The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is an academic and professional unit in the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
We are located at the Academic Health Center within the University of Florida Campus in Gainesville.
The doctoral program in clinical psychology has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1953 and adheres to the Scientist-Practitioner Model of education and training. The Clinical Psychology Doctoral program is unique in the country in that it is housed in an independent department of Clinical and Health Psychology in a major academic health science center along with an APA-accredited internship. These features foster program strengths in research, teaching, and professional training in health care psychology.
“The scientist-practitioner model produces a psychologist who is uniquely educated and trained to generate and integrate scientific and professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills so as to further psychological science, the professional practice of psychology, and human welfare. The graduate of this training model is capable of functioning as an investigator and as a practitioner, and may function as either or both, consistent with the highest standards in psychology. The scientist-practitioner model is ideal for psychologists who utilize scientific methods in the conduct of professional practice.” (National Conference on the Education and Training of Scientist-Practitioners for the Professional Practice of Psychology).
To accommodate the broad range of career trajectories possible within Scientist-Practitioner education and training, the program offers a flexible Scientist-Practitioner curriculum that prepares students for careers anywhere along the science-practice continuum. Our graduates successfully pursue careers in research, practice, or, more typically, in research-practice integration, and work in a broad range of professional settings, including academic health centers, hospitals, healthcare practices, and community agencies. All students obtain focused research mentorship in a faculty member’s laboratory and obtain broad training in clinical assessment and intervention both in and outside of their designated major area of study. The curriculum allows students to develop broad competencies in assessment, intervention, consultation, and supervision. It ensures the acquisition of research skills and training in scientific methods and technologies to understand behavior, psychopathology, and psychological adjustment to illness and wellness, and to develop evidence-based assessment and treatment procedures.
