Student Development
Aimed at psychology students, this section provides essential tools, resources, and guidance to help you navigate your academic journey and prepare for a successful career in psychotherapy.
94 articles found
Bridging the Gap: Integrating Specialized Experience into Emerging Clinician Identity
This article is for those at every stage of their professional training journey: considering graduate school, navigating it, completing internships, and stepping into the workforce. We share our experiences to highlight common struggles, the hidden strengths we bring, and how to recognize what experiences transfer and which require further refinement. In a field that values […]
Charles Clark, MS + 2 more
June 10, 2026
A Fat Positive Framework for Beginning Body Image Work with Plus Size Clients
Two-thirds of the United States population of women are considered plus size, but weight stigma in healthcare spaces is as pervasive as ever and has long lasting mental health implications for plus size clients (Flint et al., 2025, Christel & Dunn, 2016). With anti-fat bias on the rise, plus size clients who are seeking therapeutic […]
Sofia Siraj-Wu, MS, LPC
May 31, 2026
I’ll Rest When I’m Dead: A Student’s Guide to Self-Care Amidst the Hustle Culture of Graduate School
There have been many times throughout graduate school where self-care did not feel like it was for me or that it was even allowed to be for me. Who really has time as a graduate student to practice self-care, let alone regularly? While I was informed about the importance of self-care as a fundamental practice […]
Sarah Bondy, MA
March 29, 2026
Navigating Dementia Care: Balancing Cognitive Decline, Emotional Well-Being, and Caregiver Resilience in Later Life
Dementia as a Global Challenge Dementia represents one of the most pressing public health challenges of the 21st century. Globally, an estimated 55 million people are living with dementia, a number expected to double every 20 years as populations age (World Health Organization, 2021). Dementia is a disorder characterized by progressive neurocognitive decline affecting memory, […]
Ayesha Riaz, MS + 1 more
March 17, 2026
Global Perspectives in Training Future Mental Health Practitioners: Challenges and Innovations from Four Continents
Abstract Amid a rapid sociocultural transformation and a growing global demand for mental health care, the effective training of future psychotherapists has become a pressing concern. This article synthesizes insights from a structured discussion held at the 56th International Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, where four international professionals from the diverse regions […]
Agostino Brugnera, PhD + 5 more
February 12, 2026
Economic Factors on Drug Use in Adolescence
For adolescents and teenagers today, the pressures leading to substance use extend beyond peer influence or rebellion. Other factors, like economic challenges, are also an integral part of shaping adolescent behaviors, including drug and alcohol use (Goodman & Huang, 2002). Rising inequity and financial instability coupled with limited access to mental health resources contribute to […]
Anjali Modak, student + 1 more
November 30, 2025
Entering the World of Private Practice: What Graduate School Did Not Teach You
Abstract Young psychologists entering the world of private practice often find themselves holding naïve concepts about this area of psychotherapy and may be ill-prepared to work for a group private practice and/or start their own practices. This may be related to various obstacles surrounding credentialling and billing, insurance operations and processes, restrictive covenants, marketing tasks, […]
Michael Pica, PsyD
August 10, 2025
SAP Who’s Who: Dr. Susan Heitler
Who’s Who: Dr. Susan Heitler Can you tell me about your educational background and professional experience? I enjoyed undergraduate school at Harvard, went to Boston University for a Masters Degree in education, and then applied to NYU for a clinical psychology PhD where I almost didn’t get accepted. For the opportunity to earn my doctorate, […]
Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy
June 5, 2025
Resilience as a Goal in Psychotherapy
Our collective tolerance for distress seems to be declining since the pandemic. The number of Americans who currently have or are being treated for depression has increased to 17.8%, a seven-percentage point increase since 2015 and the highest percentage recorded by Gallup (Witters, 2023). An alarming 43% of adults say they feel anxious, an increase […]
Jared Scherz, PhD, MEd
May 7, 2025
Sharing
Sometimes this is called “identification”. Sometimes this is called “empathy”. Sometimes this is found in years of marriage. When couples finish each other’s sentences, share the same dreams, begin to look more like each other. What happens is that we become more like the people we spend the most time with. Or even with animals. […]
Robert F. Morgan, PhD
April 28, 2025
Sentio’s Clinic-to-Classroom Method: Bridging Deliberate Practice and Clinical Training
Training effective psychotherapists requires more than just classroom instruction; it demands an integration of practical experience with theoretical learning (Vaz & Rousmaniere, 2022). Sentio University’s Clinic-to-Classroom method exemplifies this integration by bringing real clinical practice into the learning environment. This approach is grounded in the Deliberate Practice (DP) model, a framework originally developed in expertise […]
Tony Rousmaniere, Psy.D. + 1 more
March 26, 2025
SAP Who’s Who: Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D., A.B.P.P., M.B.A., L.H.D. (Hon.)
Who’s Who- Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D., A.B.P.P., M.B.A., L.H.D. (Hon.) Can you tell me about your educational background and professional experience? Ronald F. Levant (BA, History, University of California, Berkeley; BA, Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Honors with Great Distinction; EdD, Clinical Psychology and Public Practice, Harvard University; MBA, General Management, Boston University, High Honors) […]
Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy
February 6, 2025