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Roosevelt University’s PsyD Program Recognized for Excellence


CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–March 28, 2016.  For the fifth year in a row, all of Roosevelt University’s PsyD students applying for competitive internships have received placements. (Many of these students are pictured above with Department of Psychology chair Cami McBride).

The continuing success of Roosevelt’s PsyD students in landing prestigious internships accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) comes on the heels of news that the University’s PsyD in Clinical Psychology program is on a 2016 top-10 list of PsyD programs.

“These are absolutely remarkable accomplishments and a testament to the work that our PsyD students and our faculty in the PsyD program are doing,” said Bonnie Gunzenhauser, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Roosevelt University.

Ranked tenth out of 69 programs in the nation by www.bestcounselingdegrees.net, Roosevelt’s PsyD program was established in 1996 and thus far has graduated nearly 100 students. Nearly 90 percent of those graduating have passed the Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology and 85 percent of those graduating are licensed practitioners. These factors and others were considered in ranking the Roosevelt program tenth in the nation, according to the Best Counseling Degree website.  PsyD program ratings, including Roosevelt’s standing among top-10 programs can be viewed at:   http://www.bestcounselingdegrees.net/best/psy-d-programs-clinical-psychology/

“Our curriculum is rigorous and our students who go out from day one into the field are in demand,” said Cami McBride, chair of Roosevelt’s Department of Psychology. “We also place a lot emphasis on our students doing empirical research, which sets our program apart,” she said.

Orly Weltfreid, Valencia Montgomery and Sarah Fredrickson were among the 24 Roosevelt PsyD students who applied and were matched with APA-accredited internships through the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Internship Matching Program.

“I definitely feel like this program has prepared me well to be a confident psychologist and to reach my career goals,” said Weltfreid, whose passion is working with students who are making the transition into college life and studies.

Currently at work on a dissertation about the impact that self-compassion journaling has had in helping first-year Roosevelt students adapt to college life, Weltfreid will be an intern starting in the fall with the counseling center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

“The faculty members in Roosevelt’s Psychology Department care about the students and they certainly have supported me in reaching my goals,” said Montgomery, who decided to continue her education in the University’s psychology program after receiving a bachelor’s in professional studies with an emphasis in psychology from Roosevelt in 2010.

The founder of the student organization, Graduate Research Association for Students in Psychology (GRASP), Montgomery has done considerable research as a PsyD student, including a project on Alzheimer’s and memory testing that won first prize from the National Association of Neuropsychology. She has been matched to an internship in geroneuropsychology at the Ann Arbor Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I’ve found the program to be fantastic in quality. It has helped me to think clinically and to work with people, and the opportunity to be involved with research here on campus has been extremely exciting,” said Fredrickson, a student researcher with Roosevelt Associate Professor of Psychology Kimberly Dienes and her groundbreaking five-year project, “The Biopsychosocial Model of Stress Sensitivity and Risk for Depression,” which is now entering the reporting phase.  The Roosevelt PsyD student has been placed in a psychology internship working with veterans at the Edward Hines, Jr. Hospital in suburban Chicago.

For Roosevelt’s PsyD program, it is the third year in a row that all students applying for internships have been matched to APA accredited sites. “We are thrilled that all of our students have been placed at accredited sites, which will be a big plus as they move forward in their professional careers as psychologists,” said Dienes, who is director of the PsyD program at Roosevelt.

The 100 percent match rate puts the program’s performance in landing internships for students well ahead of the national average of 74 percent, Dienes said. As a result of this success, applications for admission into the University’s PsyD program have continued to rise. Currently only about 18 percent of those who apply to the doctorate program are accepted, she added.

“We have students from around the world applying to this program, which is in demand not only for its internship match rate, but also for its small class sizes and urban location,” said Dienes of the program that also offers unique instructor-development training allowing PsyD students the opportunity to teach Roosevelt’s psychology undergraduates.

Source: http://www.roosevelt.edu


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