Clinical Placement

Practicum training helps students integrate theoretical knowledge with clinical application. Our students gain supervised practice experience with a range of client populations, age groups and clinical problems.

Practicum

Each student is required to complete two year-long practicum placements: Practicum I (three semesters) and Practicum II (three semesters). Each practicum experience includes a minimum of 500 training hours per year:

• At least 50%, and ideally 75%, in direct service to clients.

• Approximately 25% in supervision, training activities, and administrative duties related to service and training.

Possible Practicum Sites

The School of Graduate Psychology maintains the Pacific Psychology & Comprehensive Health Clinic, a training clinic located at two sites. The Hillsboro clinic is located in Creighton Hall on the Hillsboro Campus; here, student clinicians provide services in both Spanish and English. The Portland clinic is located in downtown Portland.

Other community sites in the Portland area are available for Practicum II and elective Clinical Fieldwork placements, allowing for exposure to varied sites and populations. 

Internship

The clinical psychology internship is the culminating experience of the professional psychology program. It is among the last major tasks undertaken by the student prior to graduation, and it represents a significant commitment of time and effort. 

The internship requires either full-time supervised clinical experience for one calendar year or a comparable half-time supervised clinical experience for two consecutive years. Internship training must be taken at a site that is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) or meets Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Center (APPIC) criteria. Students apply for internships through the APPIC match procedure. The School of Graduate Psychology has an outstanding record of placing students in internship experiences across the United States and Canada. We also have our own APA-accredited internship training program.

Our students (2018-2019) are placed all over the country. See Map for placements. For more information on clinical training, please visit our website.

 Examples of Types of Practicum Sites 

• Outpatient Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC)

• Child and Adolescent Day Treatment Programs (including school-based placement)

• Forensic Settings (Juvenile Justice, Sherriff’s Office, sites that specialize in treating individuals who have been convicted of Sex Offences) 

• Outpatient CMHC specializing in Substance Use Disorders

• Community site serving survivors of Domestic Violence

• Behaviorally Integrated Medical Offices

• College Counseling Center

• Crisis Center

• Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)