University of the Cumberlands offers a variety of graduate programs and online graduate programs.

Program Mission
One hundred years ago, the pioneers of clinical psychology, Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung, discovered the theoretical underpinnings of psychoanalysis and set the stage for what should have been an era of spectacular achievement in the field of mental health care. Their theoretical advances in the study of the pathogenesis of neurosis should have lead to rapid advances in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and addiction disorders.

Sadly, the art and science of psychoanalysis proved both costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, the outcome of psychotherapy has remained uncertain. The noble endeavor of attempting to change the human heart and to chase away the demons from the human mind has proven to be as elusive and as difficult throughout the last century as is has during all previous history. From a public health perspective, we have not made nearly the progress in mental health care in the last hundred years as we have made in other areas of clinical medicine such as surgery, immunology, diagnostic imaging, laboratory diagnostic techniques and pharmaceuticals.

Fortunately, all that is changing.

With the discovery of psychotropic drugs, pharmaceuticals have become our front line of defense in the treatment against mental disorders. Starting with the discovery of the first successful antipsychotic drug, chlorpromazine, a new era of clinical medicine began.

The new paradigm for mental illness is a medical model that describes the pathogenesis of mental illness in terms of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurotransmitters, neuroreceptors and brain biochemistry. The role of psychotherapy and counseling has become ancillary to the central role played by psychiatry and the use of psychotropic pharmaceutical medication.

Recently, progress in the treatment of mental illness has been further aided by the development of new psychotropic drugs such as antianxiety and antidepressant medications.

Now that we have effective pharmaceutical remedies for the many of the most serious mental illnesses, we have a different sort of problem, namely, one of developing an infrastructure capable of delivering mental health services to a diverse population. Serving the mental health care needs of the population requires more than the development of new drugs. With 20 million mental health patients in the USA, more well-trained clinical specialists are needed to diagnose and treat mental illness.

Put simply, we need more psychiatrists or other heath care workers who can competently and safely diagnose and treat mental illness using the new drugs. This need for more mental health care workers who are well trained in the new field of psychotropic pharmaceutical medications to treat mental illness has been addressed by several jurisdictions.

The legislatures of two states, New Mexico and Louisiana, have addressed the issue of a shortage of mental health care workers in a novel and bold manner. They have passed legislation enabling licensed clinical psychologists who undertake postdoctoral studies in neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, neuroreceptors and brain biochemistry and clinical aspects of psychiatry to be granted prescription authority

These licensed clinical psychologists with prescription authority are termed medical psychologists.

Several other state legislatures are contemplating similar measures.

The American Psychological Association (APA) has developed guidelines for the postdoctoral education and training of medical psychologists, integrating instruction in the biological sciences, clinical medicine and pharmacology. Unfortunately, there is a “disconnect” between the background, training and classical orientation of licensed clinical psychologists and the rigors of modern medical science that is required to thoroughly understand the pharmacology of psychotropic drugs, their drug interactions and side effects, and to prescribe these medications both safely and competently.

The question is how best to train clinical psychologists who wish to become medical psychologists?

University of the Cumberlands is the first university to develop a doctoral curriculum aimed at integrating clinical psychology, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy and medical pharmacology to meet the training needs of those who wish to become medical psychologists.

In order to embrace the new paradigm of mental illness defined in terms of neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, neuroreceptors and brain biochemistry, we need clinical psychologists who are well trained in those scientific subjects. Thus, ours is a thoroughly modern curriculum in clinical psychology that would be scarcely recognized by the likes of Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung.

The Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology degree program offered by University of the Cumberlands will enable professional licensing in clinical psychology in 37 states including New Mexico and Louisiana where clinical psychologists already have been granted prescription authority.

In the future, it is likely that other states will pass legislation granting prescription authority to licensed clinical psychologists. University of the Cumberlands is committed to a process of ongoing review of applicable licensing laws in all such states and revision of our curriculum to ensure that our graduates will have the necessary scientific and clinical training required to progress towards licensure in medical psychology.

University of the Cumberlands is proud to be the first university to offer a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology degree program that is tailor-fit in meet the educational needs of those who wish to become medical psychologists and fulfill a destiny that clinical psychologists take center stage in mental health care field.

This is a curriculum of first blush.

Program Goals
University of the Cumberlands is pleased to be among the first institutions worldwide, to offer a doctoral program in clinical psychology with primary focus on the neurosciences, psychopharmacology and the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders for the purpose of preparing graduates to accept the rights, duties and professional responsibility of prescriptive authority. 

This is a three-year doctoral program in clinical psychology that satisfies educational requirements for licensure in clinical psychology in 37 states. The program integrates clinical psychology, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy and medical pharmacology, striving to provide the knowledge base and training required for those who wish to become medical psychologists with prescriptive authority where this status is available.