Program Information

About the Program

The mission of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Louisville is to train students to conduct and evaluate research; implement research-supported practice; consistently maintain ethical and professional skills in their relationships with clients, students, and colleagues; develop and expand their diversity and cultural awareness and competency and to be prepared to be professionals in a diverse world. Our research training and clinical training, academic curriculum, and department/university activities are integrated to allow students to develop skills consistent with this mission and program approach. Program faculty are actively engaged in this training and also participate in numerous community-outreach programs; hold leadership roles within the department, local, and national communities; and continue to contribute to the field in academic and/or clinical venues.

Our program offers opportunities to achieve excellence in all activities inherent in an evidence-based approach to clinical psychology, including training in research methods, the practice of clinical psychology as well as professional development to help guide students in the integration of research and practice activities and decision-making regarding their career trajectories. Students work closely with their research mentors to gain research experiences to help them develop independent research skills, generate novel hypotheses that can be examined using current methods and statistical techniques, to produce research offering the potential to better understand and improve the mental or physical health of adults or youth, and to disseminate research findings to the scientific community and/or broader public of psychology consumers. Research activities are designed to include, at a minimum, training in oral and written research presentations, scholarly integrative review, manuscript preparation and the publication process and the traditional dissertation requirements.

The Clinical Program also values clinical training and supervision/consultation experiences. Our approach to clinical training is based on the fundamental principle that clinical psychologists have a public responsibility to apply practice techniques that are firmly grounded in a scientific and evidence base when available. Thus, clinical training prioritizes the development of an evidence-based approach to clinical assessment and intervention including an awareness of the empirical support for assessment and intervention approaches, a scientific evaluation of clinical practice data, the evaluation of clinical efficacy throughout the treatment process, and the application of scientific principles even in the absence of established empirically-supported treatments. Clinical doctoral students obtain their clinical training in our on-campus Noble H. Kelley Psychological Services Center (PSC) which serves the Louisville Kentucky community and at numerous external practicum site settings throughout the region.

Clinical Training Settings

Noble H. Kelley Psychological Services Center 

Students participate in clinical training activities through internal practica at our campus Psychological Services Center, which serves the greater Louisville community. The Noble H. Kelley Psychological Services Center (PSC) offers specialty clinics with graduate student therapists working under the supervision of licensed clinical psychologists, including clinical program faculty. The PSC is a fully equipped clinic on the Belknap campus with a reception area, therapy and assessment rooms and state of the art video equipment. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, HIPAA compliant telehealth services and supervision are conducted. Specialty training team approaches may vary in a given academic year according to supervisor scheduling and availability. Recent training teams have been  in the following areas: Eating Disorder Specialty Team, Integrative Intervention Team, Mindfulness in Health Team, Child with ADHD, and Related Difficulties (CARDS) Team.

PSC Services to the community and related training opportunities include general and specialty psychological assessment and testing, psychotherapy and services for children and adolescents, midlife and older adults. Theoretical approaches utilized include cognitive-behavioral therapy, ACT, Mindfulness, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy focused approaches as well as integrative therapy approaches.

The PSC also maintains relationships with our University of Louisville Health Sciences Campus and their health care providers and facilitates referrals, conducts Professional Development Seminars for the PSC trainees and University Community (Clinical Psychology Colloquium Series) and Educational & Outreach Programs for the Public and University Communities.

Take a virtual tour of the Psychological Services Center!

Louisville Community Practicum Sites

Clinical Psychology graduate students may also choose to obtain training at vetted external practicum settings under the supervision of licensed psychologists in the community. Examples of practicum settings include The University of Louisville School of Medicine Pain Clinic, Frazier Rehabilitation Center, Louisville OCD Clinic, Louisville Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, Louisville Center for Eating Disorders, and the Louisville Sleep Health Center.

 Learn more about our Research, Clinical, and Academic Training here.

Financial Support 

Learn more about financial support options for our graduate students here.