What's the deal with THIS program (Alaska)?

[stilllooking]

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On the recommendation of some posters here (thanks for your advice!!), I decided to take a closer look at the University of Alaska's Clinical/Community Psych PhD program... I left, well, confused...

1) The program is only about 2-3 years old, so it's reasonable that they are not yet APA accredited. The official material makes it sounds like they are taking great strides to achieve accreditation (i.e., description of their coursework emphasizes how it follows APA standards), but according to the APA website, they have not yet applied for accredition. I am planning to apply two cycles from now and was wondering how long the accreditation process tends to take (will they likley be accredited in two years?).

2) Also, if they do not receive accredition by that time, is it worth it to apply to a program that may or may not be accredited when the applicant graduates? Would this be an insurmountable barrier to licensure and success in practice?

3) The program handbook states that students are not trained for licensure for engaging in traditional one-on-one psychotherapy in a private practice venue. Is the program referring specifically to p.p. situations only (i.e., you could still engage in one-on-one therapy as part of a hospital, CMHC, etc.), or is it a blanket statement for all one-on-one work. The program requires a good number of clinical hours but does seem to emphasize group/family/teletherapy in its literature, so I'm not sure.

Program Handbook: http://psyphd.alaska.edu/studenthandbook.pdf

Thank you for your time

 

[docma]

It is my understanding that accreditation dates from the time of the program's site visit, once they are granted accreditation and that if that happens before you graduate, you are a graduate of an APA accredited program. So if they are actively preparing and meet the standards (that is they are accredited following the required site visit) you are likely to be in good standing in good time. And their emphasis re the 1:1 is just to clarify that they are focussed on preparing folks to do individual therapy in public and community settings not for private practice. Nothing there would preclude you later deciding to do some private practice--they just do not want to attract students who have that as their major goal.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I believe to get accredited, at least a full class needs to get through the program (or more?)....so make sure that if you attend, your class will be reasonably assured that you will be accredited by the time you leave.

Also, it seems VERY niche, and that may limit your scope of practice and viability if you want to leave the area.

-t

 

[paramour]

Just a general comment but simply b/c they claim that they're on their way to accreditation does not necessarily mean that it's going to happen anytime soon. I looked at a program several years back that was "well on their way" to accreditation and they're still not on "The List."