In a perfect world, all patients would be easy to heal, no matter their illness or issues. But that’s not real life.
Addiction, anxiety, depression, dementia and suicide are just a few of the mental health disorders that can stand in the way of a healthy and stable lifestyle. Add to that the everyday complexities of life, as well as access to competent healthcare, and problems that were once barely manageable can become traumatically life altering.
At Ponce Health Sciences University in St. Louis, graduate PsyD (doctor of psychology) students are equipped with the clinical skills, cultural competence and social sensitivity needed to serve in diverse roles throughout their community.
According to Lisa Elwood, PhD and director of clinical psychology at Ponce, the PsyD program curriculum has more required neuroscience and health-focused classes than what is required by the American Psychological Association in similar programs.
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“As a part of a Health Sciences University we operate in an organization that is dedicated to healthcare, which is useful in our students’ development of their identities as health service providers in psychology,” Eldwood said. “Our curriculum represents a biopsychosocial model that, along with the overall healthcare emphasis, provides students with a strong foundation to build upon when joining the workforce.”
Dr. Elwood works one on one with Dalemarie Johannesson on a recent assignment.
The interdisciplinary training provided to students throughout the five-year program prepares them to become better critical thinkers with skills that serve them in multiple areas. By learning to collaborate with all members of a patient’s team, for example, they are better able to understand the issues at hand and develop comprehensive solutions for their patients.
For Dalemarie Johannesson, a fourth-year PsyD student at Ponce, working with students enrolled in the university’s medical school has been a game changer in terms of preparing for her work with adolescents with anorexia.
“We not only learn the psychological implications and treatment of specific disorders but the medical side of it too,” she said. “The Ponce way of training provides not only the critical thinking skills but an understanding of people, concepts and skills that we will be utilizing in our therapy once we graduate.”
Johannesson said the university’s smaller class size and personal one-on-one relationships with the professors also play a vital role in the success of the program.
“Learning how to deal with patients and understanding the critical thinking skills that go hand in hand with that are best learned in a special, smaller space with fewer students,” she said.
With her dissertation now looming, Johannesson said Ponce’s environment will make the process so much smoother.
“You’re not just a number here. They care about each and every student and help them in any way they can,” Johannesson said. “This integrated and interdisciplinary community here provides the care link that is missing in so many medical situations today. It’s so important to integrate medical care with mental care to know all sides of an issue. And we get that experience here at Ponce.”
Students interested in a PsyD in clinical psychology should visit stlouis.psm.edu/programs/psyd for more information.
