Mission Statement
The University of Maine’s Doctoral Training Program in Clinical Psychology promotes
scientific knowledge and evidence-based practices that enhance psychological well-being and
reduce mental health disparities and suffering. Students are trained in foundational competencies
that emphasize the interactive influences and integration of science and professional practice of
psychology. Our rigorous training program has been accredited by the American Psychological
Association since 1975. It continues to evolve based on cultural humility, our commitment to the
scientist-practitioner model, and to making meaningful contributions to the field and society.
Program Values
These values guide the operation of the Doctoral Training Program in Clinical Psychology. They
are aspirational, requiring deliberate attention, responsiveness to feedback, and humility. They
are interdependent, informing all aspects of training.
- Science.
o The program embraces the ideal that empirical research and scientific principles
should guide training and practice in clinical psychology. - Community.
o The program is a community of learners who share accountability for the ongoing
development of its members’ competencies. - Holistic Development.
o The program is committed to all aspects of students’ professional development
including research, practice, ethical, and professional competencies. - Cultural Humility.
o The program is committed to practicing and promoting inclusivity and cultural
humility across training, practice, research, and field service activities. Specific
initiatives may be found on our Diversity webpage.
The program is committed to providing a supportive and open learning environment for all
individuals regardless of age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin,
religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or beliefs, consistent with the broad
definitions of diversity accepted by the American Psychological Association (link). Our
program also is committed to a training process that ensures that graduate students develop the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work effectively with members of the public who embody
intersecting demographics, attitudes, beliefs, and values. Respect for the differing opinions and
attitudes of all individuals, as well as the continued acceptance of these differences, are
important to the development of this environment. We value interacting with individuals
different from ourselves and find this to be vital to our education mission.
Model of Training
The philosophy and model of training for the program is consistent with the scientist-practitioner
model espoused at the Boulder Conference in 1949. This model emphasizes the interactive
influences of the science and professional practice of psychology as well as their integration.
Training follows the generalist tradition in which students receive a firm foundation in broad
clinical knowledge and skills and engage in a variety of applied experiences with children,
adolescents, and adults. Building on this generalist foundation, students can also complete more
specialized training through emphases in clinical child psychology and clinical neuropsychology.
The program also adheres to the mentor model, in which faculty recruit students that match their
training philosophy and research activities and act as mentors, modeling the integration of
science, practice, and continuing education. Students are treated as junior colleagues and
encouraged to participate in program governance and evaluation, present and publish research,
review manuscripts, and attend professional workshops.
Aims
The program’s emphasis on science-practice integration is reflected in clearly specified training
aims: (1) To produce graduates who have the requisite knowledge of the broad bases of scientific
psychology; (2) To produce graduates who have the requisite knowledge and skills to critically
evaluate and conduct empirical research; (3) To produce scientist practitioner graduates who
have an appreciation of the close links between psychological research and practice and
knowledge and skills needed to integrate the two; (4) To produce graduates who have the
requisite knowledge and skills for entry into the practice of professional psychology; and (5) To
produce graduates with the requisite knowledge and skills to form a foundation upon which to
function in an ethical and professional manner throughout their professional careers.
Practicum
Starting in the summer following the first year, students begin their immersion into clinical practice. These practicum experiences begin in the program’s training clinic, the Psychological Services Center (PSC). The PSC is an outpatient clinic serving individuals from the Bangor metro area and the surrounding communities. In addition to providing assessment and treatment services for children, adolescents, and adults, the PSC also provides consultation to community agencies, such as the Department of Corrections, Job Corps, and local school districts. Students continue to practice in the PSC throughout their training under faculty supervision. This PSC experience is supplemented with assignments to a variety of external placements starting in the second year.
Psychological Services Center website
A full range of external practicum training sites are available to students.Off-campus practicum sites available to our students in recent years include:
Northern Light EMMC Rehabilitation, Neuropsychology Clinic (Bangor), trainees work alongside a board-certified neuropsychologist to increase their knowledge and skill in neuropsychological assessment and differential diagnosis in those presenting with cognitive concerns.
Counseling Center, University of Maine, Orono, trainees deliver outpatient individual therapy to University of Maine students with a wide range of presenting concerns. Trainees provide evidence-based and supportive treatment and receive supervision with a special focus on attunement to the therapeutic process and observation of the present.
Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Institute, Maine General Health (Augusta), trainees work within a primary care clinic as an integrated behavioral health care provider under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist.
Maine Child Psychology Practicum, Child Development Services Centers in Maine, trainees conduct assessments of children aged five and under who are referred by Child Development Services for comprehensive psychological evaluations to determine eligibility for early intervention and special education services.
Health Psych Maine (Waterville) A group practice specializing in chronic pain.
Northern Light Acadia Hospital Neuropsychology Practicum
(Bangor), A center focused on both hospital and community-based mental health and substance abuse treatment services
Penobscot Community Health Center (Bangor) A community-based integrated healthcare center serving primarily homeless and peri-homeless populations.
Penobscot Job Corps Center (Bangor), Practicum students serve as mental health consultants at Job Corps, a federal job training center serving young adults from diverse backgrounds.
VA Maine Healthcare System Neuropsychology Practicum (Togus), trainees will work alongside a licensed psychologist and board-certified neuropsychologist in conducting evaluations and E-consults (i.e. referrals that are addressed through extensive record review and summarized in a report). Trainees attend a Neuropsychology seminar alongside neuropsychologists, post doctoral fellows, and interns.
Research
As a scientist-practitioner program, research is a foundational component of training. Key to this training is the mentor model. Students are matched with faculty mentors that share their research interests and goals. They are treated as junior colleagues, routinely presenting and publishing with their faculty mentors. Students are eligible for a variety of internal funding sources to support their research and are encouraged to apply for grants and other external funding sources as well. For more details on mentor interests and research opportunities, see the lab pages:
Internship
As part of the graduation requirements, students must complete a full year of successful work in an APA-accredited internship training program. The program has an excellent match rate and regularly places its students in top quality internships. For instance, this is a sampling of the sites our students have more recently attended:
Palo Alto VA, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, UCLA Medical Center, Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University, Boston Consortium, Duke University Medical Center; University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, University of Mississippi Medical Center/Jackson VA Medical Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Brown University, the Togus VA Medical Center, Pacific Islands VA Healthcare System, Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System, and Salt Lake City VA Health Care System.
APPIC Internship Match Statistics
STATEMENT ON LICENSURE
Our program adheres to APA accreditation standards and prepares students for entry into the profession of Clinical Psychology. Given the varied and changing requirements across jurisdictions, we cannot assure, nor is it our responsibility, that graduates will meet all requirements for licensure in all states, territories, or international locations. Doctoral trainess in this program are encouraged to become familiar with licensing laws applicable to their career plans and discuss their curricular plan with their major professor and/or the Director of Clinical Training (DCT) as needed. The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) provides up-to-date information on licensing requirements in jurisdictions in the United States and Canada. A link to PSYIBook ASPPB’s online reporting tool for licensing requirements can be found here.
APA Accreditation
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