The programme in Clinical Psychology: Applied Developmental is a CPA accredited clinical psychology program that follows a scientist-practitioner model. Its main objective is the training of graduate students for work as clinical and academic psychologists through a prescribed curriculum offering both clinical and developmental perspectives on the difficulties children, youth and families may encounter.
Students entering the M.A. programme do so with the understanding that they have been admitted to pursue a doctoral degree by first completing an M.A. degree with a research thesis. Students entering the Ph.D. programme from other universities do so with the understanding that they are required to complete all the required M.A. level courses for which they do not have equivalent course work. In this way we attempt to ensure that all of our doctoral graduates meet the requirements for registration as psychologists and for working as psychologists in clinical, school, academic, and research positions. This also allows students who do not proceed to the doctoral degree to meet the graduate training requirements of Psychological Associates registered by the College of Psychologists of Ontario.
Children, adolescents and their families face challenges ranging from difficulties to disorders. Our mission is to respond to these challenges through graduate training in clinical practice and research. In all of our endeavours, we strive to achieve the highest standards of professionalism in our research, teaching, and clinical pursuits.
We believe that both continuous and discontinuous transformations characterize development. These are best understood against a background of normal child development, the multiplicity of contexts in which children live, and the developmental trajectories that result. Thus, our overriding programmatic goal is to prepare child clinical psychologists with an orientation that not only considers psychopathological processes, but also incorporates a solid foundation in normal development and an appreciation of the social-contextual, cognitive, and biological factors that contribute to disordered behaviour.
Our programme is based upon the scientist-practitioner model. Students are required to have thorough knowledge and skills in research, assessment and diagnosis, intervention, and programme evaluation. They must also demonstrate the highest standards of ethical conduct and be committed to personal development as professional psychologists.
A range of pedagogic experiences have been designed to instantiate our training model. Through formal courses and seminars, students are expected to obtain a foundational knowledge of the discipline. The relationship with the thesis supervisor and advisory committee serves to enhance their ability to undertake independent research. Clinical skills are developed within the practical component of several courses, internal practicum experience in the Department's Centre for Psychological Services, external practicum placements, and internship. Informal learning is available through the shadowing of casework with our clinical staff, clinic meetings and gatherings organized around professional issues. The goal is always to integrate discipline-based knowledge with practice.
The University of Guelph's Mission Statement, approved by Senate, notes that the University:
is committed to the highest standards of pedagogy, to the education and well-being of the whole person, to meeting the needs of all learners in a purposefully diverse community, to the pursuit of its articulated learning objectives, to rigorous self-assessment, and to a curriculum that fosters creativity, skill development, critical inquiry, and active learning. The University of Guelph educates students for life and work in a rapidly changing world.
Similarly, our programme is committed to fostering the following values in our students and faculty as they carry out their teaching, research, and professional responsibilities:
Our program's faculty emphasize systemic, interpersonal, cognitive-behavioural, social-constructionist, and biological perspectives. Students are exposed to many ways of viewing the developmental trajectories of children and adolescents, as well as to a range of problem-solving and treatment approaches.
Our programme emphasizes four broad goals, each of which has a number of more specific objectives. These comprise the development of research and scholarship; clinical skills, ethical and professional conduct and interpersonal skills, and a strong identification with the profession of psychology. All of these culminate in an internship year in a clinical setting and a PhD thesis. Through these experiences, students from our programme are prepared for both academic and clinical roles. Courses taken by students in all of the doctoral programmes in our department include research design and statistics, psychological applications of multivariate analysis, ethical issues, and philosophy and history of psychology as a science. However, while the CP:ADE programme shares the applied focus of the Industrial/Organization, Applied Social Psychology, and Applied Cognitive Science fields of study within the department, it is unique in focusing on the development of clinical psychologists who will be registered as service providers to the public. As such, it has its own set of courses and expectations. These are commensurate with accreditation and registration standards as implemented within the regulations set out by the College of Psychologists. It also has a special linkage with the Centre for Psychological Services as a key practicum and professional development setting.
Goal A. The development of research and scholarship