The Department of Psychology is housed in Kastle Hall, a classic three
story building which is centrally located on the University of Kentucky campus. Kastle Hall is
adjacent to buildings housing physical science, biological science, and a well-equipped
computing center. Computing center facilities are available to graduate students without charge.
A complete psychology library is located in the main library (about 100 yards from Kastle
Hall).The first floor of Kastle Hall is devoted mainly
to research, with facilities for animal experimentation occupying one-half of the research space on this floor and facilities for human experimentation and clinical research occupying the other half; sophisticated videotaping facilities support clinical supervision and observational research. The second and third floors of Kastle Hall contain faculty and student offices, classrooms, and additional space for human research. Technical and computer support is provided by technical staff employed by the Department.The Harris Psychological Services Center serves as the program's training clinic and is located in a renovated three story house near campus. Substantial videotaping and other technical resources are available in the clinic.Graduate students also have access to the
facilities of the Departments of Behavioral Science, Pharmacology, Physiology, Pediatrics, and
Psychiatry in the College of Medicine. Students have also been engaged in projects at
Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. The Veterans Administration Hospital, Eastern State Hospital,
and local schools are within 20 minutes of the University and have been generous in providing
special subject populations and facilities.
Clinical Placements and Training Facilities
The clinical program at the University of
Kentucky provides practical experience in a variety of settings. We operate our own Psychological Services Center (PSC) as an outpatient clinic with clients primarily from the local community as well as the University. The PSC provides child, adult, marital, and family therapy. The clinic is staffed by clinical psychology graduate students who begin seeing clients at the PSC in their second year. Students continue to see at least two clients at the PSC each year thereafter. Individual and group supervision are provided by the clinical faculty, with the student having the option of selecting among a variety of theoretical orientations, all of which emphasize the empirical basis of treatment approaches. Students are encouraged to obtain exposure to a number of different theoretical models during their training.A number of funded positions within the
community are also available. The positions typically involve 20 hours per week of supervised
clinical activity including psychotherapy, psychological testing, consultation, and case
conferences. The selection of placements offers exposure to diverse and unique clinical
populations that serve to develop a broad clinical background. Students begin at a placement in
their second year and are typically placed at a different setting each subsequent year. Children
and adolescents are seen as outpatients at a community mental health center. Adult populations
include severely disturbed inpatients at Eastern State Hospital, outpatients at several community
mental health centers, criminal offenders at the Federal Correctional Institution, and diverse
medical populations at various health-service agencies, including the UK Medical Center.
Additional training specialties have been established through placements at various clinical
settings.Because training and clinical experience
serving minority populations is an important component of the preparation of all clinical
psychologists, the program has developed practicum placements serving African-American and
Hispanic clients. All students are encouraged to obtain these experiences in regular or specialty
placements.
Last updated: September 26, 1996