Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) is a professional doctorate degree intended to prepare graduates for practice in psychology. Earning the degree was originally completed through one of two established training models for clinical psychology. However, Psy.D. programs are no longer limited to Clinical Psychology as several professional schools have begun to award professional doctorates in Business Psychology or Organizational Development.
An individual who earns a doctorate in clinical psychology, educational psychology or counseling psychology from an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited program may become licensed to diagnose and treat mental disorders, conduct psychological testing and complete psychological evaluations, and provide psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.
For non-clinical doctorates in psychology, programs are not accredited by the APA and there is no license to practice; however, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, a division of the APA, maintains a database of Industrial and Organizational Psychology programs that meet its criteria. An individual who earns a doctorate in an industrial-organizational field may enter high-level careers in human resources, consulting or applied research.
The degree is usually abbreviated as Psy.D. in the United States and Canada and also D.Psy. or D.Ps. in Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland it is often abbreviated as DClinPsych or ClinPsyD. In Australia it is often abbreviated as DPsych or DPsych (Clinical).
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Famous quotes containing the words doctor and/or psychology:
“It’s like the doctor was just telling me, “Delirium is a disease of the night.” Good night.”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“Psychology has nothing to say about what women are really like, what they need and what they want, essentially because psychology does not know.... this failure is not limited to women; rather, the kind of psychology that has addressed itself to how people act and who they are has failed to understand in the first place why people act the way they do, and certainly failed to understand what might make them act differently.”
—Naomi Weisstein, U.S. psychologist, feminist, and author. Psychology Constructs the Female (1969)