Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University
Faculty of Education
Department of Clinical Psychology
2011-2012
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Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
Is clinical psychology your study?
Are you finishing the preparatory year and are you curious to know about human
behavior? Do you like the idea of helping people to deal with their mental health
problems? Then the bachelor program for Clinical Psychology is something for you!
It is a study for people who want to pursue careers in the mental health sector,
education, or the research community. This new program at PNU has been developed
in close cooperation with the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands,
where it was evaluated by the students as the best bachelor program of the country for
many years.
Why study clinical psychology?
Psychologists are interested in understanding how people think, behave and interact with
their environment. For example, if we know how stress occurs, we can treat and even
prevent it. We ask questions such as: What is the relationship between our brain and
our behavior? How do people behave as social beings? You could also apply this type of
question to yourself, right now. Maybe you are still not sure what you want to study,
while your friends have already made their choice a long time ago. Why is this? What
causes doubt, and is it useful? Psychology teaches us about these human issues and how
to approach or solve them. In addition, clinical psychology deals with interesting
questions such as: How can we notice that someone has depression and how do we treat
it? What could we do to help a child that has developed an anxiety disorder? How
could we offer better education to children with learning disabilities? If you want
answers to these questions, you should study clinical psychology.
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Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
A focus is on Clinical Psychology
Since the beginning of 20th century psychologists in Europe and the United States have
been increasingly involved in studying ‘clinical’ symptoms such as anxiety and
depression. During the 1940’s the demand for psychological treatment increased; for
instance for the treatment of trauma. This kind of research and treatment used to only
be performed by psychiatrist. However, this has changed and nowadays much of the
work is done by clinical psychologist. Generally speaking, clinical psychology deals with
deviant or ‘abnormal’ behavior. In the Anglo-Saxon literature, the field therefore is often
referred as ‘Abnormal Psychology’.
The clinical psychological practice includes the classification, prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of psychological problems and disorders. For the treatment of psychological
problem or illness, the psychologist first needs to assessment the mental problems and
then make a diagnosis. For this psychologists use different instruments such as
questionnaires and tests. The main focus of clinical psychology education will be on how
to treat mental health problems, including which instruments and treatments are best
suited for which problems and disorders.
Clara is an 18 year old woman from Riyadh. Since one year she has not been outside of
her house where she lives with her parents. When Clara tries to go outside her hearts
starts beating very fast, she starts sweating heavily and she fears that she is going to faint.
During her first meeting with a clinical psychologist, she tells her that she thinks that she
might die when she goes outside. The clinical psychologist comes to know that Clara is
suffering from agoraphobia. She makes a so-called cognitive-behavioral treatment plan
in which Clara is explained that the physical symptoms that she describes are part of the
stress that occurs because of her thoughts of dying. Then she learns that these thoughts
are not realistic. Clara will also start making walks outside, starting with only a few
meters, developing into longer walks. The complete treatment consists of a cognitive
side in which she learns to develop other, more realistic thoughts, and of a behavioral
side, in which she has to do exercises that lead to the reduction of fear.
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Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
Structure of the Bachelor Program Clinical Psychology
The Bachelor of Clinical Psychology lasts four years: three years in which you follow
courses and practicals, and one year in which you do an internship and write a bachelor
thesis. Each academic year consists of two semesters and each semester is comprised of
three blocks. Blocks last five weeks and cover one specific psychological topic or theme.
All the activities during a block are related to this theme but many different course
materials are used. These include articles, book chapters, demonstrations of empirical
phenomena or experiments, video or other multimedia illustrations and applications,
which are always closely interrelated. The bachelor program clinical psychology includes
many reference to practical situations.
Problem-based learning combined with professional skills training
The curriculum is characterized by an educational system referred to as ‘Problem-Based
Learning’ (PBL), which is combined with professional skills training. In PBL, students
have an active role and they themselves are to a large degree responsible for their own
learning process. For instance, students have considerable control over the choice of
literature. Using PBL will ensure that students first learn how to learn, how to analyze
and solve problems. While doing this they will acquire knowledge that is directly useable
and applicable. The program also includes many practicals, which are devoted to
professional skills training. During these practicals students acquire the skills that are
important for a clinical psychologist: communication, diagnostics, treatment, research,
and writing.
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Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
Tutorial group meetings
An important part of PBL is that in addition to lectures, students attend tutorial group
meetings twice a week during. Within a tutorial group meeting students work through
problems described in the course manual. A tutorial group consists of eight to twelve
students with a ‘tutor’, a staff member who guides the group process but who does not
provide answers to the problems. Students have to find the answers themselves together
with the group. The exchange of ideas and knowledge within a tutorial group provides a
basis for learning how to analyze problems. Students learn to formulate and discuss their
thoughts and to cooperate with each other. Furthermore, experience in the group
encourages individual study and effective planning of the available study time. The
students are expected to organize the learning process themselves.
Course manuals
Each course in problem-based learning utilizes a ‘course manual’ prepared by a team of
instructors. The course manual contains all essential information regarding the learning
during a block: the persons responsible for the course, the subject matter of the course,
the knowledge that the student must have acquired by the end of the course, the skills
which will be taught during this period, the recommended literature involved and the
lectures. The primary component, however, is formed by discussing problems for the
tutorial group meetings. The task manual is always distributed to the students shortly
before the beginning of a course.
Use of information and communications technology (ICT)
The psychology curriculum makes intensive use of modern ICT possibilities. Students
have access to their own e-mail facilities and are encouraged to make frequent use of the
electronic learning environment, ‘PsyWeb’, which has been developed especially to the
support of PBL. Among other things, this enables students to search for information in
e-books and e-journals, view video clips and to conduct their own experiments. PsyWeb
is also used to support team efforts between students.
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Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
Overview of the bachelor program
Year 1
Module
1.1
Theory
Social Psychology
Practical
PBL-skills; finding academic
information
1.2
Personality psychology:
Individual differences
Psychological testing
1.3
Basic statistics
SPSS (statistical analysis)
1.4
Cognitive psychology
Psychological experiments
1.5
Developmental psychology
Testing of children
1.6
Clinical psychology
Basic communication skills training
In addition, one full week will be devoted to Writing skills I.
Year 2
Module
2.1
Theory
Neurosciences: anatomy and
physiology
Practical
Anatomy
2.2
Explanation and prediction:
Statistics II
SPSS 2 (statistical analysis)
2.3
Biological psychology
Neuropsychological testing
2.4
Anxiety and stress
Advanced communication skills training
2.5
Depression and Psychosis
Psychodiagnostics
2.6
Personality Disorders
Anamnestic Interviewing
In addition, one full week will be devoted to Writing skills II
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Undergraduate Program of Clinical Psychology
Year 3
Block
3.1
Theory
Eating and sexual disorders
Practical
Behavior therapy
3.2
Biological psychopathology
Clinical psychopharmacology
3.3
Psychopathology in children
and adolescents
Cognitive therapy
3.4
Prevention of mental
disorders
Family therapy
3.5
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychological assessment
3.6
Forensic psychology
Anamnesis II** and Professional Ethics
Year 4
Internship under supervision
Writing research proposal for Bachelor thesis
Bachelor thesis
(16 weeks)
(4 weeks)
(12 weeks)
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