Doctor of Psychology in Psychodynamic Psychology

Program Details

At-A-Glance

  • Credit hours: 69
  • Duration: 10 terms (3 years and 4 months), year-round
  • Full-time program designed for working professionals at all stages of their careers from a variety of mental health disciplines.
  • A curriculum and course load are designed for students who work full-time while pursuing a doctoral degree Students enroll on a full-time basis: Each term is scheduled to last for 15 weeks with classes on 3 weekends (Saturday/Sunday) per term.
  • Blended education offering the best of both worlds:  on-campus learning provides in-person instruction and interaction, while online instruction and weekly assignments allow students to pace themselves.
  • Instruction is based on a variety of teaching models, methods, and academic assignments conducive to the needs of adult learners.
  • Small class sizes allow students to receive individualized attention and faculty to optimally monitor and support student progress.

Mission

The Reiss-Davis Doctor of Psychology in Psychodynamic Psychology offers advanced education to mental health-care providers at all stages of their professional development. This program integrates psychodynamic, neurobiological, whole-health, and trauma-informed perspectives, and equips adult learners with the most current theories and techniques to serve the mental health needs of children, adolescents, adults, families, and their diverse communities. Our program is grounded in contemporary psychodynamic psychology and committed to approaching everyone from a position of cultural awareness and humility, while striving for equity and inclusion.

Purpose

The Reiss-Davis Doctor of Psychology program exists to guide mental health professionals toward becoming competent scholars and clinicians with the knowledge and skill set to meet each person’s unique psychodynamic, neurobiological, psychosocial, and cultural context. The purpose is actualized through educational measures that are grounded in the integration of contemporary psychodynamic theory and practice and an understanding of advances in neurobiology and trauma-informed approaches. We believe that understanding the developmental processes from birth onward serves both clinicians and scholars and the people they work with.

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Theoretical Knowledge: Graduates will integrate foundational psychodynamic theories with neurobiological, whole-health, and trauma-informed perspectives into their knowledge of infant, child, adolescent, and adult development and mental health.
  2. Scientific Inquiry: Graduates will evaluate scientific literature and conduct scientific inquiry in the context of psychodynamic psychology, neurobiological, whole-health, and trauma-informed perspectives, child, and psychodynamic psychotherapy in the service of infants, children, adolescents, adults, and families and their mental health needs.
  3. Psychotherapy Application: Graduates will integrate psychodynamic, neurobiological, whole-health, and trauma-informed perspectives and scientific inquiry into their conceptualization of assessment and treatment of infants, children, adolescents, adults, and their families.
  4. Professional Identity Development: Graduates will integrate their professional and personal identity as mental health professionals and embrace cultural humility, inclusion, and equity as guiding principles in their interpersonal functioning, thinking, values, and commitments.

Degree Completion Requirements

The Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree may be conferred upon those who have fulfilled the following requirements:

  • Successfully passed a comprehensive exam at the end of year 2
  • Maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0
  • Completed 63 credits within the required categories of coursework and 6 credits for the Doctoral Project
  • Completed the Doctoral Project and fulfilled all degree requirements within 5 years of their start date
  • Submitted a Petition to Graduate