Fielding Graduate University

All new students must complete a series of orientation activities designed to prepare students for success in the program. Online activities provide an overview of program requirements, library resources, and the online learning environment. These activities include an overview of professional conduct expectations, and how students will be assessed throughout their program regarding those expectations. During a six-day in-person orientation, students work with faculty and advanced students, primarily in a small group format, to familiarize new students with our learning model and to help new students develop a personalized and sequenced plan of studies called a Learning Plan. Your Learning Plan serves as a blueprint of your individual graduate studies specifically in relation to the program's requirements and your academic background, prior professional training, and special interests.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Practicum Case Seminar is a required course for students in practicum through the completion of their Capstone examination for the Intervention portion of their Comprehensive Examination. The Seminars are designated by theoretical orientation to intervention (e.g., Psychoanalytic, CBT), and combine didactic training, consultation with training faculty on cases encountered in the practicum, and case presentations of practicum work by students. Attention will be given to the application of research in the particular intervention track to application of the techniques of the track orientation.

Pre-requisites: PSY 704, 708, 709, 710A, 710B, 711A, 715A.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

In this evaluation, faculty determine a student's ability to function at the pre-internship level in the following areas: the integration of practice, theory, and research; the ability to use and interpret assessment instruments; the ability to use a variety of interventions under supervision; knowledge of ethical conduct and professional standards; and the development of self-awareness and cultural sensitivity.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

In this evaluation, faculty determine a student's ability to function at the pre-internship level in the following areas: the integration of practice, theory, and research; the ability to use and interpret assessment instruments; the ability to use a variety of interventions under supervision; knowledge of ethical conduct and professional standards; and the development of self-awareness and cultural sensitivity.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Practicum training is an organized field experience for credit that provides supervised, face to face training with clients/patients in psychological assessment and intervention. The goal of the practicum training is to develop competencies at levels required for the clinical internship. The minimum practicum experience is 1,000 hours, with most students completing more hours to develop the competency levels needed to pass the Comprehensive Examination and to be competitive in seeking an internship. Awarded one semester unit of credit per 80 real-time clock hours.

They provide a planned, integrated sequence of clinical and didactic experiences with the goal of providing sufficient training and supervision so that the intern can, upon completion, function responsibly as a professional psychologist.

This course explores major personality theories, the status of knowledge regarding personality variables and primary schools of psychotherapy and behavior change. Students evaluate emic (culture-specific) and etic (universal) hypotheses related to clients from identified groups and develop accurate clinical conceptualizations.

This course presents approaches to the systematic description of psychological disorders: historic- al, sociopolitical, medical, behavioral, and epidemiological. Topics include the nosological system (DSM-IV), the differential diagnoses among its subcategories, etiology, possible alternatives to the existing system, and research in this field.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course highlights legal and ethical problems that confront psychologists in professional practice and the vital issues facing the profession. Students gain knowledge of the APA code of ethics and standards regarding professional practice and demonstrate familiarity with the laws that establish qualifications, rights, and duties of psychologists in their local jurisdiction.

Pre-requisites: Recommended: PSY-710A, PSY-715A

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Pre-requisites: PSY-710A, PSY-715A, PSY-717

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Pre-requisites: PSY-710A, PSY-710B, PSY-710C, PSY-715A, and PSY-710D (or PSY-710E and PSY-710F).

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of psychotherapy skills and issues across theory orientations. It is a generic introduction to both intervention and assessment courses and the first clinical practicum placement. Content includes basic interviewing and relationship skills, managing client engagement and resistance, and developing a theoretical focus for practice.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course provides an understanding of the psychotherapy literature in terms of issues of evidence and outcomes. Readings will cover how psychologists from different perspectives understand the practice of psychotherapy, including contemporary dialogue in the field. The course emphasizes the application of research methods to the study of psychotherapy process and outcome. Students are expected to learn how to apply research to make informed clinical decisions and to be familiar with evidence-based practice and related issues.

Pre-requisites: PSY-711A

This course addresses the implications of a multi- cultural perspective for developing improved approaches to social and individual problems and intergroup and international conflict. The aim of this course is to progress toward intercultural competence in the theory and practice of clinical psychology.

Students are expected to develop competence in supervising and consulting with trainees, laypeople, and other professionals. Topics include approaches to supervision and consultation, the theories involved, and predominant ways of supervising and consulting and understanding these processes.

Pre-requisites: Student must be engaged in or have completed clinical practicum.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course will introduce and orient you to the new Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS. It will review the coding and variables for which there is sufficient empirical support and discuss those variables that have been eliminated. Reliability and validity of the new system will be examined. Familiarity with the Comprehensive system is required. Students must have taken 532a and 532b (or have administered the test and have been supervised in practicum. Students will be required to purchase the new manual prior to attending the course. Manuals can be obtained at http://www.r-pas.org/.

Pre-requisites: PSY-532A, PSY-532B

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This is an advanced lab. Basic stats, MMPI-2 and WAIS-III are minimum prerequisites. In this lab we will review the issues of feigning, malingering, and problematic response styles in psychological assessment. These issues are important to assess in any psychological evaluation where issues of primary or secondary gain are significant. This includes all forensic settings and any evaluations where disability issues are or may become relevant. In this lab we will review conceptual frameworks for understanding and describing the issues related to feigning and malingering, particularly Richard Rogers' work. Participants will learn to administer the SIRS and each student will do a practice demonstration. We will score the SIRS and discuss interpretation and reporting of the results. Additionally, the utility of information from other tests such as the MMPI-2 will be discussed. Finally, a variety of other instruments for the assessment of feigning and malingering will be reviewed, including several designed to assess lack of effort in cognitive assessment.

Pre-requisites: PSY-580 , and one of the following: PSY-675A, PSY-710, PSY-710B or PSY-710C.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Will focus on a variety of legal questions and the strategies for answering those questions. Specific forensic tools will be reviewed such as the SIRS, the Georgia Court Competency Test, and the MacArthur approach to competency. More general instrumentation will be considered as it applies to forensic questions (including MMPI-2, cognitive assessment, and projectives, especially Rorschach). The importance of interviewing and its adaptation to forensic purposes will be presented.

Pre-requisites: PSY-708, PSY-709. In addition, one of the following: PSY-710, PSY-710A, or PSY-710B. In addition, either PSY-710C or PSY-580. In addition, either PSY-710D or PSY-532A. In addition, either PSY-710E or PSY-625A.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This lab is a demonstration of The Luria-Nebraska Examination. The demonstration will include administration, scoring, interpreting and reporting the findings of a complete battery.

This lab focuses on clinical assessment principles and techniques widely utilized by health psychologists. Emphases will include professional, ethical, and diversity issues faced by health psychologists performing psychological assessments in medical contexts, as well as guidelines for effective practice in these settings. Specific approaches to the assessment of several representative types of patients often seen by health psychologists will be considered.

Pre-requisites: One from: PSY-710, PSY-710A, PSY-710B, PSY-710C, PSY_710D, PSY-710E, PSY-710F, PSY-710G.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This lab focuses on the practical aspects of conducting and reporting on a forensic psychological evaluation in criminal settings. Students must have a basic working knowledge of clinical interviewing and minimally to have completed PALS on WAIS and MMPI. We will examine the various legal issues that a criminal forensic psychologist may be asked to consider, including various competencies (trial, sentence, Miranda waiver), the capacity of a minor to be tried as an adult, criminal responsibility (insanity, extreme emotional disturbance, diminished capacity), criminal intent, suggestibility/coercion, false confessions, sentencing issues, capital mitigation, and dangerousness. A model for conducting forensic psychological exams will be provided, and the use of defendant and collateral interviews, psychological tests, reviewing records and discovery will be presented. Practical issues relating to the determination of malingering will be reviewed, and special problems associated with unusual diagnoses will be considered. The preparation of psychological reports in a criminal setting will be reviewed, and a sample report presented for discussion. Prerequisites: MMPI-2 (PSY-580) and either WAIS-III (PSY-675A) or WAIS-IV (PSY-675C). Prerequisites can be waived only by the advance consent of the instructor.

Pre-requisites: PSY-580, and one of the following: PSY-675A, PSY-675C or PSY-710B.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Assessment Practicum training is an organized field experience for credit that provides supervised, face to face training with clients/patients in psychological assessment, scoring, and reporting. It compliments the didactic components of the curriculum and the Clinical Practicum by providing opportunities to apply assessment skills in a clinically-oriented setting. Assessment practicum experience allows student trainees to develop skills and for these skills to be evaluated to ensure that the they are properly prepared for internship. The goal of practicum training is to develop the student's clinical competencies to the levels needed for the clinical internship. Those competencies are defined as a minimum rating of 3 on all scales of the Clinical Skills Inventory (CSI). The minimum total practicum experience is 12 units, (approximately 1,000 hours), with most students completing more hours to develop the competency levels needed to pass the Comprehensive Examination and to be competitive in seeking an internship. Students may receive a maximum of 6 units of credit for Assessment Practicum (approximately 500 hours). Awarded one semester unit of credit per 80 real-time clock hours.

Supervised practice in techniques for evaluating and describing anger.

Practice in special procedures and techniques in the psychological assessment of children.

This seminar begins with a review of cognitive development from the preschool through the middle school years (preoperational and concrete operational stages) from several viewpoints, including the Minime orientation. Then the theoretical basis for the NEPSY will be presented followed by a description of the subtests, their administration procedures, and the scoring. Caveats on interpretation will be included. A few examples, including one on videotape, will be presented and an introduction to interpretation provided. A background in developmental and neuropsychology are required.

In this lab the role of culture in psychological assessment is discussed. Topics such as the assessment of acculturation, etic and emic measures, and what constitutes culturally sensitive assessment are examined. In addition, students are asked to engage in some initial personal exploration of the meaning of culture and its effects in contemporary society. Culturally sensitive alternatives to standard assessment procedures are also explored.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Practice in special procedures and techniques in the psychological assessment of infants and young children.

This lab focuses on clinical assessment principles and techniques widely utilized by pediatric psychologists. Emphases will include professional, ethical, and diversity issues faced by psychologists performing psychological assessments in pediatric settings, as well as guidelines for effective practice in these settings. Specific approaches to the assessment of several representative types of patients often seen by pediatric psychologists will be considered.

Pre-requisites: PSY-569, PSY-710

Administration, scoring and use of several screening instruments.

This lab presents practice in administering, scoring and interpreting the salient components of neuropsychological assessment.

The H-R neuropsychological battery, one of the most prominent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment devices, will be demonstrated in detail.

This lab will cover special advanced topics in the area of neuropsychological assessment and reporting. Students will review measures and modalities of neuropsychological assessment that are specific to the chosen topic of study. A description of the content to be covered in this lab will be provided by the presenting faculty.

Various theories of cognition will be reviewed with a view toward the changes in the concept. This will be followed by an historical account of cognitive assessment, concluding with a presentation and discussion of the current status of cognition and the instruments used to measure it. A background in History and Systems and the Cognitive Bases of Behavior as well as neuropsychology will be helpful. Advanced interpretation of the Stanford-Binet and other standard tests of intellectual functioning will be discussed. The seminar will begin with theories of intelligence and then progress through an analysis of how the various non-Wechsler instruments address the needs of the clients. Several theories of cognition will be reviewed with a view toward the changes in the concept. This will be followed by an historical account of cognitive assessment, concluding with a presentation and discussion of the current status of cognition and the instruments used to measure it. A background in History and Systems and the Cognitive Bases of Behavior as well as neuropsychology will be helpful.

Practice in the application of techniques for evaluating specific executive functions in the context of head trauma and/or frontal lobe lesions.

Practice in the application of techniques for evaluating specific memory functions in the context of brain structures and functions.

Intensive and formally supervised training in the provision of direct psychological services. The goal of the practicum is to develop at least minimal competencies in each of the four dimensions, and to make students desirable candidates for good internships. 1,000 hours of practicum are required, to include 150 hours of direct service; 75 hours supervision; 10 hours of case conference. The remaining 765 hours may be distributed in direct service, indirect service, or supervision. Semester credit accrued at ratio of one credit to 80 clock hours.

Intensive and formally supervised training in the provision of direct psychological services. The goal of the practicum is to develop at least minimal competencies in each of the four dimensions, and to make students desirable candidates for good internships. 1,000 hours of practicum are required, to include 150 hours of direct service; 75 hours supervision; 10 hours of case conference. The remaining 765 hours may be distributed in direct service, indirect service, or supervision. Semester credit accrued at ratio of one credit to 80 clock hours.

Intensive and formally supervised training in the provision of direct psychological services. The goal of the practicum is to develop at least minimal competencies in each of the four dimensions, and to make students desirable candidates for good internships. 1,000 hours of practicum are required, to include 150 hours of direct service; 75 hours supervision; 10 hours of case conference. The remaining 765 hours may be distributed in direct service, indirect service, or supervision. Semester credit accrued at ratio of one credit to 80 clock hours.

Specialized clinical training are seminars that are in addition to the basic requirements. Depending on the nature of the clinical training, faculty and students may develop seminars that increase the knowledge and clinical skills in a specific area/modality.

Students investigate how human behavior is shaped and modulated by cognition, affect, and their interaction. Findings from the fields of perception, motivation, language, memory, and learning are covered. Topics include artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, metacognition, Gestalt theory, Gibson's ecological view, and Marr's computational approach.

This course surveys the structural and functional relations of the central nervous system, physiology, sensory processes, and behavior. Study is divided into two subsections: (1) physiological psychology and (2) evolution, genetics, and behavior. Students become familiar with the biology of memory and the biological/genetic aspects of psychiatric disorders.

Pre-requisites: PSY-710A, PSY-715A

Pre-requisites: PSY-710A, PSY-710B, PSY-715A

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Pre-requisites: PSY-710A, PSY-710B, PSY-715A

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course might include coursework in qualitative interviewing, qualitative data analysis, qualitative data presentation, construction of data collection instruments, and advanced research methodology. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-701B

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course might include coursework in causal modeling, classification methods, multi-level modeling, etc. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-717

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

The purpose of this course is for students to learn the theory and practice of quantitative analysis of textual messages. The course focus is on analysis of messages in public media and documents, in person-to-person communications, and in open-ended responses in questionnaires. Students will learn to select messages which relate to a research question, analyze those messages with the SPSS Text Analysis software, and report findings.

Pre-requisites: PSY-716A or 716 and PSY-701A or 701.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-706 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-706

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-707 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-707

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course extends the study of brain chemistry into the topic of drugs and the chemical treatment of emotional and behavior disorders. This course provides an overview of drugs and biological interventions commonly used in clinical practice, their underlying brain mechanisms, and the research to support their effectiveness.

Pre-requisites: PSY-707

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course addresses the wide-ranging discipline of clinical neuropsychology. This field is represented by four emerging areas: the classic analysis of behavioral sequelae to brain damage, including substance abuse; pathology from slow development of specific cognitive functions; neuropsychological deficits based on unusual learning histories which have no organic basis; and the developing and aging brain.

Pre-requisites: PSY-707

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-728 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-728

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course covers the structure and function of the various portions of the brain, what lies next to what, and what does what. Knowledge from this course will help students estimate the structures involved in a given trauma and the functions that are expected to be disrupted by it.

Pre-requisites: PSY-706, PSY-707

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course recognizes the broadening role of psychologists in health care settings. Students examine psychological principles and interventions to treat and prevent illness, promote health, and analyze and improve the health care system. Topics include research on the interaction of psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and the environment, as well as controversies, current research, and interventions in the field.

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-731 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-731

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

The development of language takes place from birth to adulthood and is directly linked to cognitive and cultural variables that can be understood from multiple perspectives. Language disorders, on the other hand, may involve central deficits in phonemics, semantics, syntax, morphology, and pragmatics. This course focuses on the basic concepts of language development in the early school age years and different forms of language and reading deficits and their remediation.

Pre-requisites: PSY-706, PSY-707.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This knowledge area addresses the underlying neurological and organic bases, psychological ramifications, and neuropsychological consequences of common neurological disorders.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-702 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-702

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-705 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-705

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-704 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-704

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-708 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-708

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-710 or the 710A-G series and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-710 or PSY-710G

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-712 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-712

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This advanced course builds on the knowledge gained in PSY-709 and goes beyond it. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Pre-requisites: PSY-709

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course includes a consideration of the terminology, major figures, and theories of psychopathology and psychotherapy from psychoanalytic and neoanalytic orientations.

Pre-requisites: PSY-704 and PSY-711A or 711.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course examines the roots of contemporary behavior theory, as well as more recent developments in the behavioral and cognitive therapies.

Pre-requisites: PSY-704 and PSY-711 or 711A.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course looks at the major concepts and issues of humanistic, existential, phenomenological, and organismic personality theories and their respective approaches to intervention.

Pre-requisites: PSY-704 and PSY-711 or 711A.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course embraces historical and cross-cultural views of the complex and changing social unit known as the family, dealing with contemporary theories and current issues in marriage and family therapy.

Pre-requisites: PSY-711A

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Theories of group psychotherapy, practice issues, and research are part of this course. Major theoretical orientations to group psychotherapy theory are covered, including topics such as group formation and development, dynamics, and leadership. Current research on group interaction, gender issues and group cohesion form additional areas of study.

Pre-requisites: PSY-711A or 711.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course might include coursework in crisis intervention, brief psychotherapy, re-decision therapy, managed care, etc. The specific content of this course must be negotiated and approved with a faculty member using an assessment contract.

Positive psychology is an orientation to the field of psychology going beyond the emphasis on illness and pathology and instead examines areas such as happiness, well-being, optimism, and fulfillment. The course readings will examine topics including strength, virtue, and positive institutions; subjective well-being and happiness; the science of happiness; self-esteem; hope and optimism; resiliency; humor, flow, and emotional intelligence; creativity; and the role of religiosity.

This course helps students develop skills that form one of the cornerstones of scholarship as well as provide a thoughtful approach to every aspect of life. Students identify their existing critical thinking skills and learning needs and obtain an understanding of metacognition, which forms the foundation for critical thinking skill development.

This course assists both new students who wish to develop their graduate-level writing skills and ongoing students who wish to polish their skills.

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

The underpinnings of scientific psychology foster inquiry into the fundamental forces that shape human thought, emotion, and action. This knowledge area entails study of the philosophical and methodological contexts within which our science has developed and which guide psychological inquiry.

Special elective course number that may be designed and offered as appropriate in response to current issues, trends, and events. Each offering is a one-time course that may take advantage of a current issue, pilot a new course, or one-time colloquium. Title and content will vary.

Students may propose and develop an independent study contract in subject areas or sub-areas of psychology not encompassed by another course.

The objective of this course is the development of information and attitudes that enable psychologists to deal effectively with sexual problems and sex-related issues presented to them. Topics include the physiology of sexual behavior, sexual development, and treatment of psychologically based sexual disorders.

This course considers a wide range of issues that affect the mental and social functioning of the aged. Topics include mental illnesses related to aging and other health issues that influence social, physical, and mental functioning, as well as social attitudes, stereotypes, and bias related to this stage of life.

Forensic psychology applies psychological art and science to legal and quasi-legal problems. This course addresses principles that underlie the use of psychologists in legal problem solving and the growth of forensic psychology. Topics include the role of forensic specialists in child psychology, neuropsychology, abnormal psychology, and psychological measurement.

Pre-requisites: PSY-708, PSY-709

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

This course allows for elective study in forensic psychology on advanced topics that go beyond the overview of the field covered in PSY-765.

Pre-requisites: PSY-765

Faculty/Instructor(s): 

Students will write a research review article or present a study that demonstrates advanced knowledge of key theoretical concepts and/or assessment and practice issues in the area of concentration. The paper will be approved by the concentration faculty coordinator and the final paper will be assessed by a concentration faculty.

Faculty/Instructor(s):