Research Opportunities

The clinical PsyD program in Sacramento is designed for students interested in the professional practice of clinical psychology. Recognizing that this practice must be grounded in the most current literature and research knowledge, we strive to teach students to be competent consumers of research and confident in their ability to apply this knowledge to diverse populations across various settings.

One of the unique aspects of the clinical PsyD program is the design of its dissertation sequence. The four-semester course sequence begins in the second year and is completed in the third year. During the second year, students work on the development of their dissertation proposal that they typically defend at the end of the second year.  During the third year, students collect their data and complete the writing of their dissertation, which they typically defend at the end of their third year before students leave for internship. During these dissertation classes, students support each other under the supervision of the dissertation section instructor, a core faculty member who serves as dissertation chair. The seminar format draws on the skill of other students in the class to stimulate new ideas. In addition, this model allows the dissertation chair to provide ongoing helpful feedback as each student progresses through the dissertation process. This intensive structure has proven extremely successful in facilitating students completing dissertation prior to leaving for internship and in turn, completing the program on time.

In addition to course offerings, several faculty members lead voluntary research labs, providing opportunities for students to engage in hands-on research endeavors to present at state and national conferences, and to publish their findings. Below, please find a description of some of the current research initiatives involving students.

Jacqueline Fahey, PsyD

While still early in my career, I have had the privilege of being a part of many amazing research teams. In particular, I have greatly enjoyed my participation on research teams exploring topics that fall in the realm of health psychology. During my undergraduate experience, I was a member of a team which evaluated the correlation between narcissism, biological sex, mood, and exercise exertion, which was published in the International Journal of Exercise Science in 2014.

In 2016, I traveled with some fellow graduate students to rural villages in Vietnam to examine the impact of introducing health behavior change on the rates of parasitic disease.

Since health psychology is a relatively new subset within the field of psychology, there is still a great deal that has yet to be explored. Regarding future research, I am particularly interested in exploring themes of motivation, perceived self-worth, and mood as it relates to an individual’s health behaviors. While these are topics that I am interested in, I find it to be an integral part of the process for students to discuss and identify topics that make them excited to work on a project.

Therefore, in the future when I open my lab to students, we will collaborate as we explore each student’s unique interests so they may gain invaluable research experience as a part of their professional development journey.

Anna Washington, PhD (Families, Trauma, & Social Justice Research Lab)

Dr. Washington’s general research interests are related to trauma and chronic stress among historically underserved and minoritized populations, with a focus on systems influences such as neighborhood characteristics, policy and legislation, systemic racism, and culture. She aims to conduct research that is community-informed and social justice oriented in content and/or process (e.g., using Community Based Participatory Research). Dr. Washington welcomes collaborations with local community organizations who have an interest in answering research questions related to trauma, equity, child welfare, and juvenile justice. Students are welcomed in getting involved in the research lab to get experience in tasks including but not limited to literature review, study design, data collection, IRB submission, and manuscript writing. The lab is currently focused on two projects, both focused on child sexual abuse and (racial and LGTBQ+) equity; one quantitative and one qualitative in design. The first project was awarded the AEF’s 2024 Innovation/Seed Grant, and is a collaboration with Dr. Natalie Bennett.  

Natalie Bennett, PhD (Sexual Trauma & Health Equity Research Lab)

Dr. Bennett’s research interests are broadly related to trauma and health equity, with particular focus in the areas of sexual trauma, child maltreatment, trauma treatment across the lifespan, and reducing health disparities for minoritized groups. Depending on the available projects, students may gain exposure to all steps of the research process as well as various research designs and methods (e.g., quantitative, qualitative; interviews, focus groups, survey, experiments, etc.). There are currently two active projects: 1) a qualitative project examining experiences of trauma survivors after treatment and 2) a systematic review related to the participation of minoritized groups in treatment research. The lab is also currently collaborating on a project related to child sexual abuse and equity with Dr. Washington, as well as a study exploring sex education and pornography use with Dr. Fahey. 

Training

Field Training

The clinical PsyD program in Sacramento emphasizes the integration of academic coursework with clinical practice. Students receive supervised clinical training during five semesters of practicum and one year of full-time pre-doctoral internship. Practicum students are placed through an extensive network of agencies throughout Central and Northern California. Potential sites include hospitals and other medical settings, schools, correctional facilities, group homes, clinics, universities, and state and county programs. Placements are available in agencies utilizing a variety of theoretical approaches and serving demographically and culturally diverse populations.

Skills learned in the classroom are quickly put to practice as students participate in their professional training experiences. Students begin practicum during the second semester of their first year. This first-year practicum requires 12 hours per week for 17 weeks (approximately 200 hours) and draws on the skills learned during the first term in courses designed to prepare students for practice (such as Basic Foundations of Clinical Practice, Introduction to Ethical Practice & Law, and Intellectual Assessment). In the second and third years, practica are 16–20 hours per week for 50 weeks (approximately 800 hours each year) and use psychotherapy and assessment skills in a variety of settings. The director of clinical training facilitates a match process between students and agencies based on how the available training experiences match individual practicum learning plans. These are developed for each student to provide a breadth of experiences in keeping with the student’s level of experience and career goals.

In their final year of study, students are responsible for obtaining an appropriate one-year, full-time internship (approximately 2,000 hours). Students are required to seek an APA-accredited internship during phase 1 of the match, and then during phase 2 (if needed) they may apply to APPIC or CAPIC member internships if desired. The Office of Professional Training and all of the faculty provide extensive support to students as they negotiate the internship application process.

Extra-Curricular Involvement

In addition to courses and field training, students also have opportunities to get more involved on campus, both with the program and the university as a whole. One such opportunity is the Student Government Association (SGA)—considered the “voice of the students” at Alliant. The purpose of SGA is to promote and facilitate effective communication between faculty and administration by serving as the voice of the student body. This is done to strive for the highest quality of educational and professional engagement for the student body. SGA also works to promote social interactions and cohesion among all students and be a positive catalyst for change at all levels of the Alliant community.

There are other student clubs such as Advocacy Club, Forensic and Neuropsychology Club, Dream Analysis Club, Child and Adolescent Psychology Club, and Take a Psych Hike Club. If students have other interests beyond what is available for current clubs, students can create new clubs.