News

Summit-funded Q&A on internship is available for viewing at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M108jBOSkTE

An APCS-funded project will have a Q&A panel to help demystify internship for faculty and students.

This year-long, virtual dissemination and implementation science speaker series, funded by the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS), is designed to teach all trainees (master’s students, doctoral students, clinical interns, postdoctoral fellows, etc.) across clinical science programs about dissemination and implementation science. Although trainees at APCS programs are especially encouraged to attend, all are welcome! 

APCS will sponsor a clinical science forum to be held at the Association for Psychological Science 2024 conference.

Upcoming summit on clinical science training.

Oct 7, 2020 APCS Executive Committee Statement of Support for New England Journal of Medicine Editorial The APCS Executive Committee supports the following statement by the New England Journal of Medicine: "Covid-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.”

Dave Sbarra, University of Arizona Professor and Past President of APCS, discusses allyship and diversity, equity, and inclusion in clinical science in the PCSAS newsletter.

Atina Manvelian, APCS Student Representative, discusses ways to improve the mentor-mentee relationship in graduate school -- including efforts by APCS's Student Engagement Committee.

Graduate students from programs accredited by PCSAS will now be eligible to enter the APPIC match process, regardless of whether their programs are also accredited by APA. This important development provides PCSAS programs with increased flexibility regarding decisions on whether to maintain dual accreditation.

On June 1, 2018, the PCSAS accreditation system was officially recognized by the State of Missouri. Governor Eric Greitens signed State Bill 660, which had been passed by the state legislature a few weeks earlier. The bill provides a number of provisions related to mental health. With regard to qualifications for those who apply to take the exam to be licensed to practice psychology in the State of Missouri, the applicant must have a doctoral degree from a program accredited by APA, CPA, or PCSAS. Missouri joins several other states that have now granted full parity to PCSAS.

Thirty one program representatives attended the annual APCS members meeting in San Francisco last week.

The Academy received 18 excellent applications for its new Flexibility Fund Awards, and it is pleased to announce that 6 graduate students have been awarded $1,000 each in order to allow them to participate in a wide array of training experiences. We extend our congratulations to all of them and encourage graduate students in all APCS programs to apply for next year's awards. The next Flexibility Fund Award deadline is May 1, 2018.

APCS is working toward developing a more complete and inclusive role for graduate students. The Academy's Student Engagement Committee is pleased to announce that "Flexibility Fund" training grants are available for the 2017-2018 academic year. These grants (which can range from $1,000 to $2,000) are to be awarded to graduate students from Academy programs who wish to receive advanced training in clinical science that is not available to them at their home institutions.

Clinical scientists in several states have announced significant progress in the effort to achieve parity for PCSAS.

The annual APCS members meeting was held in Boston on May 25, 2017. Representatives from 34 doctoral programs and internships gathered to discuss progress on several important issues. Minutes of the meeting will be posted on this website soon (under the heading "About" and the subheading "Annual Meetings").

The PCSAS accreditation system has taken another huge step forward, as it is now recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The new VA Psychologist Qualification Standards dictate that graduate students from PCSAS accredited programs are eligible for VA internships, and PCSAS grads are eligible for VA employment.

Our annual members meeting was held on May 26 in Chicago. Topics addressed included recent progress regarding support for the PCSAS accreditation system, on-going discussions regarding clinical science training that involves integration of doctoral and internship training programs, and activation of a new APCS committee structure.

APCS continues to sponsor and collaborate with activities that affect the future of training in clinical science. These include discussions at ABCT in Chicago as well as meetings surrounding the development of CAAPS.

Dave Sbarra, Director of Clinical Training at the University of Arizona, will become the next president of APCS. Stacy Frazier, DCT at Florida International University, will succeed Adele Hayes as the next treasurer. And Josh Miller, DCT at the University of Georgia, will replace Joanne Davila as member-at-large on the Executive Committee.

Our annual meeting for all program representatives was held on May 21 at the New York Marriott Marquis. This year's meeting marks our 20th anniversary. We held a small celebration in addition to our usual program activities.

Fifteen program directors attended a meeting about internship training sponsored by APCS. The meeting was held at the University of Illinois at Chicago on April 17, 2015.

Delaware's Governor Jack Markell signed new legislation granting PCSAS parity with APA's CoA in a signing ceremony in his office at 11:00 AM on July 28th. We're indebted to Bob Simons, Mary Graham, and the Delaware team for this achievement --the first of many to come.

Bethany Teachman, current president of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology, announced that their board of Board of Directors has endorsed PCSAS.

Dean McKay, president of the Association for Advancement of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, announced that the Board of Directors of ABCT has endorsed the PCSAS accreditation system for clinical science training.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) formally recognized the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).