Program Components

 

Distinctive Program Features

The Professional School of Psychology believes that the Group Psychotherapy Program provides its students with a unique opportunity to contribute to disciplined projects of critical exploration regarding contemporary society and the exploration of a new therapeutic and counseling system whose outlines are presently only vaguely demarcated. The new program offers four distinctive features that place this program at the cutting edge of graduate education and uniquely prepares students for the new directions that society and its major institutions will be required to create:

First Distinction: Firm Interdisciplinary Grounding

The Professional School of Psychology believes that the Group Psychotherapy program will need be a thoroughly interdisciplinary program. Not only will students become knowledgeable in philosophical, social and critical analysis, sociology and cultural anthropology, post-modern developments and their appraisal, but they will also be expected to master the basic aspect and underlying philosophical assumptions of psychotherapeutic and psychodiagnostic assessment practices, as well as those of personality theory, cognitive theory, social psychological theory and the behavioral/neurosciences.

Second Distinction: Small Classes and Close Student/Faculty Relationships

By design, PSP classes are limited in size. The New Group Psychotherapy Program is particularly defined by its small class size, which is essential in maintaining a tutorial format (see discussion of this format, below.) Small class size facilitates an intimate collegial atmosphere between students and teaches, as well as providing students with direct, hands-on supervision and education by the instructor. Even when students enrolled in the New Group Psychotherapy program are participating in regular PSP classes, these classes are typically enroll no more than 8-10 students.

Third Distinction: Alternative Opportunities for Dissertation Work

Students enrolled in the Group Psychotherapy program are given the option of completing a “doctoral project” in lieu of an empirical dissertation. These projects are scholarly works that may include authoring a book, developing a treatment protocol or writing a grant proposal for a progressive, nonprofit agency. The purpose is to provide opportunities for doctoral students to take on a project that is both personally meaningful and contributes to the development of community institutions.

Fourth Distinction: Alternative Modes of Program Planning

Students enrolled in the Group Psychotherapy program are given the opportunity to participate in a highly innovative process of program planning and assessment that is specifically geared toward the adult learner. Called the Portfolio and more fully described elsewhere on this website (under “Student Services”) this assessment process is completed by group psychotherapy students in lieu of a formal internship or comprehensive examinations.