Who's In The Fold?

APTC's Presence in Accredited Clinical and Counseling Programs

Bob Hatcher, Ph.D. & Lauren Gardner

How many programs in clinical and counseling psychology have practicum training clinics associated with them?

Building on the work of Eric Sauer and his graduate student, graduate assistant Lauren Gardner and I did a comprehensive review of the websites of APA accredited programs in clinical and counseling psychology, looking for associated clinics. The data are complicated a bit by programs that offer multiple degrees (PsyD and PhD), but overall the picture is this:

242 Clinical Programs

62 PsyD Clinical Programs

180 PhD Clinical Programs

162 CUDCP Member Programs

63 NCSPP Member Programs

64 Counseling Programs

3 PsyD Counseling Programs

Of the 242 clinical programs, 161 (67%) have clinics, and 13 (5%) have what we have called “sort of” clinics consisting primarily of loosely grouped practicum experiences led by individual faculty members (e.g., an autism practicum, a rehabilitation hospital practicum, etc.). Some of the associated clinics (about 20%) are larger operations (e.g., counseling centers) that are nevertheless the primary providers of practicum training for the graduate program.

We found that the percentage of programs with clinics varied in interesting ways:

CUDCP (Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology)

APCS (Academy of Psychological Clinical Science)

It appears that PsyD programs rely more on external practicum experiences, and APCS members rely more on department or program based clinics.

Counseling programs are less likely overall to have a specifically designated clinic:

Many counseling programs do not identify a primary practicum site; many of these seem to rely on their universities’ counseling centers for practicum training.

Which Clinics are Members of APTC?

What Names do we use for our Clinics?

The most typical names are:

Where are Clinics housed Administratively?

Conclusions

The majority of programs in clinical and counseling psychology have associated training clinics. A large majority of clinics of accredited programs in clinical psychology are members of APTC, although PsyD programs are relatively less well represented. A smaller percentage of counseling program clinics are members. More science-based programs seem to have clinics than do programs oriented more toward practice. Five groups of names characterize 75%  of clinics; 25% have other names. Our clinics are primarily located within the program or department, although a small percentage are located in other university units.