Letter from Director | Ph.D. Program in Counseling Psychology

Letter from the Doctoral Training Director

Micki Friedlander, Ph.D.
Director of Doctoral Training

While our Information for Applicants provides a good sketch of who we are and what we do, I’d like to highlight some aspects of the doctoral program that are, in my opinion, exceptional.

First, all our faculty are committed to training in both clinical work and scholarship. With respect to clinical training, not only do we personally supervise students’ first practica (in vivo and on video), but several of us are practicing psychologists ourselves -- therapists in private practice and consultants to community agencies. Thus, we bring not only expertise but also an understanding of the health care system to our work with students. With respect to scholarship, we are active researchers, nationally and internationally recognized. We offer research assistantships to all incoming doctoral students, and the mentorship that takes place in these research teams is invaluable. First-year students collaborate on projects with more advanced students, and many present their work at conferences and publish studies in well-respected journals. (See photos link from our home page is one of our recent graduates receiving the Division 17 Barbara Kirk Award for her dissertation research at the 1999 APA convention in Boston.) Students who are interested in pursuing academic careers find that the faculty encourage and support their independent research efforts, and University funding is available for graduate student research. (Photos link from our home page show faculty, current students, and former students presenting their work and socializing at the Boston APA convention.)

Second, we’ve been successful, I think, in creating a friendly, warm, cohesive atmosphere in the program. The faculty are attuned to students’ individual needs, and we are committed to providing a welcoming atmosphere for students of all nationalities, ethnicities, cultures, ages, and lifestyles. Our class sizes are small and interactive (see pictures, below). Also, we know how to have fun! (Here are pictures taken from a recent party.) For example, in Fall, 2000 and again in 2005, we hosted alumni/ae reunions to celebrate our 20 (and 25) years of (full) APA accreditation and the many accomplishments of our grads, who now number around 220.

Third, we’ve devised a doctoral program that is sensitive to students’ professional development. Our coursework is developmental, progressing from basic skills (e.g., in assessment, research design and statistics, counseling theory and practice, and career development) to more advanced, integrative work in seminars. On the practical side, we begin with pre-practicum (for first-year students without master’s degrees), which is an experiential, interviewing skills course. Second-year students see clients at the Psychological Services Center, our training clinic (shared with the clinical psych program), which serves the community. The Center provides individual, couple, group, and family therapy, career services, and psychodiagnostic assessments. Third- and fourth-year students continue their practica in college and university couneling centers, community agencies, and hospitals (Veterans’ Administration, state and private psychiatric centers, rehab and general hospitals), supervised by adjunct faculty who are licensed psychologists.

Fourth, we have an excellent track record in funding doctoral students. Since ours is a full-time program, we aim to fund all students throughout their time with us. Although we can’t guarantee funding beyond the current year (since we are a state school that depends on the NY state budget), virtually all PhD students who request funding have received research, teaching, or clinical assistantships. Typically, first-year students have research assistantships, second-year students have research or teaching assistantships (they teach our undergraduate courses in career and life planning, cultural diversity and social justice, intro to counseling psych, sport psychology) or work in the Career Services Center, the Honors College, or Middle Earth, the University’s peer counseling center. Third-year students tend to have clinical assistantships at the Psych Services Center or in the community, and more advanced students can have supervisory assistantships (supervising master’s students on practicum).

Fifth, a unique and exciting aspect of our program is the opportunity for students to study in Spain. We have developed an exchange program with the Universidad de la Coruña, in Galicia, northwestern Spain (on the Atlantic coast!). Our students can take part in their Postgraduate Course in Family Interventions, which involves practicum and seminars taught by professors from Europe and the U.S. The program also offers opportunity for research collaboration on family therapy effectiveness with faculty in La Coruña and Salamanca.

Sixth, we have a specialization opportunity in health disparities, a 12-credit graduate certificate program that we co-sponsor with the schools of Public Health and Social Welfare.

Seventh, we are continually involved in evaluating and improving our program. Students are encouraged to be active in the Doctoral Student Association, in our annual Diversity Conference (which is planned, organized, and run by doctoral students), in the Program Evaluation Committee, and in various other ad hoc Departmental and University committees. Many of our students use the leadership skills they develop in these activities in their later professional pursuits.

Finally, our graduates are quite successful in getting licensed as psychologists (in many different states) and in finding post-docs and other employment. The majority of grads work in clinical settings (community agencies, hospitals, counseling centers), but a large proportion are employed full- or part-time in academic institutions. See the letter from alumni link for some personal accounts.

I welcome all inquiries about our program. My phone number is (518) 442-5049. My e-mail address is mfriedlander@uamail.albany.edu

Micki Friedlander, PhD
Professor
Director of Doctoral Training