Graduate Program
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Facilities
Department offices, research laboratories, and classrooms for most psychology courses are located in the Life Sciences Building. The Life Sciences Building houses the biology and psychology departments. In the Department of Psychology, the Life Sciences Building accommodates animal and research labs, testing and observation centers, computer labs, and the Quin Curtis Center, which provides outpatient mental health services for the local community as well as a training facility for students in clinical psychology. Each of these areas satisfy a variety of different research and instructional needs for a department recently ranked in the top five worldwide in behavioral analysis and therapy research. Faculty members and graduate students can take advantage of modern, well-equipped laboratories for investigations of animal and human learning, behavioral pharmacology, clinical psychopathology, physiological mechanisms and behavior, developmental processes, language, cognitive processes, and social behavior. Faculty members have designed their own laboratory facilities for their own and their students' use. In addition, an animal care facility for housing rats and pigeons and a group observation room is available.
The Quin Curtis Center for
Psychological Service, Training, and Research is an outpatient clinic operated
by the Department of Psychology. One-way mirrors and audio- and video-taping
equipment are available in the Center.
Specialty services within the Center serve both training and research
purposes; currently, they include child and adolescent disruptive behavior disorders, anger management training, disorders of later life, and anxiety and stress.
General outpatient services for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults are offered as
well. Graduate students serve as
therapists, co-therapists, or consultants, and may also have administrative
responsibilities. Individual and group
supervision is provided by faculty.
Supervision training is also conducted for upper level students where
less experienced graduate students gain experience by working with advanced
graduate students; faculty members who are licensed Clinical Psychologists serve
as team leaders.
The Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological
Services is the university counseling center for WVU.
Practicum students are exposed to assessment, brief and long-term
psychotherapy, career and vocational counseling, and group therapy.
This facility has an APA-accredited internship.
The Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center of West Virginia
University provides facilities for research and training in such departments and
areas as behavioral medicine, pediatrics, geropsychology, neurology,
pharmacology, physiology, oncology, cardiology, prevention research, as well as,
oral surgery and other areas in dentistry. The WVU Department of Behavioral
Medicine and Psychiatry's Chestnut Ridge Hospital provides outpatient,
inpatient, and day treatment services. Clinical and research training is
available there; the hospital also houses an APA-accredited internship.
The West Virginia University Center for Excellence in
Disabilities provides diagnostic services, behavioral assessment, habilitation
planning, and implementation of planned services to persons with developmental
disabilities (e.g., autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy) and their
families. It also provides training
in consultation, inservice education, research, and state policy development
related to such clients.
CLG is a privately-held firm dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of organizations. CLG has a number of doctoral-level psychologists who supervise student projects in training and development, performance management, and related organizational behavior management projects.
The Department has a practicum agreement with William R.
Sharpe, Jr. Hospital in Weston, WV; the Department of Psychology in the hospital
is under the direction of the WVU School of Medicine's Department of Behavioral
Medicine and Psychiatry. This acute
care state hospital is for adults with serious psychological disorders.
Training is provided in diagnostic interviewing and other assessments,
including intellectual, personality, and
neuropsychological evaluations.
Students also gain experience in group and individual therapy, as well as
research.
The Department has an established practicum arrangement with Washington County Children and Youth Services where graduate students work with children and families involved in cases of abuse and neglect.
The Department has two practicum placements in local correctional settings, The Kennedy Federal Correctional Institute, a minimum security prison for men and the Pruntytown State Correctional Institute, a facility that houses both male and female inmates. Students in both sites evaluate inmates as well as participate in treatment groups.
Various behavioral/community mental health centers (e.g.,
Valley Health Care System) provide training and research opportunities across
the state, often in rural areas, for work with children, adults, and the
elderly, as well as with systems and community intervention.
The Oasis Rehabilitation Program also supports practicum students interested in working with patients with chronic pain problems.
Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta, WV, is a long-term care
facility for the elderly. Students address problems associated with schizophrenia,
dementia, bipolar disorder, mental retardation, and general behavior management.
Students conduct assessments, develop intervention programs, and provide
training of multidisciplinary staff.
The Animal Medical Center is a veterinary clinic in
Morgantown through which the Department offers practica in pet behavior
management.
There are local private practices in Clinical Psychology
that also provide practicum training.
These experiences provide exposure to financial and other business
issues, including working in managed care arenas.
The University Libraries at the downtown campus, the
Evansdale campus, the Health Sciences Center, and other locations on campus have
extensive collections in psychology and related fields.
Besides the computer facilities available in individual research laboratories, every graduate student and faculty member is provided with a computer on his/her desk with access to the World Wide Web and the West Virginia University Network for Educational Telecomputing (WVNET). Students are also provided access to email, a departmental printer, and the latest versions of statistical software and word processing. The department also maintains a poster-size HP printer for creating posters for conference presentations.