Psy.D. programs with client-centered/Rogerian emphasis?

[annel]

Hey all,
I applied to a number of Psy.D. programs. I was driven to a Psy.D. in large part due to Carl Rogers book, "On Becoming a Person." After going through this process, it seems like there are few if any Psy.D. programs that teach or specialize in his client-centered approach to psychotherapy. Is this assessment accurate?

I also get the impression that although programs don't explicitly train clinicians in his approach, a client-centered approach serves as the foundation on which many programs train students to use more empirically based interventions. Is this an accurate statement?

Any and all opinions would be welcome.

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[nicu4leo]

Hi!
That is such a wonderful book and for many it is their first that addresses the process of psychotherapy. One thing that I have come to understand about some of Roger's major contributions is that they have become ubiquitous in the field. I would think that nearly every PsyD program would emphasis a client centered approach (all the schools I applied to did). For some reason, DU is really sticking out for me.. They are a strong generalist program.

 

[annel]

Hi!
That is such a wonderful book and for many it is their first that addresses the process of psychotherapy. One thing that I have come to understand about some of Roger's major contributions is that they have become ubiquitous in the field. I would think that nearly every PsyD program would emphasis a client centered approach (all the schools I applied to did). For some reason, DU is really sticking out for me.. They are a strong generalist program.

Which programs did you apply to? DU stuck out to me too, but I didn't get in.

What programs did you apply to? I'm specifically curious about a Rogerian approach at Pacific University's program, as I may end up there.

 

[erg923]

You can/should get this traing in almsot any clinical program. I might suggest that it is unwise to go a program that focuses on one orientation at the exclusion of others.

 

[McClinas]

I might suggest that it is unwise to go a program that focuses on one orientation at the exclusion of others.

I do not disagree, I'm just curious why you say this

 

[erg923]

because it seemed the OP only wanted to apply to these kinds of programs....

 

[nicu4leo]

Well, I applied to psychodynamically inclined or ecclectically designed programs....
I applied to LIU-CW POST, Yeshiva, Pace, Pacific U, Wright Institute, GWU, and DU. I ultimately decided on GWU.
Pacific's program is interesting, but after I attended the interview I did not feel it was a good fit for me. I think you should check out the Wright Institute website- you may find their approach to be a close fit with what you want.

 

[annel]

because it seemed the OP only wanted to apply to these kinds of programs....

I actually really just want to make sure that the program covers a person-centered orientation in addition to the rest. My concern is that it might not be there at all.

Well, I applied to psychodynamically inclined or ecclectically designed programs....
I applied to LIU-CW POST, Yeshiva, Pace, Pacific U, Wright Institute, GWU, and DU. I ultimately decided on GWU.
Pacific's program is interesting, but after I attended the interview I did not feel it was a good fit for me. I think you should check out the Wright Institute website- you may find their approach to be a close fit with what you want.

Thanks. Good luck at GWU! Wright did seem interesting, but I wasn't offered an interview there. Pacific's mindfulness emphasis draws me there, as well as the study of Gestalt therapy. Pacific's program seems to lean towards CBT but also allows for study of a range of orientations. I wanted to make sure that a person-centered approach would be in the mix.

 

[Buzzwordsoldier]

A perspective from the lighter side -

Q: What did the Rogerian therapist say when the patient jumped out the window?




A: "Whoosh, splat!"

 

[robinsena]

A perspective from the lighter side -

Q: What did the Rogerian therapist say when the patient jumped out window?

A: "Whoosh, splat!"

Hahaha, that cracked me up

JMO, but I think the biggest contribution Rogers made to the field of clin psych across orientation is his focus on therapist characteristics, which reminds me of the emphasis nowadays on non-specific factors in psychotherapy. You'd be hard pressed not to find a clinical program that doesn't emphasis their students becoming warm, empathetic and genuine therapists across orientations. It's good to have an interest, but don't narrow yourself before you find out what else you might end up liking as a clinician. I know when I applied to grad school I thought I would really only like one or two things but ended up enjoying other types of interventions, so I second the idea of preferring schools with generalist training.

 

[A Gooz]

Funny, I could have started this thread with my feelings on Rogers/applying to PsyD's... I am a big fan of Rogers, too, and was looking for his perspective in all the programs that I interviewed at.

At Wright I did not really feel the Rogerian vibe. They seemed very heavy on psychodynamic with a new focus on CBT, but not much of any existential/humanistic faculty or classes available. I also interviewed at the Chicago school and saw more of what I was looking for in this way (a required class in Humanistic Theories, for example). Finally, I interviewed at DU and felt the existential/humanistic vibe the most of the three. In particular, there are a couple core faculty at DU with strong mindfulness/existential perspectives.

I wasn't offered an interview at Pacific. It sounds like I'm missing out. If you find what you're looking for there, I hope that works out for you.

P.S. if you liked On Becoming A Person, check out his other stuff. And if you're philosophically minded and open to trying something a little denser than Rogers, Kierkegaard was a big influence on him, too. There are also some more contemporary humanistic/existential writers who I've been meaning to check out -- may be worth a look.

 

[Buzzwordsoldier]

At Wright I did not really feel the Rogerian vibe. They seemed very heavy on psychodynamic with a new focus on CBT, but not much of any existential/humanistic faculty or classes available. I also interviewed at the Chicago school and saw more of what I was looking for in this way (a required class in Humanistic Theories, for example). Finally, I interviewed at DU and felt the existential/humanistic vibe the most of the three. In particular, there are a couple core faculty at DU with strong mindfulness/existential perspectives.

Funny that you got that vibe at the Wright -- the DCT seems to have had solid training in existential/humanistic thought and practice. Several of the half/part time faculty as well...Guess it could be that the courses don't emphasize it but the case conferences and practica do?

 

[nicu4leo]

Interesting to read people's contributions to this thread... Existential issues, to me, are implicit within all therapies, but there are so many wonderful theorists that have written specifically on the subject. On that comes to mind is Rollo May- his early work is quite interesting. For many years he was Yalom's analyst and thus had a great influence on his work. As mentioned earlier, if you are really interested in existential/phenomenological theory it would beneficial to go right to the philosophers that developed the concepts.

 

[kiwagner]

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[A Gooz]

I think DU's expense is a little confusing/misleading.

First off, you only pay for 12 credits per quarter. So if you take a heavy load one quarter, and take 15 credits, you're that much closer to completing the coursework with 3 free credits (about $3000).

I don't know the details of the fee's after you're done with coursework, but I've been told they're negligible. I can't confirm the exact difference, but this seems very different from other PsyD programs I looked at where you had to pay 8-12k to stay enrolled while completing your internship and dissertation, mostly off-site.

Finally, the program is accelerated. It is 3 years of coursework (+1 year internship) to complete, so that's one year sooner over most programs that you're in the field, making a salary, and paying off that debt.


I've done the math and 160k/3 years sounds pretty exaggerated (unless you're including living expenses). If you multiple the credit cost by the # of credits necessary to graduate you get 129k. Now, I do agree DU is one of the more expensive PsyD programs but I don't think its nearly as bad as it appears because the above factors reduce this number considerably.