Clinical Psychology – Track Psychotherapy

 

Head of the specialization: dr hab. Rafał Styła

 

The specializations in clinical psychology at WISP are based on the belief that psychological well-being and psychological disorders are best understood by combining insights from different disciplines. Psychological disorders are not solely a matter of mental issues, nor are they only rooted in abnormal brain processes; abnormalities and pathologies exist on a continuum that includes the mental and the biological. The scope of this specialization, therefore, is broad and integrative. For instance, instead of treating psychotherapy and neuropsychology as separate fields, they are taught jointly and in a complementary way. This approach also connects well with the work field of clinical psychologists, where teams are often multidisciplinary. A broad background allows graduates to understand phenomena from different angles and better comprehend and communicate with other professionals.

Hence, introductory courses related to different domains of clinical psychology are shared between the psychotherapy and neuropsychology tracks. The tracks differ in that they specialize further in one or the other direction.

The psychotherapy track focuses mainly on the two psychotherapeutic approaches with profound empirical support for their effectiveness: Psychodynamic Therapy (PT) and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Courses cover both approaches' underlying theories and assumptions and train students in psychotherapeutic techniques. Students will also gain basic knowledge of systemic and humanistic therapies.

In addition, students are offered the opportunity (in the form of elective courses) to experience psychotherapy as clients and to gain first experience in conducting psychotherapy with real clients under the supervision of an experienced psychotherapist. Note that these last two courses are elective courses that do not count towards the completion of the specialization and are not required to complete the specialization. It is also to highlight that the course "Practice in Psychotherapy: Clinical Experience, Supervision and Case Formulation" does not offer conducting psychotherapy under supervision. The course should be treated as the first initial experience in the role of a therapist in a safe environment with the presence of a licensed psychotherapist. To focus primarily on the clients' wealth, the therapy is conducted without respecting holidays at the university. When you sign up for the course, please remember   you’ll be obliged to be present every week.

The tables underneath provide an overview of the courses offered within the specialization.
From time to time, minor changes are made to the courses offered or their timing; for the most up-to-date overview of courses, see the course offer.

Criteria for completion of the specialization

In order to complete the specialization, students are required to gain a minimum of 48 ECTS points from the specialization courses offered at WISP.

High-priority specialization courses (see the tables below) are required to complete the specialization. In justified cases (e.g., Erasmus exchange, longer sick leave), students can ask to count other specialization courses (e.g., accomplished in other universities) as a replacement for the high-priority courses. The replacement courses should cover similar topics to the classes missed. In such cases, students are obliged to write an e-mail with a request to the head of the specialization with an attached syllabus of a replacement course.

The other courses on the list have a standard priority. In justified cases (e.g., Erasmus exchange or longer sick leave), students can ask to count other specialization courses accomplished in other universities as a replacement for the standard-priority courses. The replacement courses do not have to cover similar topics to the classes missed; however, they need to cover topics from the field of clinical psychology. In such cases, students are obliged to write an e-mail with a request to the head of the specialization with an attached syllabus of a replacement course.

In justified cases, the elective courses that cover clinical content can be counted for the specialization with a limit of 6 ECTS points.

The maximum number of ECTS points covered from the classes outside the program cannot exceed 24 points.

The grade for the specialization is the average grade from the specialization courses weighted by ECTS points.

 

YEAR 4	Format	Hours	ECTS	High-priority courses (ECTS)
Semester 1
Introduction to Psychotherapy	seminar	30	3	yes (3)
Psychodynamic and Cognitive-Behavioural Models of Mental Disorders	seminar	30	3	yes (3)
Psychiatry	seminar	30	3	yes (3)
Introduction to Clinical Neuropsychology	seminar	30	3	no
Semester 2
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy	seminar	30	3	yes (3)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapies: Theory and Principles	seminar	30	3	yes (3)
Assessment, Diagnosis and Rehabilitation in Clinical Neuropsychology	training	30	3	no
Basic Issues in Neuropsychological Assessment	training	30	3	no
Clinical Diagnosis in an In-Patient Setting	seminar	30	2	no
Clinical Diagnostic Testing	seminar	30	2	no
	Sum	300	28	15

 

 

YEAR 5	Format	Hours	ECTS	High-priority courses (ECTS)
Semester 3
Techniques in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy	training	30	2	yes (2)
Techniques in Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapy	training	30	2
Culture and Psychopathology: Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Practice	seminar	15	2	no
Cross-Cultural Neuropsychological Assessment	seminar	15	2	no
Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology	seminar	30	3	no
Ethics in Therapeutic Contexts	seminar	15	2	yes (2)
Systemic Family Therapy	seminar	15	2	no
Semester 4
Psychopharmacology for Psychologists	seminar	15	2	no
Neuropsychiatry	seminar	15	2	no
Advances in Humanistic and Existential Psychotherapy	seminar	15	2	no
Research Methods in Clinical Psychology	seminar	15	2	no
Couple Therapy, an Introduction	seminar	15	2	no
	Sum	225	25	4
	Total	525	53	19

 

Elective courses dedicated to this specialization*	Format	Hours	ECTS
Self-Experience in Psychotherapy	training	45	3
Practice in Psychotherapy: Clinical Experience, Supervision and Case Formulation	training	120 (semesters 3 and 4)	12
	Sum	165	15

* These courses are classified as elective courses but are primarily foreseen for students of this specialization.
They are not formal specialization courses and so do not count towards completion of the specialization and are not required to complete the specialization.