursework taken at a graduate level pending approval based on review by the Program Director. In addition, in order to comply with APA-mandated residency, the program requires each student a minimum of 3 full-time academic years of graduate study (or the equivalent thereof) and completion of an internship prior to awarding the doctoral degree. Doctoral students are required to attend school full-time unless approved for part-time study by their faculty advisor. At least 2 of the 3 academic training years (or the equivalent thereof) must be at the institution from which the doctoral degree is granted, and at least 1 year of which must be in full-time residence (or the equivalent thereof) at that same institution.

Qualifying Examinations

In addition to satisfying course work, practica, and other program requirements, students must also pass three qualifying examinations. Qualifying examinations are important capstone tasks integrated throughout the doctoral curriculum that provide students with the opportunity to integrate course material and practical training, reflect upon the educational and training experiences, and apply their learning to clinical and social issues. In addition, they enable faculty to evaluate students’ progress toward expected learning outcomes for the doctoral program.

The Community Service Capstone Paper requires students to integrate experiences acquired during their Community Service Practicum (a requirement of the doctoral program) with theories and research covered during first year courses. Students are required to conduct a critical review of relevant empirical and theoretical literature in psychology on an issue related to a community or social problem encountered at their practicum site. The topic of the capstone paper must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor. The goal of the project is to assess the student’s ability to conceptualize a community problem, integrate information from courses and the independent literature review and develop a plan and method of intervention to alleviate that problem. Students are expected to register for this requirement upon completion of one-year full time matriculation or the completion of 51 credit hours whichever comes first. The Community Service Practicum and related seminar must also be completed prior to engaging in the capstone task. Further information on this capstone task is provided in the Community Service Capstone Paper Handbook.

The next two qualifying examinations are clinical-competency based and patterned after the type of examination used at the post-doctoral level to earn board certification. In both examinations, students are required to synthesize and integrate clinical data from a range of sources to develop a clinical formulation and treatment plan, using theories and methods acquired in the classroom and at practica. The first of these examinations, the Doctoral Clinical Qualifying Examination-Assessment Competency, consists of a comprehensive psychological report on an individual case integrating assessment material, social history, diagnosis, treatment plan; a paper integrating research with a pertinent clinical issue posed by the case; a formulation of the case based on Adlerian theory and methods; and a discussion of the impact of social issues on a pertinent clinical issue. Deadlines for submission of this examination and other details pertinent to preparation and submission of required materials are described in the Doctoral Clinical Qualifying Examination Handbook. Students submit the required written material for the examination to the Examination Coordinator who then assigns it to a Core Faculty member or approved adjunct faculty member for review. Following faculty review of the submitted materials, students present the case orally to the faculty member who examines students on relevant issues to assess the student on the competency areas pertinent to the examination. Students must register for and complete the Clinical Qualifying Examination- Assessment Competency during the spring term of their diagnostic practicum year.

The second clinical competency examination is the Doctoral Clinical Qualifying Examination—Intervention Competency. Its format and intent is similar to the previous examination with the focus being on a sample of a therapeutic intervention conducted with a client. The student is required to submit a written case formulation and treatment plan along with an audio taped/videotaped therapy session; a paper integrating research with a pertinent clinical issue posed by the case; a formulation of the case based on Adlerian theory and methods; and a discussion of the impact of social issues on a pertinent clinical issue. Deadlines for submission of this examination and other details pertinent to preparation and submission of required materials are described in the Doctoral Clinical Qualifying Examination Handbook. Students must again submit required material to the Examination Coordinator who then assigns it to a Core Faculty member or approved adjunct faculty member for review. Following faculty review of the submitted materials, students present the case orally to the faculty member who examines students on relevant issues to assess the student on the competency areas pertinent to the examination. The prerequisite to take this examination is the successfully completion of the assessment practicum and Doctoral Clinical Qualifying Examination-Assessment Competency. Students must register for and complete the Doctoral Clinical Qualifying Examination-Intervention Competency during the Spring semester of their therapy practicum year. Students must successfully pass this examination in order to receive approval to submit application materials to internship sites from the Director of Training and Community Service.

The Doctoral Qualifying Exams are capstone experiences allowing faculty to evaluate students’ readiness for internship and ability to proceed in the program. In order to receive a “Fail” grade on these exams, students must demonstrate significant problems in several areas measured by these exams. Students who fail any of the Doctoral Qualifying Exams the first time will be referred to their advisors to address areas of deficit and resubmit a new exam. Students who fail a Doctoral Qualifying Exam for the second time will be referred to the Student Comprehensive Evaluation Committee.

Fees paid for examinations that are not taken by a student or failed by a student are not refunded. Students who must retake a Qualifying Examination must register again for the exam.

Practicum

An integral part of the doctoral program is the acquisition of practical skills gained in field placements. Ongoing involvement in community service and clinical activities at professional training sites, including Adler Community Health Services, gives students the closely supervised opportunity to apply and further develop the knowledge, skills, values, and competencies they gain in course work. Practicum training requirements begin with a first year Community Service Practicum that focuses on developing skills related to community-based interventions, advocacy, social justice, and systemic interventions that benefit human welfare and well-being. Students then complete clinical training that focuses first on developing skills and providing experience in psychological assessment and second on developing skills related to intervention/treatment. Because the focus is on integrating doctoral level education with licensed doctoral-level supervised clinical training, no transfer credit is granted for practica credits earned elsewhere or in a previously completed Adler M.A. program. Students must successfully complete course prerequisites prior to being approved to begin their first practicum.

First year students will spend 8-10 hours per week over the course of six months at an approved Community Service Practicum site while concurrently enrolled in required coursework. A minimum of 200 clock hours is required. Students are expected to gain the minimum required hours over a six month period and no less. At least one of the following courses must be taken concurrently with Community Service Practicum I & II: Community Psychology and Mental Health (350), Professional Development, Issues and Ethics (505), Introduction to Adlerian Psychology and Psychopathology (402), and/or Social Psychology and Individual Differences (641).

Second and third year doctoral students should expect to spend at least two days per week over the course of at least nine months at an approved clinical practicum site and must concurrently enroll in Practicum Seminars throughout their field training. A minimum total of 1,500 clock hours of clinical practica is required. Most doctoral students complete more than the minimum number of hours prior to beginning their internship. Students may elect to complete an advanced practicum during their fourth year of study to obtain additional specialized or in-depth training to strengthen their learning experience. Advanced practicum students must complete a minimum of 600 clock hours of practicum over the course of at least nine months at an approved practicum site, and must concurrently enroll in Practicum Seminars throughout the training year.

The Director and Associate Director of Training and Community Service work in collaboration with students in identifying clinical experiences which meet the standards and requirements of the program. Students should refer to the Practicum Handbook, available on Moodle, for detailed information.

Social Exclusion Simulation

First year students are required to participate in one of the Social Exclusion Simulations (SES) offered by the Institute on Social Exclusion on multiple occasions during the academic year. This experiential learning exercise allows participants to “walk in the shoes” of formerly incarcerated women encountering “structural and systemic” barriers as they attempt to re-enter society. Through this role-playing exercise, students gain a deep appreciation of the socially-constructed processes by which certain individuals and groups of people are denied access to the rights, opportunities, and resources commonly available to members of society.