Program Overview

Fielding’s doctoral program in Clinical Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association. It is the only distributed learning program recognized by the APA. The Psychology PhD serves adults, many of whom who have trained or worked in the mental health field. Our unique distributed learning model blends the best of in-person learning opportunities with digital formats.

Alayne “Mimi” Ormerod, PhD Doctoral Faculty Clinical Psychology

Earning your doctorate in Clinical Psychology includes online and in-person seminars, meetings with faculty and other students in your region, weeklong residential sessions, as well as research and clinical training experiences.

The unique mix of online and residential experiential learning provides flexible opportunities for individuals with career, family, and community responsibilities to achieve their advanced educational goals. Faculty are active scholars and licensed clinical psychologists with a wide variety of expertise, making it possible to offer training in a variety of therapeutic orientations and specialized concentrations in some of the most exciting growth areas of psychology.

Our graduates are leaders in their chosen professions. They are well-respected licensed practitioners and researchers, top administrators, educators, supervisors, and consultants.

A core mission of the Fielding Clinical Psychology program is to foster inclusion of students from under-represented populations. These populations include students living in small communities, rural, or remote locations of the United States, students currently in the military or spouses of military members, adult learners with families, and students whose ongoing participation in their current communities cannot be halted for doctoral study elsewhere. These are student populations who are often unable to enter the field through preparation at a traditional university campus, yet these are the future psychologists for which the discipline and profession has expressed an urgent need. Four Goals

1We have four specific aims for our students, which must be achieved by the time of graduation.

Students will demonstrate doctoral-level discipline specific knowledge that represents the scientific and theoretical knowledge areas of the discipline of psychology (i.e., history and systems of psychology and the affective, biological, cognitive, developmental, and social bases of behavior).

2Students will demonstrate doctoral-level conceptualization, evaluation, analysis, and integration of discipline-specific knowledge across the curriculum.

3Students will demonstrate doctoral-level ability to understand and critique research; design, conduct, analyze, and communicate theoretically informed research; and conduct research in a manner that is culturally sensitive and consistent with legal code and ethical standards, including the APA ethics code.

4Students will demonstrate doctoral-level competence in the professionwide competencies, including conducting evidence-based diagnosis, assessment, and psychotherapy; and applying theory and research to develop case conceptualizations, treatment plans, and interventions that are consistent with legal and ethical standards and individual and cultural diversity factors.