Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.)

Description

Increasingly in the professional practice of counseling, the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) is becoming the credential of preference. This emerging emphasis has come about owing to the value and importance of praxis or clinical practical experience placed upon the participant within the degree program. Rather than being a research oriented degree such as the Ph.D. which is commonly thought of as the required teaching credential, the Psy.D. places fundamental emphasis upon skills training and practical clinical experience within the counseling setting. The Graduate Theological Foundation enters this field owing to the large number of clergy and ministry professionals who have come to seek the Psy.D. because they prefer an educational environment more responsive to their faith awareness needs than is typically exemplified in the secular professional schools of psychology and state university graduate departments. The Psy.D. candidate at the Foundation will encounter a two-fold emphasis: an unrelenting commitment to the academic study of psychology and its clinical practical application to the counseling situation and an equally active emphasis upon the role of the ministry professional as representative of the faith community within the counseling setting. By combining academic training and pastoral awareness, the Foundation’s program will offer a unique opportunity for ministry professionals. Individuals must comply with the licensure and/or board certification requirements of the state in which they intend to be engaged in professional counseling.

Logotherapy/Franklian Psychology Option Click Here

Clinical Pastoral Psychotherapy Option Click Here

Participants

This Psy.D. program is open to those who have been actively engaged in some form of professional ministry (parish, social service, community outreach, chaplaincy, etc.) for at least five years and who meet the Admission Requirements listed for this degree. The degree is offered exclusively to the already credentialed ministry professional and is in no sense designed for those seeking to enter the field of counseling. Professional counseling and ministry credentials are viewed as prerequisites to entering this course of study with the Foundation.

Time Frame and Tuition

This is a 30 credit program. The usual time frame for degree programs is a minimum of eighteen months and a maximum of forty-eight months for completion.

Tuition: $7,750.00
Project Processing: $300.00
Graduation: $100.00

Admission Requirements

Baccalaureate degree or equivalent validated by a transcript.
Master’s degree in a cognate field of ministry or counseling validated by a transcript.
Five years of accumulated experience in full-time professional practice or some form of ministry.
Completion of the Application Procedure.

Orientation

Residency and Response Papers

The student completes eight Units of Study at approved educational venues. Each Unit of Study must consist of 40 contact hours or three semester credits. All courses must be graduate-level, and sponsored by a graduate, professional, or denominationally approved institution with academically qualified faculty. A response paper of 1,750-2,500 words (7-10 pages) must be submitted for each Unit of Study. Response papers should be analytically reflective regarding the relevance of each Unit’s content to the exercise of the student’s ministry. Papers are evaluated by the Foundation’s faculty and an acknowledgement letter is sent to the student. If further development of the paper is deemed necessary, the student will be notified. All academic work must be completed by February 1 of the intended year of graduation.

Venue Study Options

NOTE: For Paper Guidelines, please Click Here.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit does not require a paper.

Project Consultant

Option A: Students may select a faculty member of the Foundation to serve as Project Consultant. This option enables the student to receive helpful and pragmatic evaluative feedback from a member of the faculty in the developmental process of producing the Exit Project. The role of the faculty Project Consultant is responsive and suggestive rather than “supervisory” as is the case with academic thesis writing. The faculty person is encouraged to limit feedback to pragmatically helpful hints and suggestions and not to attempt any censorship of the project. The exercise of discretion with respect to time demands is very important for both the student and faculty member. The faculty Project Consultant must give final approval of the student’s work by submitting the Project Consultant’s Report Form. The assessment from the Project Consultant is due by February 1 of the intended year of graduation.

Selection of Faculty Consultant and Nomination Procedure:

The student peruses the Faculty Details page and makes a selection.
The student completes the Faculty Project Consultant Nomination Form 107 (Forms).
Academic Affairs provides the nominated faculty member with Form 107.
The selected faculty member notifies Academic Affairs of acceptance of student nomination.
Academic Affairs informs the student and faculty member of relationship approval and contact information is provided.

Option B: Students are at liberty to select a Project Consultant who is not on the faculty of the Foundation. In that event, the Project Consultant must hold a comparable degree to that being pursued by the student. The student must nominate the Project Consultant by submitting a letter of nomination to the Foundation along with a C.V. of the nominee. The student is notified upon approval of the Project Consultant by the Academic Affairs Committee. The Project Consultant must give final approval of the student’s work by submitting the Project Consultant’s Report Form. The assessment from the Project Consultant is due by February 1 of the intended year of graduation.

Doctoral Project

The Doctoral Project is a translation into practice of the insights, values and creative concerns developed during the course of the units of interactive learning and the intervening periods of reading, reflection, and application. The project should directly relate the educational implications of the evolving relationships within the actual life of congregations or communities of faith and worship.

The Doctoral Project is a demonstration of praxis. Its structure, focus and content, therefore, allows for a wide range of differing forms appropriate to the actual area of the practice of ministry addressed. The form may range, for example, from newly developed educational courses to a research manuscript or instructional video. A note about the length of the project is impractical when speaking of video and audio cassettes, workbooks and manuals, as well as other hands-on praxis-based projects. For manuscript-style doctoral projects, however, the length would normally run from 35,000-40,000 words (140-160 pages), double-spaced, footnoted, and with significant bibliographical references of at least 35 sources. It is also recommended that the bibliography include an annotated listing of the 10-12 sources that were vital to the development of the project.

In keeping with the nature of the entire Doctoral Program as an open interaction with fellow professionals, the project is a demonstration of practice, an exploration of applied reflections, or creative work rather than a test submitted to prove competency. One copy of the Doctoral Project, in its final form, must be submitted to the Foundation by February 1 prior to graduation.

Non-Project Option

The NPO is available for this degree program. For information on the NPO, please Click Here.

Graduation Requirements

Viewing of the Foundation's instructional Orientation video.
Completion of eight Units of Study at approved venues.
Submission of eight response papers of 1,750-2,500 (7-10 pages) on topics related to the units attended.
Selection of a Project Consultant.
Completion of the Doctoral Project (or NPO) and submission of one electronic or hard copy including the Project Consultant’s evaluation forms. All academic requirements must be met by February 1 prior to graduation.
Attendance at the Convocation/Graduation. (Non-US residents are exempt from this requirement.)

There are over one hundred professional bodies recognizing, certifying, credentialing, or validating those in pastoral counseling practice in the United States. The bodies listed in this Bulletin have had a close relationship with the Foundation and are now recognized with no further documentation required from the student. The Doctor of Psychology candidate is encouraged to join at least one of the following certifying professional organizations.

Professional Associations in Counseling

American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC)
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC)
American Counseling Association (ACA)
American Psychological Association (APA)
Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE)
College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP)
National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC)
National Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC)
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)