Prospective Graduate Students
GRADUATE ENROLLMENT NOTICE: Dr. Coyne WILL be accepting applications for Fall 2024 entry into the clinical psychology PhD program at American University.
The American University (AU) Clinical Psychology Program offers a PhD in Clinical Psychology and adopts a scientist practitioner training model; that is, we offer rigorous training in both research and empirically grounded clinical practice. This training prepares students for careers that integrate research and practice. For more information on the AU Clinical Psychology Program as a whole, please visit our website. This site also contains information on program costs and assistantships, admissions procedures, faculty, student admissions and outcomes data, etc. Becoming familiar with the information on the website will help you decide whether applying to AU makes personal sense. Below I provide additional information on working with me in the Optimizing Psychosocial Treatments (OPT) Lab.
The AU Clinical Psychology Program follows a mentor model; that is, students are admitted to the program to work under the mentorship of a specific faculty member. Although my trainees will have substantial contact with other faculty members, the quality of match with one's primary advisor is vital to successful training. For me, I am most interested in working with students who are interested in studying, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the process and outcome of psychotherapy for adult patients (see our Current Research page for more information).
Beyond interest match, I look to work with bright, hard-working, and passionate individuals who have a background in psychotherapy theory and/or intervention research, and who are curious about the nature of psychopathology, psychotherapy, and human change. Ideally, students will have worked in one or more research labs prior to applying, and they will have been a co-author on one or more publications and/or presentations. Additionally, I wish to work with students who are interested in careers that involve research in some manner. Although I am interested in the practice of psychotherapy, graduate training involves a substantial focus on research. Therefore, my lab may not be the best fit for students who are solely interested in clinical practice careers.
In terms of my mentorship style, I use a developmental approach in which I offer more intensive support and guidance early on in students' training. Gradually, as students build their own independent interests and skills, I treat them as valued (and increasingly independent) research collaborators. Overall, I strive to foster a collaborative lab environment where trainees can explore personally intriguing research questions, while also devoting energy to the larger mission of the lab. The OPT Lab is typically comprised of graduate students (PhD and master's level), undergraduate research assistants, and research volunteers. I hold weekly individual research meetings with each of my graduate students, as well as weekly lab meetings. We also hold project-specific meetings and trainings, as needed. Without a doubt, mentoring students is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. I strive to help students develop their own research voice, enhance their research skills (both through writing and presentation), and develop a professional network that will serve them throughout their careers.
In terms of specific expectations for my graduate students, I expect them to be dedicated to their training and passionate about the scientific study of psychotherapy. I expect students to collaborate on multiple research projects from the start of their graduate career. I also expect students to begin developing their own program of research and to (eventually) lead at least one research project during their graduate training. I also encourage regular dissemination of research through co-authored publications and professional presentations. Regarding publications, I aim to have students publish, at a minimum, one or more independent projects, their master's thesis, and their dissertation. Regarding presentations, I encourage my students to be active members of various professional organizations (e.g., the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Division 29 [Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy] of the American Psychological Association). Students typically travel to at least one conference per year to present their work. Attendance at scientific conferences enhances students' professional network, which can be helpful when planning subsequent stages of training (e.g., postdoctoral fellowships).
If you are interested in applying to work with me in the OPT Lab and you have any remaining questions, please feel free to email me.
