Concentrations in PsyD
Students can, if they wish, choose one of seven concentration areas to develop additional depth and advanced clinical expertise in an area of interest:
- Adult Psychopathology & Psychotherapy
- Childhood & Adolescent Psychology
- Community Psychology & Social Change
- Generalist
- Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine
- Neuropsychology
- Psychological Assessment
Each area is comprised of a sequence of courses totaling nine credit hours, which allow for the development of advanced skills and competencies. Enrollment in a concentration is optional.
Adult Psychopathology & Psychotherapy
The Adult Psychopathology & Psychotherapy concentration builds advanced skills in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of adult problems. Students examine both milder stress and adjustment problems, as well as more severe forms of psychopathology, as they gain advanced skills in psychodiagnosis, psychological assessment, and psychotherapy. Courses examine various influences on psychological adaptation and coping patterns from individual and systems orientations, and explore theoretical and applied aspects of the treatment of disturbed mental states from multiple perspectives. Students must select three or more advanced electives from the adult concentration, such as:
- Psychoanalytic
- Cognitive
- Behavioral
- Humanistic
- Existential
- Family systems
Clinical skills in this area are further enhanced through doctoral level practicum and internships.
Courses in this concentration vary year by year, depending on student needs and faculty expertise. Recent course offerings have covered such topics as:
- Psychology of gender
- Advanced adult assessment
- Group psychotherapy and hypnosis
- Specific disorders or behaviors
Childhood & Adolescent Psychology
The Childhood & Adolescent Psychology concentration provides students with advanced courses in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Courses emphasize developmental psychopathology, through which the biological, intrapsychic, interpersonal, and sociocultural levels of analysis inform the students' understanding of children's unfolding adaptive and maladaptive functioning. These advanced conceptualization skills provide the foundation for the design and implementation of interventions directed at the assessment and treatment of children, families, and other related systems.
Students in this concentration complete the following courses, along with additional electives:
- Child & Adolescent Psychopathology
- Child & Adolescent Assessment
- Advanced Treatment Strategies with Children, Adolescents & Families
Past dissertation topics have covered child or adolescent psychology from many angles, including:
- Family treatment of runaways
- Disruptive behavior disorders
- Attachment disorders
- Eating disorders
- Social skills
Community Psychology & Social Change
The Community Psychology & Social Change concentration is grounded in an ecological perspective. This concentration focuses on the meaning of community, helping others feel valued and welcome, creating positive change, and building connections between people, places, and systems. Community psychology is an interdisciplinary field with strong connections to other areas, including:
- Sociology
- Social work
- Education
- Geography
- Urban planning
- Health sciences
The Community Psychology & Social Change concentration offers courses that provide a foundation in community-focused theories and practices that focus on collaboration, capacity building, collective efficacy, and well-being. Students learn about community and place-based research, community interventions, and factors that enable communities to become resilient and strong, while also gaining practical skills in grant writing and program evaluation.
Students in this concentration are encouraged to work with their mentor to frame the focus of their dissertation in terms of community-based social issues, such as:
- Community well-being
- How communities build capacity for positive change
- The causes of loneliness and isolation
- An individual’s social position within a community or network of friends
- The exploration of the meaning of community through narrative
- The development or evaluation of community interventions
Generalist
The Generalist concentration is designed to expose students to a generalist approach in the field of clinical psychology. This concentration addresses current issues in health psychology, psychopathology, and the treatment and assessment of children, adolescents, and adults. The purpose of this concentration is to provide students with a diverse foundation of knowledge and experience from which to work with clients.
Students in the General concentration are required to take courses across three of the other concentrations, with at least one course coming from the Childhood & Adolescent Psychology concentration.
Students in this concentration have the opportunity to write a dissertation on a broad range of topics, including:
- Adult or child psychopathology
- Health-related behavioral interventions
- Community-based approaches to social justice and wellbeing
- Development and validation of psychological assessment tools
Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine
The Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine concentration provides students with additional expertise in the psychological aspects of various health-related problems. Students' expertise in health psychology and behavioral medicine is augmented by supervised doctoral practicum experiences and internship opportunities in medical centers, health clinics, hospital settings, and other health-related practice sites.
Courses in this concentration cover such topics as:
- Psychopharmacology
- Neuropsychological assessment
- Evaluation and treatment of the behavioral components of various medical conditions
- Interactions between stress, psychological functioning and medical health
Areas such as pain management, addictions, health maintenance, and prevention are also addressed.
Students have pursued a variety of empirical and non-empirical dissertations in this concentration. Topics have covered unique aspects of a wide range of health-related topics including:
- HIV/AIDS
- Schizophrenia
- Adolescent smoking
- Personality styles
- Healthcare utilization
- Binge eating
Neuropsychology
The Neuropsychology concentration gives students training in how the brain affects behavior, emotions, and cognition. Students complete coursework and clinical experiences to learn how to assess and understand cognitive and neurological conditions. Training in this concentration follows the recommendations outlined in the Minnesota Conference Guidelines and builds knowledge and skills in the assessment of cognitive functioning and neurological conditions across the lifespan.
Students in this concentration take three of the following four courses:
- Fundamentals of Neuropsychology
- Advanced Neuropsychological Assessment
- Geriatric Neuropsychology
- Child and Adolescent Assessment
These courses provide training in the theory and practice of assessing brain function and its behavioral correlates, the administration and interpretation of neuropsychological measures, and the assessment of cognitive and neurodevelopmental conditions across the lifespan.
Students pursuing the Neuropsychology concentration may develop dissertation topics focused on brain–behavior relationships, neuropsychological assessment, cognitive functioning, or neurological conditions. Topics may include areas such as:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Neurodegenerative disease
- Cognitive aging
- Actors that impact cognitive functioning
Psychological Assessment
The Psychological Assessment concentration is designed to give students additional exposure to the administration and interpretation of psychological assessments beyond what is typically expected in the program. The psychological assessment concentration within the field of clinical psychology equips students with advanced skills and knowledge in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests and measures.
The concentration in psychological assessment includes courses that provide advanced training in various specialized areas such as neuropsychological, health, child/adolescent, projective, and forensic assessments. Students gain expertise in understanding and administering a wide range of psychological measures, interpreting assessment data, and applying these skills across different populations and settings, including clinical, legal, and health-related environments.
Dissertation topics may include evaluating the reliability and validity of new or existing assessment tools, examining the applicability of psychological measures in various settings, or assessing the impact of specific interventions based on diagnostic findings. Other potential areas include research on the integration of assessment data into treatment planning and the ethical and legal implications of psychological testing in clinical or forensic settings.