Pacifica Graduate Institute - PhD in Clinical Psychology

About this program

Pacifica’s Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Program is dedicated to educating scholar-practitioner-activists who integrate theory, research and socially informed clinical practice within human science and depth psychology traditions. The program stresses engagement with issues of social justice and care as essential to the role of clinical psychologist as a citizen, especially in relation to communities that have been traditionally marginalized and underserved within systems of mental health care. The curriculum is designed to facilitate licensure as a clinical psychologist, based on current educational requirements for psychologists in the State of California.

Clinical instruction emphasizes the importance of the therapeutic relationship, the significance of attention to interiority and complexity of human inner experience, early development (i.e., attachment, socio-historical context), developmental stages across the lifespan, processes of personal and community based transformation, mind-body integration, therapeutic presence, and the cultural context of healing. A critical dialogue is maintained with contemporary developments in the field with critical historical examinations of factors that influence the practice and science of psychology.

Program’s goal is to prepare students to become constructively engaged in diverse clinical, academic, and community settings as researchers, clinicians, and citizen-activists who are grounded in deeply humane, theoretically sophisticated, and socially conscious approaches to clinical psychology. The engaging beauty of the campus, an intense residency format, and class cohort configuration lend themselves to an experience of scholarly and personal development keenly attuned to Pacifica’s mission of “caring for soul in and of the world.”

To learn more about the program, the faculty, students and alumni please go to https://www.pacifica.edu/degree-program/ph-d-clinical-psychology/

• Year partnership began: 2020
• Fellowships awarded per year (average): 2

Application requirements

Applicants are expected to bring a strong foundation in psychological scholarship, specifically scholarly research and writing, as well as a demonstrated interest and aptitude for the study of depth psychology, which will be assessed during the application process for bachelor level applicants.

Program seeks individuals who are psychologically-minded, and who show evidence of emotional resilience, cultural awareness, and commitment to scholarly questioning necessary to work with diverse individuals and communities.

In addition to advanced writing and scholarship skills, successful candidates will have supervised clinical experience and manifest an interest in the relationships among psychology, the humanities and human sciences.

Application Requirements:

• The experience of personal depth psychotherapy is highly valued.Personal statement (3-5 pages)
• Resumé/curriculum vitae (CV)
• Minimum 5-10 page academic writing sample
• 3 letters of recommendation with recommendation form
• Acknowledgment of licensure requirements information form
• Official transcripts – must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a regionally accredited or state approved institution of higher education

Admissions process

Coverdell Fellows must identify themselves as applicants in their Personal statement and communication with Admissions department. Fellows are invited to connect with department faculty prior to application to learn more about the program.

Degrees awarded

PhD in Clinical Psychology with Emphasis in Depth Psychology

Benefits and opportunities

Net cost is equal to tuition/fees minus fellowship value. For some universities, the fellowship value includes non-tuition/fee benefits such as health insurance or housing. See cost savings details for more.

Estimated annual cost of living: $22,236

Cost savings details

$10,000 tuition waiver for first three years of coursework only; this does not include the last two years of dissertation writing (an additional $29,800); application fee waiver. The price above reflects the MA program (non-residential and residential).

Internship

The PhD Clinical Psychology program includes clinical training at two levels: the practicum, which represents applied supervised clinical experience at a program-approved training site during years two and three of the program, and the doctoral internship, which students undertake when they have completed the curriculum (and alongside their doctoral dissertation process). The applied practicum experience is integrated with the curriculum through practicum seminars. The doctoral internship is a summative and capstone training experience, in which the skills and knowledge obtained through coursework and practicum experiences are exercised. A minimum of 1,000 hours of practicum and 1,500 hours of internship are required. Coverdell Fellows work in sites in underserved communities.

Students will work with the Director of Clinical Training and Clinical Training Coordinator to identify sites that meet their unique clinical interests and professional goals. Students at Pacifica can apply to training sites through the Southern California Association of Training Programs (SCAPTP), Bay Area Practicum Information Collaborative (BAPIC), California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC), and the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers Post-Match Vacancy Service (APPIC PMVS).

During the practicum and internship, students provide supervised clinical services and programming to diverse individuals, families, and communities in a wide range of clinical settings: Community mental health centers; independent practices; hospitals; schools; clinical research centers; C.G. Jung institutes; hospices; alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers; assessment clinics; psychoanalytic training sites; inpatient sites serving severely mentally ill; veteran rehabilitation cites; domestic violence shelters; LGBTQ centers; state prisons; juvenile detention centers; immigrant community services; Catholic Worker houses; early infant centers; parent education sites (attachment based); foster youth organizations; human trafficking service centers; eating disorder treatment centers; college counseling centers. Majority of the training sites, which engage our students, are dedicated to clinical care for underserved communities.

Coverdell Fellows internship locations have included:

• Institute for Multicultural Counseling and Education Services- Los Angeles, CA
• Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center- Los Angeles, CA
• New Beginnings Counseling Center- Santa Barbara, CA
• North County LGBTQ Resource Center- Oceanside, CA
• Oakes Children Center- San Francisco, CA
• Pasadena City College- Pasadena, CA
• People Helping People- Solvang, CA
• San Francisco Child Abuse and Prevention Center- San Francisco, CA
• Santa Barbara Rescue Mission- Santa Barbara, CA
• Airport Marina Counseling Center- Los Angeles, CA
• Alvarado Parkway Institute-Los Angeles, CA
• Alzheimer's Association- Santa Barbara, CA
• Beit T'Shuvah- Los Angeles, CA
• Clare Foundation- Los Angeles, CA
• Community Institute for Psychotherapy - San Francisco, CA
• County of San Diego, North Central Mental Health Center- San Diego, CA
• Rose City Center- Pasadena, CA
• The Hope Program- Stockton, CA
• The Maple Center- Los Angeles, CA
• The Relational Center- Los Angeles, CA
• The Sage Institute- San Francisco, CA
• Tri-City Medical Center- Oceanside, CA
• Valley Community Counseling Clinic- Los Angeles, CA
• Visions Adolescent Treatment Center- Malibu, CA
• CG Jung Institute of Los Angeles- Los Angeles, CA
• CG Jung Institute of San Francisco- San Francisco, CA
• Wright Institute Los Angeles- Los Angeles, CA

Other opportunities

Mentorship of Fellows in a small and ongoing group

Jobs for alumni

Independent practice; community mental health centers; private and public undergraduate academic institutions; business consulting; assessment clinics; graduate academic institutions; community activists; college counseling centers; EAP centers; hospices; school counseling offices; alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers; hospitals; LGBTQ centers; sexual education and treatment clinics; eating disorder treatment centers; domestic violence centers; human trafficking rehabilitation organizations; foster care system; homeless services centers; veteran service centers; international human rights work; mind-body centers; indigenous healing centers; trauma centers; hospitals; prisons and jails; early childhood (attachment) care centers; sports psychology; music-based psychology; animal assisted psychology; somatic psychotherapy; East-West psychology clinics; clinical practices that integrate the arts.

Nontraditional options