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Coursework in the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Specialty is designed to provide students with foundational knowledge in the field of clinical psychology as well as in the areas of child development and clinical child/pediatric psychology. Consequently, students complete the course requirements for the clinical training program including a year-long sequence in Assessment in which, along with peers in the adult clinical area, students learn how to administer and interpret Intellectual and Achievement tests within the context of both youth and adults. Students within other specialty areas in our clinical program. Students within the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Specialty will also take elective courses that focus specifically on clinical child psychology (child psychotherapy, pediatric psychology).

• During the first three years, students take graduate courses that cover developmental (developmental psychology, cognitive development) and clinical child research (child psychotherapy, pediatric psychology). 
• Students seeking to further develop their quantitative skills have the opportunity to participate in our department's strong quantitative psychology minor

Research training is designed to develop students into highly skilled clinical child/adolescent scientists. Graduate students are actively involved in research throughout their training. Across faculty members there is a strong track-record of extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

• Several ongoing research collaborations exist among faculty in the Clinical Psychological Sciences programs. Many faculty and students also have active research collaborations with other faculty and staff at local community agencies and hospitals (e.g. Akron Children’s Hospital,  Department of Adolescent Medicine, Neurodevelopmental Science Center, Healthy Active Living Program [a transdisciplinary weight management clinic], Akron Public Schools, Community Youth Organizations, Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence, and Upward Bound) as well as universities around the country (e.g. Brown Medical School, Georgia Tech University, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, UCLA, Wayne State University). These collaborations provide opportunities for students to get involved in research and develop a network of professional relationships. Faculty are involved in research with individuals from diverse and minoritized backgrounds.
• Graduate students are actively involved in research and are expected to submit peer-reviewed manuscripts for publication and present at regional, national and international research conferences where they can develop a network of professional relationships that is likely to help when applying for internships, post-doctoral training and academic/clinical positions.  Examples of conferences where faculty and students present are:  American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, International OCD Foundation, Society for Pediatric Psychology, Society for Research in Child Development, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Society for Research on Adolescence).

Through Years 2 to 5 in the program, students gain experience in evidence-based treatment (e.g. Coping CAT/CAT Project, Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics, Exposure with Response Prevention) and participate in a number of clinical practica, both within the department and in the community. A brief overview of these experiences is provided below:

• 2nd and 3rd year: General (child/adolescent) practicum in the Psychological Clinic. This practicum includes assessment and intervention with children, adolescents, and their families. Students also participate in an 8 to 10-hour assessment placement at assessment-focused externships throughout the surrounding area. These externships will vary from year-to-year; however, please use this link to see a list of the assessment-focused experiences our students have utilized in the past.
• 4th year: Clinical placement (externship), approximately 15-20 hours/week, in a setting specialized in the assessment and treatment of children and families (e.g. mental health center, medical/pediatric setting). These clinical placements generally vary from year-to-year based depending upon the number and interests of the graduate students our specialty admits each year; however, please use this link to see a list of the clinical placements our students typically utilize.
• 5th year: Students prepare for and apply to clinical internship. Clinically, students may engage in a second year of clinical placement (externship). Some students also teach, are awarded fellowships, or engage in some combination of these clinical and academic experiences. 

Students are encouraged to become involved in undergraduate teaching. During the beginning of the 3rd year, students are enrolled in a teaching seminar and, with the supervision of a faculty member, teach one or several undergraduate courses (e.g. child psychology, social and personality development, cognitive development, adolescent psychology)

Dr. Sarah Black - Developmental psychopathology, with particular interest in risk for mood disorders during childhood and adolescence. Currently, investigating how parenting behaviors and parental psychopathology may influence the development of emotional regulation abilities during middle childhood and adolescence.  Research also considers how the normative hormonal, social, and environmental events of childhood and adolescence can be disrupted and lead to increased risk for emotional dysregulation.

Dr. Christopher A. Flessner - Understanding and developing mHealth interventions for obsessive-compulsive and related (i.e., OCD, body-focused repetitive behaviors [BFRBS]) and tic disorders.

Dr. Amy Sato - Pediatric (child-health) psychology, with an emphasis on pediatric obesity and the development of novel weight management interventions. Focus on the influences of family and stress as well as adolescents from lower-income backgrounds.

Dr. Morgan Thompson - research integrates developmental psychopathology and biopsychosocial perspectives to investigate children’s socioemotional development within the family context. 

Dr. Jeffrey Ciesla (Adult psychopathology) - The processes and course of depressive disorders.

• Elle Brennan, Ph.D. – Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Katy Darling, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Research), Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (Research), Alpert Medical School of Brown University
• Nicole Dempster, Ph.D. – Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Theresa (Tess) Gladstone, Ph.D. – Research Scientist, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
• Robert Dempster, Ph.D. – Program Director, Comprehensive Pediatric Feeding Program, Nationwide Children's Hospital; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Delilah Ellzey, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow, Emory University School of Medicine
• Amy Fahrenkamp, Ph.D. – Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic
• Bryan Karazsia, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, College of Wooster
• Andrea Mata, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Findlay University
• Elizabeth Ruzicka, Ph.D. – Postdoctoral Fellow, Colorado Children's Hospital
• Lauren Wood, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado
• Stephanie Silberman, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Clinical Child Psychologist at Albany Medical Center