California "State" Approved Psychology Schools

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by ShotoJuku, Aug 17, 2007.

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  1. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member

    Here is a listing of California "State" Approved Psychology Schools that offer either PhD, PsyD (or both) degrees. Although none of these schools are RA or NA they are State approved.

    I am considering one of these schools for me alone, just to do it, not for teaching, not for an extended career, not for ego, not for a title, but just for me so please spare the RA/NA debate I'm not listening (fingers have just been inserted into my ears).

    To that end, I am soliciting any (level headed, no ego minded) opinions from any and all who have either first hand knowledge and experience with one of these schools or an unbiased opinion.

    Just two other things....I am looking to save $$$ in doing this and if I cannot do so I will not do it at all....and the program must be all online.

    IF ON THE OTHER HAND.....CCU revives their PsyD program in the next few months none of the following on the list will stand a chance as I will return to CCU in a heart beat.

    Thanks!!


    California Graduate Institute, Los Angeles

    California Institute for Human Science, Encinitas (San Diego)

    Center for Psychological Studies, Berkeley

    Graduate Ctr for Child Dev & Psychotherapy, Los Angeles

    Institute of Imaginal Studies, Petaluma (Sonoma)

    Newport University, Newport Beach

    Professional School of Psychology, Sacramento

    Ryokan College, Los Angeles

    San Diego University for Integrative Studies, San Diego

    Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute, Beverly Hills

    Southern California University for Professional Studies (SCUps), Santa Ana

    Trinity College of Graduate Studies, Anaheim
     
  2. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    First, some of these are DL and some are not. I assume you are wanting DL.

    Second, I heard a rumor that DETC schools are slow to think about adding the professional doctorates because of seemingly onerous requirements to confer the doctorate. I don't know anything specific but that is what I heard.

    Third, I always liked the look of that SCUPS Psy.D., because it was so cheap that the content seemed to be well worth it. However, some people have pummeled SCUPS with criticism, so I'm not sure what you will end up with in the end.

    Fourth, are you sure you want a Psy.D., as this degree is pretty much looked down upon by Ph.D.s in Psychology. The CA State Approved Psy. D. will prepare you for licensure in California but you'll hit discrimination throughout all the RA educational system, even in California. Have you considered an MFT from Western Institute for Social Research or perhaps SCUPS? Those will get you to licensure in California only, and could be useful just for your personal needs.

    Fifth, if you want CA licensure for the Psy.D. and you want DL, I've always thought that Ryokan would be worth looking at, if you can afford it. It seems that a fair number of CA State Approved psychologists have come out of California Graduate Institute, too, if I haven't confused that with some place else.

    Finally, are you sure that you want to earn a CA State Approved doctorate? Some of these schools will work you pretty hard but none are regionally-accredited and of course none are APA-accredited, so the degrees will have no academic utility anywhere and no economic utility outside of CA. CA State Approved means that there were no known or flagrant violations of the California education code (well, that is what it is supposed to mean, when it was enforced), which defines the minimum requirements for schools, but RA means that peers come into the school and turn over rocks on a regular basis; this means that a State Approved school has an unknown level of quality beyond the minimum, so the quality varies from school to school. Caveat emptor.

    Again, with a CA State Approved doctorate those who have earned RA doctorates will pretend that you really didn't earn a doctorate, so do you really want to work that hard and then deal with all that intellectual bigotry?

    Dave
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 17, 2007
  3. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Brian,

    As Dave mentioned, it really depends on what you want the degree for....if it's for licensure, I wouldn't get too bothered about the degree title. If I were in the market for a psychologist, I wouldn't care too much if their degree were a Ph.D., Psy.D., or Ed.D. As a matter of fact, I might prefer the Psy.D., since it's (at least supposed to be) a practitioner's degree.
     
  4. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    While I have been writing positively in Bears Guide about the Western Institute for Social Research in Berkeley for 25 years, as it happens I made my first visit there last month, and spend a few hours talking to founder John Bilorusky.

    They have, by choice, remained small but very stable -- about 40 students -- most of them working on the doctorate. I was very impressed by what they are doing.

    http://www.wisr.edu/
     
  5. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    There is a Neo-Lewinian feel about that school that warms my heart. They have an email list for invitations to their monthly seminars. Interested persons in the SF Bay Area can visit the school and attend with an RSVP.

    Dave
     
  6. Rob Coates

    Rob Coates New Member

     
  7. PatsFan

    PatsFan New Member

    Is there still discrimination toward APA approved Psy.D. programs in California? In Massachusetts the Psy.D. seems well received, but all the programs around here are APA approved.

    Tom
     
  8. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Dave: "There is a Neo-Lewinian feel about that school that warms my heart."

    It does, doesn't it. That helps me understand my own warm feelings about the place. Many years ago, when I hung out a bit with Carl Rogers at the Western Behavior Sciences Institute, the subject of heroes once came up. At that time, it was clear that Kurt Lewin was at the top of Rogers' list. I see Wikipedia quotes Rogers as saying that Lewin's development of social psychology was "perhaps the most significant social invention of this century."
     
  9. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Yes, Kurt Lewin's work is seminal for the social sciences. Over the past few years, he has become one of my heroes. Still, Lewin's work is pretty much ignored today by personality psychologists who repeatedly conduct studies in which the social context of the individual's target behavior is not fully considered. Lewin's 1936 Principles of Topological Psychology is perhaps one of the most important psychology monographs ever written (sez me), but one can hardly find it in a University library these days.

    Lewin's basic equation was B = f(PE), where B is a person's behavior, P stands for the dispositional characteristics of the individual, and E is the perceived social environment in which the target behavior is perceived. Lewin's point that P and E are not independent variables is enormously significant; to cleave the attitude from the social context for all phenomena under examination is potentially to engage in what I call obfuscation by simplification. A psychologist from the personality tradition might argue that there is little or incomplete empirical evidence to support this line of inquiry; to which any good Neo-Lewinian worth their salt might say, "Perhaps, but how can we ignore obviously related variables?"

    An interesting read in the Neo-Lewinian tradition is Professor Zimbardo's 2007 The Lucifer Effect, which basically argues for a line of inquiry toward dispositional characteristics AND social context to understand how normally "good" individuals can engage in non-typical "bad" behaviors. Additionally, the Stanford Prison Experiments are used to shed light on the problems with the Abu Ghraib prison fiasco.

    Kurt Lewin should be a household name, such as Albert Einstein, but his work is barely understood outside of graduate school...

    Dave
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2007
  10. eric.brown

    eric.brown New Member

    So...if your fingers were in your ears....how did you finish typing your message? :)

    Sorry...I had to ask.
     
  11. ShotoJuku

    ShotoJuku New Member


    Do people still use their fingers to type? :rolleyes: :eek:
     

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