Role of the Director of Clinical Training

The Director of Clinical Training plays an important role in guiding the clinical program and in exploring procedures and options for providing better clinical training. They work in close cooperation with the Department Chairperson in attaining these goals. Generally, the Director of Clinical Training is responsible for and should play an active role in the following areas:

1. writing the annual APA report;
2. coordinating the periodic self-study report for reaccreditation;
3. providing effective day-to-day management of Clinical Section activities such as policy decisions and curriculum planning; conducting student evaluations; scheduling and conducting Clinical Section meetings and writing up and distributing summaries of these meetings;
4. verifying students’ internship eligibility and readiness and corresponding with internship agencies about internship placement and experience;
5. monitoring clinical graduate students’ traineeship placements (with the Clinic Director);
6. coordinating with faculty to determine course and thesis equivalences for incoming post-master’s students;
7. listening to inter-faculty and student-faculty problems and complaints relevant to the clinical program and trying to find solutions;
8. conducting committee elections or appointing minor or ad hoc committees; following up on committees, trying to stimulate committee action;
9. managing accreditation and licensure for graduates (completing documentation for APPIC and for state licensure boards, as needed);
10. working with the Assistant Chair of Graduate Studies on program updates;
11. delegating administrative responsibilities, where applicable, during periods when the director is not available;
12. carrying out faculty duties consistent with the training program’s goals;
13. being responsible for annual review and update of the Clinical Graduate Student Manual; responding to research questionnaires and communiques regarding various training issues received from APA, APPIC, etc., as well as numerous committee groups and individual researchers nationwide;
14. attending the annual meeting of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology;
15. serving as a standing member of the departmental Faculty Load Committee (with the Director of Experimental Training and the Department Chair);
16. serving as the oversight person for the department’s Training Clinic.
17. conferring with the Department Chair about matters relevant to the clinical program such as scheduling flow and sequencing problems;
18. collaborating with the Assistant Chair of Graduate Studies in setting up recruiting programs for graduate students, including minority and other special interest groups;
19. making contacts with university and non-university agencies (local, state, regional, federal) for research and training experiences and for funding arrangements that may support graduate training; helping foster interagency contacts for traineeship experiences;
20. working with the Department Chair and the Director of Experimental Training for joint research and training ventures;
21. seeking sectional training grants such as NIMH grants, as the section decides, and carrying out the day-to-day activities involved in administering such grants as needed;

The Director of Clinical Training’s responsibilities extend for a 12-month rather than a 9-month period. In order to aid the Director of Clinical Training in carrying out these activities, they are given release time of two courses per year and an annual summer stipend. The Director of Clinical Training will serve for a 5-year period. The position may be held for a maximum of two terms, although members of the Clinical Section can grant exceptions.