Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology with Health Emphasis
Our unique PsyD program, with a health emphasis, gives 15 driven candidates each year, the support, training, and experience to provide superior evidence-based clinical services and make important scholarly contributions.
The Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology program within The School of Health Sciences of Touro College, combines the academic, research, and clinical experiences necessary to prepare you to become a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of New York. With our health emphasis and the training provided, you will be ready to work as a psychologist in traditional mental health settings, in private practice, as well as in an increasingly integrated healthcare system with medical patients, and in collaboration with a variety of health care providers. The 114-credit full-time on-campus PsyD program in Clinical Psychology, Health Emphasis, requires a minimum of 4 full-time academic years of graduate study plus a full-year clinical internship prior to receiving the doctoral degree.
A Practitioner-Scholar Training Philosophy
Our teaching and training philosophy is consistent with the practitioner-scholar model of training. The bidirectional integration of the functions of the practitioner and scholar is critical in translating and implementing empirically-based assessment and treatment approaches to diverse settings and furthering the scientific foundations of clinical psychology.
The program's practitioner-scholar training philosophy is aimed at producing psychologists who are both clinically and academically prepared to work as clinicians and researchers in a wide variety of settings. This program design is based on the premise that psychologists working in mental and physical healthcare settings need a strong foundation of clinical and research skills and is specifically designed to graduate skilled clinicians and scholars.
Our expert faculty members bring knowledge gained from their professional career and their own specialized clinical practice and research interests.
By the Numbers
Only PsyD program in NY with a health emphasis.
Years to complete the PsyD program.
Number of available program slots each year.
Minimum number of externship fieldwork hours you'll clock.
Health Emphasis: How Psychology Fits into an Integrated Health System
Our PsyD degree prepares you to work as a general psychologist, but also provides the specialty training to work within a larger medical environment and on the frontlines of a healthcare system that is increasingly interdisciplinary and integrated. Through your course work and clinical experiences, you’ll be trained to address mental health issues in a medical, as well as behavioral health, setting. You’ll take specialized courses in healthcare and aging, the healthcare system, and neuropsychological assessment, and clinical health psychology/behavioral medicine in addition to general and advanced courses in assessment, treatment, consultation, ethics, and diversity.
As a practicing psychologist on an integrated healthcare team, your work might vary from a 1-2 session conversation with a patient who is mildly depressed, to a long-term intervention as a patient copes with trauma or chronic disease. You might work in a setting in which you have brief sessions with a diabetic patient who is not adhering to their medication regimen or proper diet, treat a patient whose anxiety is interfering with daily activities, help patients with debilitating eating disorders, or work at a cardiac rehabilitation unit and help patients with stress reduction and lifestyle modification.
Clinical psychologists have important roles at medical centers, VA hospitals, long-term COVID facilities, and helping allied health care professionals with pain management, obesity, addiction, and medication mismanagement. In many medical settings, including primary and specialty care facilities, and behavioral health facilities, psychological treatment is increasingly emphasized for overall health and well-being.
The pandemic and health disparities have created a great deal of stress, impacting both mental and physical well-being. In this new world, our program emphasizes creating 21st century psychologists to respond to new and challenging realities.— Jeff Gardere, PhD, ABPP, Associate Professor
Becoming a Licensed Clinical Psychologist
In our Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program, you’ll complete rigorous didactic coursework and earn the necessary pre-doctoral clinical experience for license eligibility in NYS.
After graduation, prior to receiving your NYS licensure, you’ll need to earn one year of additional experience practicing under the supervision of a professional psychologist and to pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, which is the national licensing exam. In NYS you may choose to take your licensure exam right after graduation, or after completing your additional year of training.
All states and territories in the U.S. require licensure applicants to achieve a satisfactory score on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). Many states also require a jurisprudence examination (i.e., an examination covering the laws and rules governing the practice of psychology in that jurisdiction) and/or an oral examination in addition to the EPPP. Information on which jurisdictions require supplemental examinations, as well as other licensure-related information, can be found at www.asppb.net/page/psybook
PsyD Program Curriculum
Our clinical psychology program is built on a foundation of psychological science and emphasizes cognitive-behavioral models of practice, and trains you in evidence-based therapies as well as other interventions with demonstrated empirical support. In this doctoral program, you’ll gain a wide range of clinical experience working with culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse populations across the life span. You’ll learn about healthcare disparities and how to bring this understanding into your clinical practice.
Didactic Coursework
During the first year of the program, you’ll take an intensive series of foundational courses in the psychological sciences that prepare you for later clinical training. Later in the program, you balance more advanced didactic courses with clinical training experiences and are engaged in scholarly activities throughout.
Learn more about academic coursework and externship on our PsyD Academics page.
Externship (Practicum)
Second, third, and fourth-year doctoral students take part in closely monitored externships at one of 50 respected training sites in the New York-New Jersey metro area. These externship opportunities are in outpatient, inpatient, medical, and local mental health facilities.
Dissertation
During the 3rd and 4th years in the program, you will work on your doctoral dissertation under the supervision of a program faculty member. The dissertation demonstrates your ability to think critically and address an area of clinical interest.
Internship
The 5th year is mainly focused on a full-time clinical internship in clinical psychology. In this position, you’ll apply what you’ve learned in your practicum and coursework and work under the supervision of licensed clinical psychologists. Finding an institution for your internship is competitive and involves a national match process.
Our PsyD Prepares You For the Future of Healthcare & Psychology
Description: Text reads: Frank Gardner, PhD, ABPP. Executive Program Director & Associate Dean, School of Health Sciences. Frank sits backed by a large window that details the skyscrapers of Times Square beyond. He speaks directly to the camera. This is the main interview room.
Frank Gardner: The PsyD program at Touro is intended to produce psychologists that are able to be licensed in the state, provide empathic psychological care, and also be both consumers and producers of scholarly work.
Description: Frank works with a student in his office, discussing a document from a lesson. His student, dressed professionally, nods along and chats with Frank.
Description: Text, Vanessa Visquerra, second-year student. Vanessa sits, backed by the same window showcasing the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan as Frank did before.
Vanessa Visquerra: I think the PsyD program is very nurturing. I think that it's very open academically. We have a warm environment among classmates. It's just a really great place to be.
Description: A classroom filled with students. At the front, stands a professor, backed by a large projector showing notes on the whiteboard. She talks animatedly with her students as they ask questions and take notes on their computers.
Description: Text reads Yosef Krupka, first year student. Clad in a black blazer, white collared shirt, and glasses.
Yosef Krupka: I think the PsyD program is meant for individuals who wanna come and learn and gain the knowledge and experience to become evidence-based practitioners to help others in the world. And I think that this program in particular is really giving us a broad range of ability in order to take that wherever life takes us.
Description: As Yosef speaks, we see scenes of Yosef typing away on his computer in the library. Intercut with this is the Touro Logo on an LED screen, facing out into Times Square.
Description: Text, Chloe Guidi, first year student. Chloe sits accented again by the Times Square-facing window. In between this, as she speaks, we see scenes of Chloe and her classmates in a small, compact classroom where Frank Gardner discusses the lesson with them as the students take notes.
Chloe Guidi: For me, what really stands out is how small each cohort is. I think that it's very valuable to be able to have the opportunity to work so closely with not only your fellow cohort members and your peers, but also with faculty.
Description: Different scenes of Vanessa and her peers working in tight-knit classrooms, engaging directly and personally with their professors. We also see scenes of Vanessa and her peers working together, laughing and smiling as they do.
Vanessa Visquerra: I think that having the faculty be so accessible is such an asset to us here at Touro. We get to do research with them, they're available inside and outside of the classroom. It's definitely helped our rapport. I feel more comfortable around my professors.
Description: Text DJ Morgan, PHD, BCBA-D. Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training.
DJ Morgan: I have a great deal of optimism for the opportunities that will be available for our graduates because of their robust training and their diverse experiences that they'll be able to be flexible to move into different career changes. And that level of flexibility is critical in this ever-changing world of mental health.
Description: Groups of students from all different backgrounds work together in various classrooms, once more laughing, smiling, and collaborating on their studies.
Description: Text, Richard Divirgilio, First Year Student. Richard speaks directly to the camera, the sun shining brightly behind him.
Richard Divirgilio: There are many aspects of Touro's program that I think set it apart from other programs like it. First and foremost, its location. We're right in the heart of Times Square, which is considered the heart of New York. And so because of that, we have access to so many research and employment opportunities, which I think are the backbone of graduate programs.
Description: The bustling streets of Times Square. Timelapse shots show throngs of people moving through the area throughout the day, giving us an idea of just how lively things are. In the center of it all, is the Touro University Building’s entrance. Two female students, dressed in fashionable autumn wear, enter the white marble lobby of Touro University.
Frank Gardner: We're the only PsyD program in the country, that has a health emphasis, so that really distinguishes us from other places.
Description: Doctors in white lab coats and scrubs take notes on their clipboards and laptops, as they work in their labs.
Description: Text, Aida Aminpour, second year student, talks directly to the camera about her aspirations.
Aida Aminpour: I specifically chose this program because of the health emphasis part of it. After graduation, I plan to see clients or patients with complex medical comorbidities. I'm currently doing my clinical externship at Weill Cornell Medicine in neurology, so kind of getting that exposure currently right now.
Description: Students sit together in different classrooms, learning. We see one such classroom has a sign on the door labeled “PSYD Psychotherapy Training and Research Lab.”
Description: Text, Maya Oledzka, first year student. She is dressed in a dark grey blazer, and gold earrings, framed by the Times Square skyscrapers outside the window.
Maya Oledzka: I also really enjoy that our first year in this program, we don't have an externship, so we're focusing on actually settling into the program and learning and learning how eventually we can take this information that we have learned and then integrate it into our externships.
Description: We see two students walking through the pristine white hall halls of the university, discussing notes on one of the girls’ laptops. We then see a campus directory, listing several laboratories and classrooms Touro University has to offer. Finally, we settle on a wide shot of Maya standing before the University entrance talking with another student, as pedestrians walk by around them.
Description: Tasnova Ahmed, first year student. She is dressed in a brown blazer, black turtleneck, and glasses. A gold pendant gleams against the shine of the overhead lights.
Tasnova Ahmed: This is a very new building. Touro University has a new campus at Times Square. It's a beautiful view. All the intricacies of this building is all state-of-the-art.
Description: Frank Gardner sits in the PSYD Psychotherapy training and research lab with Professor Carrie Dimatteo as she wears a virtual reality headset. She reaches out, touching only what she can see with the equipment as Frank makes a note of it in his notebook.
Frank Gardner: We have virtual reality equipment to train people in cutting-edge ways of delivering psychological treatment. We have simulation equipment where people can learn how to treat patients, by being on a screen, looking at what looks like a patient but it's really an AI patient.
Description: Text, Carrie Dimatteo, Assistant Professor. She wears a red shirt adorned with light purple flowers.
Carrie Dimatteo: And I think one of the things about learning to become a psychologist is learning to think about people from lots of different backgrounds. I think that we have the opportunity to match up students with different patients from different populations and get experience working with people from backgrounds that are different than yours.
Description: Students sit in small classrooms, and see a close-up shot of a student asking Frank a question, to which he responds, causing the students to smile and nod in understanding.
Frank Gardner: In thinking about what I would say to a student who wants to apply here, wants to be here, I think we offer a great combination of a rigorous, very strong program that's gonna train you the way you need to be trained. But at the same time, we have a culture here that allows for a lot of personal warmth, a lot of contact with faculty, a lot of mentoring.
Description: Frank and Professor Dimatteo work with students both in their offices and in the classroom, offering them direct access to their attention and knowledge.
Frank Gardner: Our job is to make you work hard to be good, but at the same time support you every step of the way. We wanna educate, we wanna train, we wanna mentor, and the combination of those three is what makes this work.
Description: Text, The Touro University logo. School of Health and Sciences. The video ends on this logo, fading to black.
Faculty Research Interests
Our PsyD program faculty members are distinguished scholars and clinical practitioners with varied research interests. During the program, PsyD candidates will be directly involved with faculty research projects. As a PsyD candidate, you will have the opportunity to grow with the research, participating in all aspects of design, data collection, administrative duties, and analysis.
The following introduces a few of our faculty members and outlines possible research areas you can be involved with in our program.
Frank Gardner, PhD, ABPP, the Executive Director of the PsyD Program, was the founding editor of the Journal of Clinical Sports Psychology and has expert knowledge of sport and performance psychology, in addition to his broad expertise in cognitive behavior therapy. His clinical and research areas include the role of emotion dysregulation in anger, violent behavior, and chronic illness as well as the use of biometric wearables in understanding physical and emotional wellbeing.
Lila Pereira, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, conducts research focused on adjustment and quality of life after a medical diagnosis, in the Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation Division at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital. Current research projects include the role of digital storytelling in trauma processing for young adults, and the quality of life of sibling donors in stem cell transplant.
Yosef Sokol, PhD, Assistant Professor, is the MIRECC Health Specialist Research Scientist at the Bronx VA Medical Center, where he oversees a variety of funded research projects. His research has been designed to develop and evaluate efficacy of a recovery-oriented treatment for post-suicidal patients, as well as develop a theoretical model of post Covid-19 psychiatric conditions that integrates direct medical and psychiatric sequala with psychosocial downstream effects of loss of functioning.
Visit our PsyD Faculty page to learn more about our faculty research projects and areas of expertise.
Program Prerequisites and Admissions Requirements
Admission into our doctoral degree program is highly competitive. In order to be considered, at minimum you’ll need a bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA, three letters of recommendation, and combined verbal and quantitative GRE scores above 300. For fall 2023 admissions GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, writing sections) are optional.
If your undergraduate degree is in an area other than psychology, you’ll also need to submit Psychology GRE scores. You’ll need to have a minimum of 18 credits in psychology, with a grade of B or above, including a course in Introduction to Psychology, Statistics, Research Design or Methods, and Abnormal Psychology. A course in physiological psychology or its equivalent is highly recommended but not required.
All applications are through PSYCAS. For more detail on prerequisites and admissions requirements, visit our PsyD Admissions page.
Accreditation Status
The PsyD Program at the School of Health Sciences of Touro College is approved by the NYS Department of Education. The program has been developed in accordance with APA accreditation guidelines and we intend to apply for APA accreditation at the earliest possible time.
