Counseling Psychology (PhD)

Credit Hours

62 semester hours

Program Length

4 years from MA

Admission Requirements

• Strong academic record (3.5 GPA and above preferred)
• Masters degree in psychology or related field
• Demonstrated interest in and commitment to counseling psychology
• Official GRE General and TOEFL or IELTS*
• Personal statement. Applicant may wish to highlight:
  •  Long-term career goals
  • Specific research and clinical interests
  • Current and past clinical and research experiences
  • Fit with program emphasis

• Three letters of reference
• Completed application (Due January 5)
• Personal interview with the faculty and current students (Typically conducted in early February)

Graduation Requirements

Minimum of two years of advanced fieldwork
At least 20 hours per week at an approved fieldwork site with supervision by a licensed psychologist or a licensed psychiatrist for a minimum of 600 hours per year
Minimum of one hour of individual supervision per week by a licensed doctoral level psychologist
Minimum of half (50%) of the 20 hours per week are required in direct service

Janelle Alabiso

received her MA in counseling psychology from Boston College in 2012 and her BA in psychology from Boston University in 2008. She has co-authored several scientific posters and articles and has contributed to research projects on hoarding and OCD at Boston University; Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD at Mass General Hospital; and substance abuse in a VA primary care setting at the Bedford VAMC. Additionally, she served as the project coordinator for the Safing Center, a clinic at the Bedford VAMC that focuses on intimate partner violence. Her current research and clinical interests include integrated behavioral healthcare and effective interventions and treatment for substance abuse. She is presently a graduate research assistant in Dr. Christina Lee’s Motivational Interviewing and Health Disparities Research Lab.

Oyenike Balogun

received an M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from Springfield College in 2005 and an M.Ed. from Northeastern University in 2012. Her primary research interests include intersections of race, gender and culture and subsequent implications for psychopathology, counseling, and practice. Her previous work has examined conceptions of mental illness in African student populations. Oyenike has held clinical fieldwork placements at Bridgewater State University Counseling Center and Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. Currently, she is active on several research teams exploring a wide range of topics: racial microaggressions among women of color; eating and appearance research; women’s experiences with interpersonal violence; gluten-free diet adherence among youth with celiac disease; and analysis of an integrative intervention for women with chronic pain. Oyenike is currently working on her dissertation exploring body Image and objectified body consciousness among African women.

Shelly-Ann Collins

came to the United States as an international student from Jamaica and has earned both her MS and BA at Florida International University in Miami, Florida in Mental Health Counseling and Psychology respectively. She also received an Associate’s of Arts in psychology from Middlesex County College, NJ. Before moving to Boston, and enrolling in the doctoral program at Northeastern University, she worked as a Children’s Mental Health Counselor for the Department of Children & Families and as a secondary education School Counselor for both private and public schools in Florida. Her interests include social justice, racial, gender and sexual minorities, advocacy, cultural competence and supporting student success in academics.

Russell DuBois

received an M.S. from Palo Alto University and a B.A. from University of California, San Diego. His primary interests are in the area of eating and appearance research and health psychology. His previous work has examined health and gender disparities and barriers to treatment in the VA healthcare system. He has held clinical positions working with adolescents and adults with a range of psychological and behavioral disabilities.

Jonathan Entis

received his MA in Cognitive Neuroscience from Boston College and BA in the History of Art from the University of Michigan. He has co-authored a number of papers on schizophrenia and other psychopathology using neuroimaging techniques. He is currently a 4th year doctoral student at Northeastern University in the Counseling Psychology PhD program. His most recent interests include psychodynamic therapy and ethics. Presently, he is researching the behavior and attitudes of psychologists towards the ethics of making referrals.

Caroline Aileen Fernandes

received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in 2010. Her interests include: understanding the implications of race, ethnicity, class, and gender on mental health, Latino mental health, microaggressions and their impact on people of color both in and outside of the psychotherapeutic relationship, ethnic/racial and gender identity development, and social justice. Her previous work has examined ethnic identity and its impact on the development of interethnic relationships, depressive symptoms among Black women, and body dissatisfaction among Latina women as a result of social media exposure. Currently, she is interested in studying whiteness and skin color privilege among Latinos as well as the potential physiological and biological markers of microaggressions.

Sean Hallinan

received his BA in Psychology from Northeastern University and his MS in Mental Health Counseling from Suffolk. He has worked in a variety of treatment settings including group homes, homeless shelters, community treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals and emergency rooms. His clinical interests include homelessness, military personnel and veterans. His research interests focus on technology and mental health – how mobile technology can be leveraged as a research and treatment tool.

Daniella Halperin

received her MA in general psychology from Boston University in 2008.  As a doctoral student, she has taught a number of undergraduate courses in mental health and counseling, abnormal psychology, health psychology, and motivational interviewing.  Daniella received an Outstanding Graduate Student Award for her teaching, and served as founding President of the Northeastern Counseling Psychology Graduate Organization (NCP-GO).  Daniella is drawn towards research in the broad areas of prevention, intervention, and empirically supported treatments of psychopathology.  She has co-authored several scientific articles, conference presentations, and a book chapter on therapeutic alliance and common factors in treatment.  Her dissertation research investigates non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) across multiple domains: anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance as potential vulnerability factors for NSSI, lived experiences of students who self-injure, and prevalence and correlates of diagnosable NSSI disorder within a treatment-seeking university population.  Daniella has acquired clinical training in a variety of settings in the Boston area, including methadone maintenance clinics, the Veteran’s Administration, the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD) at Boston University, the Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC) partial hospital program, and the UMass Lowell Counseling Center.

Meghan E. Lovering

earned her BA in psychology from Stonehill College in 2008 and MA in Counseling Psychology from Boston College in 2010. Her primary research and clinical interests are in the area of anxiety and eating disorder prevention.

Pamela Naab

received her MA in Mental Health Counseling (2012) from Boston College and her MA in Social & Cultural Psychology (2007) from Boston College. She completed her undergraduate studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (2005). Her previous research has been published in the journal Emotion and examined cross-cultural interpretations of spontaneous facial expressions and children’s emerging understandings of facial expressions. Broadly, her research and clinical interests are in the areas of diversity, mental health, and children & families. She is currently working on her dissertation, exploring the longitudinal factors related to obesity, from adolescence to adulthood. Pam has had clinical fieldwork placements at Franciscan Children’s Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, and Northborough Family and Youth Services, and has also worked at Metrowest Neuropsychology.

Ami Popat-Jain

received her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Boston College in 2012. Her primary research interests are multicultural issues specifically related to immigrants in the United States, as well as stigma related to mental illness.  In regards to clinical practice, she is committed to working with the underserved population. Popat-Jain values multicultural competency and social justice in her research and clinical work.

Lisa Rines-Toth

received her Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She also holds a BA in English Literature from Columbia University.  Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at Northeastern, Lisa worked at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City as a clinician in the psychiatric emergency department.  Lisa’s primary research and clinical interests are in the general areas of integrated behavioral care, crisis intervention, addiction and mindfulness & yoga.  Lisa currently works as a counselor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center.

Daniel Stone

received a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston (2010), and an MA in Counseling from the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (2012). He recently completed a post-master’s fellowship at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, where he worked with children, families and school staff in the Boston Public School system. As a fellow, Daniel practiced individual and group counseling with children and adolescents, and co-created and implemented a collaborative student support system. His current research and clinical interests include integrated behavioral care and student support for high risk children and adolescents, and social emotional curriculum for school-aged children.

Brian Siembor

received his M.A. in Counseling from the University of New Hampshire in 2011. His primary research and clinical interests are in the areas of health psychology and behavioral medicine, including the use of integrated psycho-therapeutic approaches (mindfulness, CBT, motivational interviewing, clinical hypnosis, biofeedback) for a variety of medical and behavioral health conditions.

Kathy P. Wu

received her master’s degree in applied psychology with a concentration in school counseling from New York University in 2010. Her clinical specialization is in child and adolescent psychotherapy. She has received extensive clinical training in schools, an outpatient community health center, and inpatient psychiatric hospitals in NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia. Her research interests are in exploring the psychosocial effects of prolonged exposure to systemic challenges and economic hardships amongst urban minorities.

Elda Zeko-Underwood

received her M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Assumption College. Currently she is vice-president of Northeastern Counseling Psychology Graduate Organization (NCP-GO). Her previous professional experience include service provision in disability rights and research of factors that impact access to higher education for minority groups. As part of two faculty led research teams, her current interest lay in understanding the impact of microaggressions on intersections of gender, race and sexual orientation. She is also exploring patterns of adolescent dating violence. In addition she has taught and continues to teach several undergraduate courses such as Introduction to Psychology as well as Human Relationships and Family.

Goal #1:  To prepare graduates for the role of professional psychologists, to include advanced skill development in behavioral observations, interviewing, psychological assessment, counseling and treatment planning and practice, consultation, effective use of supervision and an understanding of and commitment to the profession’s ethical codes.

Objective 1A:  Students will be exposed to various professional roles including student teaching, participation in research projects where they are mentored by faculty and mentor peers and/or junior colleagues.

Competency 1A1:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as clinicians.
Competency 1A2:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as educators.
Competency 1A3:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as community change agents ethically serving diverse populations and advocating for social justice.
Competency 1A4:  Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of their roles as researchers.

Goal #2: To foster understanding and application of the scientific basis of clinical practice in psychotherapy and clinical assessment

Objective 2A:  Students will acquire an understanding of the biological, cognitive and affective, and social aspects of behavior.
Objective 2B: Students will acquire knowledge of the history and systems of psychology
Objective 2C:  Students will acquire knowledge of empirical research regarding effective clinical practice, assessment, and interventions.
Objective 2D: Students will acquire knowledge of contemporary theories that explicate human behavior across the lifespan.
Objective 2E: Students will study current evidenced based practices in psychotherapy, psychological testing, and biological bases of clinical practice.
Objective 2F: Students will acquire knowledge and skills to implement evidence-based clinical interventions with diverse populations.

Competency 2A: Students will understand the regulation of biological and emotional functions of the nervous system.
Competency 2B: Students will understand the contribution of environmental factors to brain development, to the development of the mind, and to their functions.
Competency 2C: Students will understand theories and research with respect to clinical efficacy.
Competency 2D: Students will understand contemporary theories of human behavior from a lifespan developmental perspective.
Competency 2E1: Students will demonstrate a thorough understanding of current evidence based practices in psychotherapy, psychological testing, and the neuroscientific bases of clinical practice.
Competency 2E2: Students will develop the ability to select and apply evidence-based interventions and to assess progress and outcomes.
Competency 2F1: Students will demonstrate that they are familiar with outcome research for various intervention strategies.
Competency 2F2: Students will develop the ability to implement a wide range of developmental, preventive, remedial, and psychoeducational interventions, including psychotherapy, crisis management, consultation and dealing with emergency psychological/psychiatric situations with people across sources of difference.

Goal # 3:  To produce graduates who possess advanced and applied research skills within an ecological perspective

Objective 3A:  Students will be involved in course work on advanced and applied research skills. Objective 3B: Students will become proficient in reporting research findings.
Objective 3C: Students will be able to critically evaluate research from an ecological perspective.

Competency 3A1:  Students will demonstrate competency in research design and data analysis related to health and illness using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods models.
Competency 3A2: Students will be able to develop meaningful research questions, based upon theories and models in the scholarly research literature.
Competency 3A3:  Students will be able to implement appropriate research design, methods, and statistical analyses, consistent with the research questions.
Competency 3A4: Students will understand advantages and disadvantages of various research designs, modes of inquiry, data collection methods, statistical procedures, and measurement concepts.
Competency 3B:  Students will demonstrate the ability to report their research investigations appropriately, including knowledge of the socio-cultural contexts in the interpretation of the data.
Competency 3C1: Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate and critically assess the methodology of empirical research and the validity of research conclusions within a multicultural/ecological perspective.
Competency 3C2:  Students will be able to integrate themselves in research projects on research teams that stress a multicultural/ecological perspective.
Competency 3C3:  Students will successfully complete their dissertation proposals grounded within a multicultural/ecological perspective.

Goal # 4: To produce graduates who are committed to and demonstrate ethical practice as counseling psychologists.

Objective 4A: Students will learn through courses, mentoring, and supervision in the ethical codes of the profession.
Objective 4B: Student will learn through courses and supervised clinical experiences, local, state, and national laws affecting professional psychological practice.

Competency 4A: Students will become competent in understanding the codes of ethics and professional conduct of APA and develop a competent ethical decision-making process.
Competency 4B: Students will demonstrate understanding of the legal issues affecting practice and resolution of ethical/legal conflicts that may occur.

Goal #5: To produce graduates who are multiculturally competent across sources of difference, including race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion/spirituality, disability, and sexual orientation, in both clinical and research settings.

Objective 5A: Students will study, be mentored in, and be exposed to multicultural perspectives that stress the understanding of different worldviews and confronting forms of oppression.

Competency 5A1: Students will be able to integrate multiple worldviews and important historical and political positions in their clinical and research activities.
Competency 5A2: Students will be able to understand their own positions of privilege, related to race, gender, social class, ability, and/or sexual orientation and its effect on their work as professional psychologists.
Competency 5A3: Students will be able to integrate and actively advocate for the elimination of racism, sexism, class oppression, homophobia, ageism, and other forms of oppression.
Competency 5A4: Students will be able to conceptualize and advocate for social and economic justice as professional psychologists.

Goal # 6: To advance the field of counseling psychology using program strengths: (a) an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach to clinical services provision and enhancement of the science of health promotion and health psychology; (b) stress on urban, community-based interventions using an ecological approach.

Objective 6A: Students will be exposed to interprofessional models of health promotion research within the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.
Objective 6B: Students will study the strengths and challenges facing urban populations and work within health promotion and prevention.

Competency 6A1: Students will develop an understanding of how health promotion research is conceptualized and undertaken by an interprofessional team.
Competency 6B1: Students will understand the unique challenges facing urban populations and work within settings that provide health promotion and prevention efforts with multicultural populations.

E*Value Clinical Training Tracking Tool