District of Columbia

George Washington University

Contact: Patrick Cody

Phone: 202-994-4929

FAX: 202-994-4800

Address: The George Washington University Professional Psychology Program (Psy.D.)
1922 F Street, NW Suite 103
Washington, DC 20052

Survey Results:

Is your doctoral program accredited by the American Psychological Association?

Yes

Is your program considered open to and inclusive of Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic theory and practice?

Yes

Does your program have any faculty that are certified psychoanalysts, or in psychoanalytical training?

Yes

Does your program have psychoanalytically-oriented faculty, and include psychoanalytical thought in their courses?

Yes

Does your program require introductory courses on psychoanalytical theories and psychotherapy?

Yes

Which psychoanalytical theoretical perspectives does your Program offer?

Freudian/Classical,

Ego Psychology,

Object-relations,

Self-psychology,

Other perspectives [Attachment Theory; Sullivan]

Does your program cover special topics from psychoanalytical perspectives such as treatment of severe psychopathology, race, class, gender/sexuality, dreams, supervision, transference/counter-transference?

Yes

Does your program require courses on short-term psychotherapy and crisis intervention that include psychoanalytical perspectives?

Yes

Program Description Provided by the Institution:

The philosophy of the Professional Psychology Program centers on a developmental view of the personality, both in its normal and abnormal aspects. A developmental view holds that no mental event can be fully explained without reference to its origins and transformations. The personality is never a "given"; it is always in process, ebbing and flowing, sometimes turbulently so; sometimes in conflict. Because of the uneasiness, conflict, and/or turbulence that occur in a person's thoughts, feelings and fantasies, as the personality takes shape, we call the process of personality development "psychodynamic."

Here at the GWU Professional Psychology Program, we study the seminal contributions of Sigmund Freud, and fully recognize the many substantive changes and advances that have occurred in psychodynamic theory, practice and research that have occurred since his original contributions. We not only welcome the ongoing developments in the field of psychodynamic psychology, we participate in them.

For example, we now know that much of psychoanalytic theory was limited by its time and cultural norms. Today we look critically at theories related to the role of women, ethnic minorities, and sexuality. We welcome diversity in theory and approach, and support evidence-based treatments.

As it is increasingly important for clinical psychologists to be well versed in a variety of approaches that they can use as needs dictate, we require our students to become familiar with more than one treatment modality. In recent years we have greatly increased our group therapy practice offerings, increased couples and family therapy opportunities, and teach and promote the appropriate application of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Above all we look to ground our psychological treatments in research. Members of our faculty regularly disseminate research findings that support or refute the value of specific psychotherapeutic work with specific populations, even as students and faculty seek to add to the body of knowledge through publication and dissemination of their own research findings.

The George Washington University Professional Psychology Program (Psy.D.)
1922 F Street, NW Suite 103
Washington, DC 20052
(Phone office): 202-994-4929 (Fax): 202-994-4800

http://www.gwu.edu/~psyd/