Research
The faculty are thoroughly committed to helping students develop outstanding research skills and create coherent, exciting programs of research on which they can build their future careers. The cornerstone of our program is a strong mentorship system: From his or her first days in the program, each student works closely with a research supervisor and associated research team in a common enterprise of developing promising new research questions, designing studies and collecting data, and interpreting and presenting the results. In addition, our program is designed to provide a broader research community in which we all share and discuss our ongoing work. Specifically, all faculty and students participate in the Advanced Clinical Research Forum, which meets weekly for the presentation and discussion of ongoing research. At these meetings, each student presents his or her research (once per year), guiding us through a review of the underlying theory and relevant background literature, hypotheses, study design, data analyses, and interpretation of results. Further, all students, along with the faculty, play active roles as research consultants in the discussion of the research, and they also provide feedback to the presenters in an effort to help them extend and refine their work.
We very strongly encourage students, throughout their graduate careers, to present talks or posters at scientific conferences and to submit their studies for publication in journals. Presenting at conferences offers you the wider (national and international) opportunity to have others listen to, consider, and eventually adopt your ideas. In addition, you can meet major players in your discipline and make contacts with graduate students from other programs (who, along with you, will be the major players of the future). Publishing in journals offers you the opportunity to contribute permanently to the body of science that is the indispensable foundation for all of clinical psychology. In addition, your presentations and publications have other, more mundane professional benefits, such as markedly enhancing your applications for doctoral fellowships and postgraduate employment.
There are many challenges in maintaining both research and clinical commitments. Clinical psychology programs are unusually demanding: In a sense, you are doing two programs of study at once, one in cutting-edge scientific research, on a par with any other science, and another in the delivery of highly skilled professional services, on a par with other highly technical professions. To help facilitate sustained progress in research, we have developed a structured timeline for the completion of work, including tasks such as the development of research plans, presentations of research, and formal written manuscripts (the Master’s research project and the Ph.D. dissertation).
Research Facilities
The Department of Psychology provides ample research space: each clinical faculty member has a set of dedicated lab rooms, and, in addition, there is considerable bookable space available for research by our clinical students. The departmental facilities, as well as the Centre for Mental Health Research, are accessible to those with disabilities. We have excellent computer and shop support, with staff on hand to assist with the development and maintenance of software, programs, and special equipment. We also have an extensive and up-to-date Test Library. Access to research participants may be obtained through the well-organized Research Experiences Group on campus; in addition, the clinical faculty have established connections with agencies and schools in the community, providing many opportunities for data collection. The Centre for Mental Health Research will soon provide exciting opportunities for community and clinical samples.
Research Talks
The Clinical Ph.D. students present Brown Bag talks about the research they are working on most Fridays. To see the schedule for the year, please look here. Everyone is welcome to attend the Research Presentations, but the case conferences, workshops, and special presentations are only for Clinical graduate students and faculty. These presentations all take place in PAS 3026.
