University of Southern Maine

USM's Psy.D. Set to Launch

Do a few things well instead of many things adequately-that's the mantra USM Assistant Professor of Human Resource Development Rachel Brown-Chidsey favors professionally and personally. It also happens to the be the mindset she and colleague Mark W. Steege, USM professor of school psychology, have adopted as they prepare to launch USM's second doctoral program, the doctor of psychology (Psy.D.) in school psychology.

The University of Maine System Board of Trustees first approved the doctorate in USM's College of Education and Human Development in September 2003. However, the program was put on hold until this spring due to budgetary reasons and the need to hire a third faculty member to meet accreditation requirements.

Now set to launch its first semester of classes in fall 2005, the Psy.D. program, the only program of its type in northern New England, is designed to meet and exceed the educational standards required for accrediting licensed psychologists, the highest level of professional practice in psychology.

But the program has not been designed to create broad-based research practitioners or academicians. Rather, it will focus on preparing skilled clinical practitioners in an effort to help address a growing shortage of school psychology professionals in Maine and northern New England.

"This is part of the overall mission of our college," says Betty Lou Whitford, dean and professor, USM College of Education and Human Development. "We are about preparing professionals for high quality practice, and we are very involved and committed to serving professionals in the field."

Recent Maine Department of Education data shows there are approximately 120 full-time equivalent certified school psychological service providers practicing in Maine. That translates roughly to one school psychologist for every 1,750 students. Additionally, the numbers of children referred by school systems and human service agencies for school psychological services have increased over the past several years.

"New England's schools are experiencing a real shortage in the number of certified psychologists capable of delivering more direct services for students with serious needs. We see it as our mission to develop advanced level practitioners to meet those needs," adds Steege.

Brown-Chidsey agrees.

"We have no aspiration to become an academic training program in the sense of producing people who will go on and land jobs studying in universities. It's not that those jobs aren't valued. But in the short term, that is not what Maine needs," she says. "What we need are more expert school psychology practitioners who help with the large-scale work of making schools as effective as they can be."

In response to this need, the new Psy.D. curriculum seeks to develop advanced practitioners with strong clinical and practical skills, providing skills and training that can be used by practitioners across multiple levels of service delivery or integrated into a systems-level initiative to help improve the quality of education for all students. Toward this goal, in fall 2005, full- and part-time students will begin coursework around three areas of focus: counseling, advanced assessment, and supervision. The culminating experience of the Psy.D. program is a 1,500-hour pre-doctoral internship in a school or community setting, with at least half of the time in a public school.

To assist Steege and Brown-Chidsey with classes, USM will welcome new Associate Professor F. Charles "Bud" Mace this August. All three faculty members are licensed psychologists in Maine, with backgrounds in graduate teaching, research and public service.

But USM's newest doctorate is not just about responding to this shortage of skilled school psychologists in our region, says Steege. It's also about giving professional development opportunities to attain skills beyond the master's level without forcing students to leave the region. Until now, the closest program for Maine residents was in Massachusetts.

Brown-Chidsey says having a program close to home is important for practitioners because often the skills they are taught are more in tune with the needs of local demographics.

"In fact, a lot of people were really worried about how our program would meet the needs of rural northern and eastern Maine as compared to just being convenient for the southern Maine folks. But from the beginning, we've wanted USM's Psy.D. program to be a program for all of Maine and all of the region, not just for people who are in easy commuting distance to USM's campuses," she says.

Ultimately, the best way USM's Psy.D. program can serve its future graduates is by achieving accreditation from the American Psychological Association, the premiere accrediting body for doctoral psychology programs, and the National Association of School Psychologists. Expected to take a minimum of five years, once achieved, USM's Psy.D. graduates will earn eligibility to practice in all 50 states, all U.S. territories and throughout Canada.

"I certainly feel like all eyes are on us institutionally as the second doctoral program," adds Brown-Chidsey. "Our success will be measured by how many of our students will get hired and how quickly, how successful they are in promoting effective educational practices in schools, and how successful they are in contributing to high school and college attainment for graduates of Maine schools."

>back to currents