The California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) was founded in 1969 by the California Psychological Association. It is part of the for-profit

Alliant International University Alliant International University, often called Alliant, is a private for-profit university with its main campus in San Diego and other campuses in California. It offers programs in six California campuses – in San Francisco, San Diego, Los Ang ...

where each campus's

Clinical Psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

Psy.D. and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

program is individually accredited by the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

. The school has trained approximately half of the licensed psychologists in California. The school has degree programs in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

marriage and family therapy Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychology and clinical social work that works with families and couples in intimate relationsh ...

, clinical counseling,

Organizational Psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...

, and

psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc, ψῡχή, psȳkhē, breath, life, soul, label=none; grc, φάρμακον, pharmakon, drug, label=none; and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on m ...

at campuses in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, and Irvine, and abroad in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Hong Kong and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. CSPP is one of a handful of APA- accredited schools that also offered a clinical doctoral respecialization in professional psychology.

History

The California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) was founded in 1969 under the guidance of the California Psychological Association. CSPP was the first free-standing school of professional psychology in the United States. CSPP educates master's and doctoral-level psychologists in professional practice models and assures that its students and faculty are as diverse as the State of California. At its founding, CSPP worked out of borrowed or rented space with a volunteer (unpaid) faculty, but had a large number of student applicants who were attracted to the new training model. The founding president of CSPP was Nick Cummings, Ph.D., who was succeeded by John O'Neill and subsequently by Judith Albino, Ph.D. (Mary Beth Kenkel, Ph.D. and Rodney L. Lowman, Ph.D. also served as interim presidents.) During the 2000s, under Albino's tenure, CSPP was renamed Alliant University, and the four separately accredited campuses—Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco—were combined into a single WASC-accredited institution. The name was subsequently changed to Alliant International University after Alliant merged with

United States International University United States International University (USIU) was a nonprofit university based in San Diego, California that was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. At its peak, it had two additional American campuses and three inter ...

(USIU), based in San Diego. Today, CSPP is one of several schools that comprise Alliant International University including a school of education, forensic psychology, management and leadership, and a law school. CSPP remains the largest of the schools. CSPP was first accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...

(WASC) in 1977. By the mid-1980s all of its Clinical Psychology programs were accredited by the

. Its Marriage and Family Therapy programs are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the

American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) is a professional association in the field of marriage and family therapy representing more than 50,000 marriage and family therapists throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad. ...

(AAMFT), and its Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (

CACREP The Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is a CHEA Chea is a surname in various cultures. Origins Chea may be a Cambodian surname ( km, ជា; ). That surname is derived from the Chinese surname Xiè ...

). Each psychology doctorate degree program (

or Psy.D.) on each campus is accredited individually by the

Program degrees

CSPP degree programs: *

– Ph.D. and Psy.D. *

Marriage and Family Therapy Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychology and clinical social work that works with families and couples in intimate relationsh ...

– MA and Psy.D. * Clinical Counseling Psychology – MA (licensure as LPCC) * Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Organization Behavior/ Development) – MA, Ph.D., Psy.D. *

Psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek grc, ψῡχή, psȳkhē, breath, life, soul, label=none; grc, φάρμακον, pharmakon, drug, label=none; and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on m ...

– Post-doctoral MS * Doctoral Respecialialization in Professional Psychology

Accreditation

* Alliant International University is accredited by the

(WASC) *

Psy.D. and

programs are individually accredited by the

at every campus. *

programs is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education of the

(AAMFT).

Awards

The Los Angeles

PsyD The Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D. or D.Psych.) is a professional doctoral degree intended to prepare graduates for careers that apply scientific knowledge of psychology and deliver empirically based service to individuals, groups and organization ...

in Clinical Psychology program was the 2010 recipient of the Suinn Minority Achievement Program Award from the

for excellence in recruitment, retention, and graduation of ethnic minority students, and for its overall commitment to cultural diversity in all department activities.

Notable current and former professors

Current and former professors include: * Maurizio Andolfi * Iván Böszörményi-Nagy * John V. Caffaro * Sean Davis * Sharon L. Foster *

James Framo James Framo (1922–2001) was an American psychologist and pioneer family therapist. He developed an object relations Object relations theory is a school of thought in psychoanalytic theory centered around theories of stages of ego developm ...

Viktor Frankl Viktor Emil Frankl (26 March 1905 – 2 September 1997) was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life's meaning as the central human motivational force. Logotherapy is part ...

* Edwin Friedman * Debra F. Glaser *

Jay Haley Jay Douglas Haley (July 19, 1923 – February 13, 2007) was one of the founding figures of brief and family therapy in general and of the strategic model of psychotherapy, and he was one of the more accomplished teachers, clinical supervisors, and ...

* Susan Johnson * Rodney L. Lowman *

Abraham Maslow Abraham Harold Maslow (; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, cul ...

* Valory Mitchell * Rhoda Olkin * Norman Paul * Susan Regas *

Carl Rogers Carl Ransom Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987) was an American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach (and client-centered approach) in psychology. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding fathers of ps ...

Virginia Satir Virginia Satir (26 June 1916 – 10 September 1988) was an American author and psychotherapist,http://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/famous_psychologist_and_psychologists/psychologist_famous_virginia_satir.htm recognized for her approach to ...

Carl Whitaker Carl Alanson Whitaker (1912–1995) was an American physician and psychotherapy pioneer family therapist. "Carl Whitaker was one of the founding generation of family therapists who broke the rules of the psychotherapeutic orthodoxies of the ti ...

* Alan S. Kaufman * Hadas Pade * David B Cheek * Alvin Talkoff *Andrew Curry

Notable alumni

* Andrea Anderson, psychologist, founder, and Director of The Help Couch *

Phil Barnhart Phil Barnhart (born 1946) is an American politician and psychologist from the state of Oregon. He was a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 11 from 2003 to 2019 and District 40 from 2001 to 2003. Ea ...

, member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

Judy Chu Judy May Chu (born July 7, 1953) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she has held a seat in Congress since 2009, representing until redistricting. Chu is the first Chin ...

, first Chinese-American woman elected to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Robin Corsiglia Robin Marie Corsiglia (born August 12, 1962), later known by her married name Robin Scholefield, is a former competitive swimmer from Canada. She represented Canada as a 13 year old at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. Corsiglia won ...

, former Olympic swimmer, sports psychologist at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) University Park Health Center * Christine E. Dickson, American cognitive psychologist * Peggy Drexler,

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

professor and author * Lisa Firestone, author, editor of PsychAlive, and Director of Research and Education at The Glendon Association *

Missy Gold Missy Gold (born Melissa Fisher; July 14, 1970) is an American psychologist and former child actress. She is known as portraying the governor's daughter, Katie Gatling, on the sitcom ''Benson'' (1979–86). Career Gold appeared on ''Eight Is Eno ...

, former child actress * Gordon Muir Giles, psychologist and researcher, professor at

Samuel Merritt University Samuel Merritt University (SMU) is a private university focused on health sciences and located on the Summit campus of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California. It was an affiliate of the Sutter Health Network and Alta Bates S ...

, known for his research in

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

* Debra F. Glaser, former and first female chief psychologist for the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

, first psychologist to be an ABPP Board Certified in Police and Public Safety Psychology, professor at Alliant International University *

Nathan Hare Nathan Hare (born April 9, 1933) is an American sociologist, activist, academic, and psychologist. In 1968 he was the first person hired to coordinate a Black studies program in the United States. He established the program at San Francisco S ...

, author, activist, former associate professor at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, member of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

team that argued ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'' * Marc Kern, author and addiction treatment specialist * Davina Kotulsi, author and LGBT advocate * Glenn S. Lipson, director of Program Forensic Psychology Department Alliant International University San Diego Campus * Kevin F. McCready, psychologist, founder, and director of the San Joaquin Psychotherapy Center and the non-profit Recovery for Emotionally Abused Children (R.E.A.Ch.) * Rose Weahkee, director Division of Behavioral Health, Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) * Matt McGovern, CEO Silver Creek Energy, former CEO Cypress Creek Renewables, CFO Paramount Equity and Gehrlicher Solar America Corp., avid surfer and skateboarder

References

External links