The Tutorial Format

 

Educational Resources

The Professional School of Psychology offers exceptional resources to support the ambitions of the Group Psychotherapy Doctoral Tutorial. These resources include the faculty of The Professional School of Psychology and its group of students, as well as its library and innovative tutorial format.

 

Faculty

In order to meet the needs of the students for a diversified education, PSP recruits faculty from many different disciplines. We have identified faculty members who meet three criteria. First, they are experienced professionals and leaders in their community. They have each worked directly on major projects of innovation and change in specific institutions. Second, our faculty members are scholars and researchers. They have published books and articles in which they have persuasively articulated lessons learned from their role as professionals and leaders, as well as contributing to the theoretical foundation of their field. Third, our faculty members are experienced teachers, who have worked extensively with mature, accomplished learners. Typically, they have taught in a major university or graduate school, as well as providing training, education, consulting and/or coaching in group and organizational setting.

 

Students' Group

The group is a rich resource for feedback and learning. When we focus on group therapy and group processes, we can learn from the here-and-now, the group's dynamics and the participants' responses. In certain courses (e.g. when learning leader's skills) the feedback of the other students is the most valuable source of learning and improvement. Members interactions on a students listserve can become an important and enriching environment too.

 

Library

The Professional School of Psychology has generated substantial (15,000 volume) library holdings at its main location in Sacramento, California. In general, the library acquisition activities of The Professional School of Psychology are intended to be directly responsive to the needs of the curriculum and to provide PSP students with necessary access to relevant material required for conducting library research. The collection policy and acquisition priorities are based upon the recommendations of faculty about learning resources needed to support their courses and the curriculum in general.

 

Tutorial Format

The Group Psychotherapy Doctoral program makes extensive use of a tutorial format. This format—based on a longstanding process used in many European universities—includes three distinctive elements. First, tutorials concern a specific body of published works—usually seminal books in a particular field of study. The book (not the instructor) resides at the heart of an effective tutorial process. The tutor and student together explore the meaning and implications of the written text.

 

Second, there are frequent interactions between the tutor and student. Unlike an independent study format, in which the student often works alone for lengthy periods of time, the tutorial process involves the active engagement of both tutor and student in the learning process. In the case of the traditional European tutorial, these interactions typically took place in the tutor’s office. In the case of the Group Psychotherapy program, these interactions will often occur not only in person, but also through e-mail correspondence and telephone conference calls. In addition, in the Group Psychotherapy program, group meetings and interactions with other students will be part of the learning process.

 

Third, the tutorial is inherently student-centered, in that it is tailored around the needs, interests and logistical challenges (time, space) of the student. This means that the form of the tutorial will inevitably shift from student to student, and that the student and tutor will frequently reflect on the nature of their interaction and will shift the design or focus of the tutorial if it is not a good fit.

 

Examples for personal-tailored tutorial programs

• The student is interested in groups with adolescents and in educational setting: Among other tasks, the student will be directed to the professional literature about adolescent development and adolescents' groups. The student will establish and lead a group of adolescents and learn to analyze it according to the theories s/he learned about. The student will participate in a conference about school psychology. The student will develop a manual for psycho-educational groups for adolescents' parents. The student will write a model for intensive group work at school.
• The student is interested in psychodrama groups: Among other tasks, the student will be directed to the professional literature about psychodrama and acting methods. The student will participate in a psychodrama group and write an analysis of the processes based on the theories s/he studied. The student will write a paper connecting psychodrama to group analytic theories. The student will participate in a psychodrama conference.
• The student is interested in a more academic/scholarly development: Among other tasks, the student will be directed to the professional literature in general psychological and psychotherapy approaches and learn about theoretical and technical models of psychotherapy and their philosophical origins. The student will write and publish a paper about group psychotherapy in a professional journal. The student will develop a model for a course about an issue in group therapy. The student will be involved or assist in teaching in the PSP. The student will send a presentation to a group-psychotherapy conference.
• The student is interested in social issues: Among other tasks, the student will be directed to the professional literature about the Large Group and the Social Unconscious. The student will lead a group for underprivileged population (homeless people?). The student will write a grant proposal for a progressive, nonprofit agency. The student will develop a protocol for conflict resolution groups.