West Virginia Universitys Eberly College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Psychology just notched another national honor. Mostly recently, the Association for Advance of Behavior Therapy (AABT) chose WVU s doctoral program in clinical psychology for the 2001 Outstanding Training Program Award.

Kevin Larkin, Ph.D., an associate professor and director of clinical training, said the AABT selects only one clinical training program for the award each year. The award goes to a graduate program recognized both for high quality behavioral sciences research and an excellent record of training clinical psychologists.

“Our program is exemplary in both areas,”said Dr. Larkin, who will attend the AABT s national meeting in Philadelphia Nov. 16 to accept the award.

WVU also was recently ranked fourth worldwide in research productivity in behavior therapy and analysis, and U.S. News and World Report listed the departments doctoral program in clinical psychology among the finest in the nation this year.

“We have been ranked among the top programs in the country for producing graduates who go on to assume academic positions in American Psychological Association_approved clinical training programs, and among the leading institutions in publishing research in behavior analysis and therapy,”Larkin said.

Faculty members in the department offer training in broad_based behavioral approaches to clinical problems, he explained. The curriculum includes interviewing; assessment; ethical, legal and professional issues; statistics and experimental design; learning; behavior pathology; adult and child behavior therapy; social behavior; history and systems; and biological aspects of behavior.

Practical and research opportunities in behavioral medicine are also offered, which allow interested graduate students to develop specialized skills in assisting patients with pain management, helping patients adhere to difficult and painful treatment programs, and treating a variety of anxiety disorders associated with medical and dental treatments.

The best aspect of the clinical psychology program at WVU is its”comprehensiveness,”said Ron Martin, a WVU doctoral student in psychology on internship at the University of Rochester.”The students in the program excel in academic, clinical and teaching roles,”Martin said.”As a result, when students leave for internships they are highly prepared for the variety of challenges that face working clinicians.”

Sarah Lewis, a doctoral student on internship at the Medical School of South Carolina, said WVU s”climate”is what attracted her.”I interviewed at other schools, but WVU had a very collegial and collaborative atmosphere,”Lewis said.”I love thejunior colleaguemodel in which students are treated as colleagues in training. We have the freedom to work with various faculty and pursue multiple interest areas, both in research and in clinical practice.”

The AABT was founded in 1966 to serve as a central resource and network for all facets of behavior therapy and cognitive therapy. It is a not_for_profit organization of more than 4,500 mental health professionals, researchers and students interested in behavior therapy.