The PhD in Counseling Psychology program at Northeastern is designed to train the next generation of mental health professionals.
In The News
The PhD Program in Counseling Psychology offers doctoral education and training in psychology and prepares students for entry-level practice in counseling psychology. Doctoral level counseling psychologists conduct research, teach at the university level, supervise students and professionals, consult with community agencies, and provide clinical services to people across the developmental lifespan. Counseling psychologists also enhance the science of health promotion and health psychology and emphasize community-based interventions.
Mission: It is the mission of the PhD in Counseling Psychology program to train multiculturally competent counseling psychologists who are: (1) clinically adept in multiple settings with a variety of psychological and health-related issues; (2) able to conceptualize, conduct, and evaluate research across biological, cultural, and relational systems in numerous social contexts, such as families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities.
Our clinical training prepares counseling psychologists to work in various settings with individuals presenting with a variety of psychological and health-related issues. We emphasize an ecological model which encourages the conceptualization of relationships and research across multiple systems: biological, cultural, and relational. These relationships occur in various social contexts, including families, schools, neighborhoods and communities.
- Merging of science and practice within multicultural and urban contexts
- Translational research related to health promotion of individuals, groups, families, and communities
- Opportunities for empirically-based practice in urban community centers, agencies, schools, and hospitals
- Development of consultation and leadership skills in researchers and practitioners
- To prepare graduates for the role of professional psychologists, to include advanced skill development in behavioral observations, interviewing, psychological assessment, counseling and treatment planning and practice, consultation, effective use of supervision and an understanding of and commitment to the profession’s ethical codes.
- To foster understanding and application of the scientific basis of clinical practice in psychotherapy and clinical assessment.
- To produce graduates who possess advanced and applied research skills within an ecological perspective.
- To produce graduates who are committed to and demonstrate ethical practice as counseling psychologists.
- To produce graduates who are multiculturally competent across sources of difference, including race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion/spirituality, disability, and sexual orientation, in both clinical and research settings.
- To advance the field of counseling psychology using program strengths: (a) an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach to clinical services provision and enhancement of the science of health promotion and health psychology; (b) stress on urban, community-based interventions using an ecological approach.
Northeastern’s Counseling Psychology Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) The next APA accreditation site visit will be held in 2024.
At least two years of intensive clinical training is required. This preparation includes advanced fieldwork at various mental health settings in the Boston area. Students are expected to be at their site for 20 hours each week. Approximately half of their time is direct service delivery. Training goals include advanced skill development in behavioral observations, interviewing, psychological assessment, counseling and treatment planning and practice, consultation, effective use of supervision, and an understanding of and commitment to the profession’s ethical codes. Students must complete a one year, full-time pre-doctoral internship that has been approved by the program.
Where They Work
- McLean Hospital
- Boston Children’s Hospital
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- UHS
- Arbor Counseling Services
What They Do
- Healthcare Services
- Education
- Community and Social Services
- Business Development
- Entrepreneurship
What They’re Skilled At
- Mental Health
- Psychotherapy
- Psychology
- Public Speaking
- Medicine
Application Materials
- Application
- Application fee – US $100
- Three letters of recommendation
- Transcripts from all institutions attended
- Personal Statement
- Resumé
- TOEFL or IELTS for applicants who do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution and whose native language is not English
- 3.5 GPA and above preferred
- Masters degree in psychology or related field
- Official GRE General is optional
- Personal interview