SMITHFIELD – Citing a need to address the mental health crisis both locally and nationally, Bryant University on Tuesday announced that it is launching its Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree program that will hold its first cohort of students in the fall of 2025.
Additionally, this is the first-ever doctorate program Bryant will offer students in its 160-year history.
Bryant says the new doctoral program will be offered by the university’s School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, with the application period slated to open Sept. 5. The university says the doctoral program builds on the current undergraduate psychology and graduate physician assistant studies and health care informatics programs being offered.
Bryant spokesperson Karen Greco told Providence Business News on Tuesday that the impetus in the university launching this doctoral program is to address the mental health crisis, particularly in the Ocean State. Bryant says that according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, about 178,000 adults in Rhode Island have a diagnosed mental health condition, and 41.5% of adults reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.
Furthermore, Bryant says there is a “mental health care desert” in Washington and Newport counties, leaving about 250,000 people without access to care within their own communities. Greco also said the mental health crisis was on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but the pandemic “really accelerated” the problem, hence the need for more mental health professionals in local communities. The university also says about one-third of Rhode Islanders who need mental health care can’t access it due to high costs.
“We are in the midst of a severe behavioral health crisis, with access to care being a major issue,” said Joseph Trunzo, associate director of Bryant’s School of Health and Behavioral Sciences and clinical psychologist, in a statement. “The School of Health and Behavioral Sciences at Bryant University is proud to launch this program, training clinicians of the highest quality to help serve the public and alleviate suffering across all populations and settings.”
Bryant says the program will require students to take four years of coursework and clinical placements and a fulltime doctoral internship for one year. The program will offer two concentrations, one being child and adolescent psychology and the other being health psychology. Both concentrations, Bryant says, have a shortage of qualified specialists to provide care to these growing populations.
Students will need to take 112 credit hours, 1,500 practicum hours and 2,000 internship hours to complete the doctoral program, Bryant says. Students will also need to do a doctoral research project, as well. Annual tuition is expected to be $35,000 per academic year, the university says.
Both Greco and Trunzo did say there will be new employees hired to run the doctoral program, as well as hire a new program director. The name of the new director and how many new employees expected to be brought aboard are to be announced, Greco said.
Trunzo also told PBN that Bryant has been in discussion with multiple organizations and providers in the region to develop relationships that will be beneficial for students in this program, largely around the development of practicum training sites. They did not say how much the program will cost Bryant to run or how it will be funded.
Greco also says the university is looking to start with 15 students in the program’s first cohort. That small size, she says, will help maintain focus on the students’ training and help with clinical placements.
The program still needs approval from the New England Commission of Higher Education to launch.
(UPDATED to include comment from Bryant University School of Health and Behavioral Sciences Associate Director Joseph Trunzo.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
