Location:

Santa Barbara, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Doctorate

Specialty:

Clinical Psychology

Program Overview

Program Description:

The goal of the Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology Programs is to prepare students to become effective therapists, educators and service providers who are knowledgeable in both traditional psychotherapeutic modalities and prenatal and perinatal approaches to psychotherapy. The programs are based on the perception that at any age, when we listen to, come into relationship with, and integrate our early prenatal and infant experience, we have the opportunity to re-constellate our foundational constructs and perhaps the very fabric of our being. In this process, students come to understand the impact of this formative time as well as the depth of possibility that we as humans have to live creative and satisfying lives. In addition to helping clients at any life stage ameliorate less than optimal beginnings, there is a focus on healthy function and prevention through processes of education and optimal experience. In so doing, we engender hope and an array of conscious choices that promote integrity, dignity and compassion for self and others. The course of study in the prenatal and perinatal developmental area covers the foundations of this psychological science and includes new paradigms from a number of disciplines. The latest developments in embryology, neurobiology, attachment theory, theories of trauma and the origins of psychopathology form an important foundation of the curriculum. Orientations of body, self and soul are included through our somatic perspective. Rigorous academic standards are a key component in developing scholarly work of the highest quality and include mentoring of the individual student's research ideas and career goals. Student and faculty participation in the creation of a synergistic learning community supports this unique approach.