OVERVIEW

 

Offered through the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the psychodynamically-oriented Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) program in Clinical Psychology follows the "practitioner-scholar" model of education within the local clinical scientist tradition to prepare students for careers in Clinical Psychology. Students receive a breadth and depth of psychodynamic training that combines the extensive practical experience they receive throughout the program with courses, and graduated and sequential writing requirements that integrate practice-based knowledge and skills with the scientific foundations of psychology. Courses are taught by seasoned clinicians, scholars, and researchers. Coursework is designed to be completed within three years of full-time study (fall, spring, and summer semesters). An alternative four year plan (with a reduced course load each year) is also offered. Upon completion of coursework and prior to receiving the Psy.D. degree, students perform a one-year, full-time internship at a site approved by the faculty. The George Washington University Psy.D. program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).


On July 20, 2008, the Professional Psychology (PsyD) Program at the George Washington University received a five year accreditation award from the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation. It is the first five year award in program history. The program was launched in 1996 and graduated its first class in 2001. The program previously received two accreditation awards of three years each. From its inception, it has been a valuable psychodynamic training program in the region; indeed, the program has national standing. Dr. Dorothy E. Holmes, the program director, would like to acknowledge and express appreciation for the valuable contribution of all those students, faculty, supervisors, and staff who help make this program the success that APA has recognized.

 

The APA Committee on Accreditation may be contacted at:
750 First Street NE, Washington DC 20002-4242
Telephone: 202-336-5979

 

Recognition for Our Program and Faculty

The program demonstrates a commitment to and engages in actions that reflect its respect for and understanding of cultural and individual diversity…Interviews with faculty and first, second, and third year students indicated that multicultural competence is a shared value and that diversity-related content is discussed reliably in classes and supervision groups…the program appears to have designed current mechanisms that systematically insure knowledge of and appreciation for multicultural competence.

Current interns and alumni viewed their case conceptualization and assessment skills as definite strengths in comparison with peers from other programs. Supervisors from agencies external to the program reported that program students generally perform very well. They commented that students demonstrate strong skills in psychodynamic theory and psychological assessment, and excellent case formulation abilities.

There is a very positive interaction between students and faculty. There is very little tension, and unquestionably mutual respect in every sense. The members of the faculty are very accessible to the students.

 

Site Visit Report (Accreditation, American Psychological Association), June 2007

The 2006-07 Award for Excellence in Graduate Academic Advising is presented to Loring Ingraham, Professor of Clinical Psychology. Professor Ingraham is known as an inspirational and caring advisor, who encourages academic and professional independence and adventurousness, while providing guidance and succor in times of need. In their letters of nomination, his students credit him with helping them select courses prepare for course and comprehensive exams, keep their research projects well grounded, weight internship options, and forge professional contracts. His every interaction is characterized by grace, generosity, and enormous commitment.

GWU Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, May 19, 2007

During her distinguished career, Dorothy E. Holmes, Ph.D., has made significant scholarly contributions, particularly to our understanding of racial, gender and socioeconomic influences in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Her most recent publications examine the “wrecking effects of race and social class on self and success,” race and counter transference as two psychoanalytic blind spots, and racial transferences in psychoanalytic treatment. She has also written on women’s aggressive conflicts, and the psychodynamic manifestations and consequences of “glass ceilings.” In the area of analytic technique her contributions include papers on the steps of effective defense analysis on superego analysis, and on emerging indicators of ego growth and concomitant resistances.

Helping others reach for, overcome self-imposed obstacles to, and attain their potential is a thread running throughout Dr. Holmes’s psychoanalytic and academic work. Her work has deepened our understanding of internal conflict-based correlates to the cultural contexts in which individuals strive for adaptation and growth.

Free Associations, the newsletter of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute and Society, February 2006.
The George Washington University Professional Psychology Program (Psy.D.)
1922 F Street, NW Suite 103
Washington, DC 20052
(Phone office): 202.994.4929 (Fax): 202.994.4800 psyd@gwu.edu