And with the broad concept of clinical psychology subdivided into increasingly smaller units for expertise and specialization, effective therapists often find they ought to have a thorough understanding of the techniques they choose to employ.
"You need research skills in order to help you understand scientific literature so you can be aware of treatment developments and select the best treatments for your patients," Hooley says.
In their careers, Harvard-trained clinical psychologists will probably do more research than practice, says Hooley.
"The assumption is that our students would be able to devise and develop new treatments and conduct research that would really facilitate the understanding of major psychopathology" says Hooley.
The research focus of the program is similar to others nationwide.
"The fact that it's research-oriented is congruent with Harvard's history in psychology" Masten says.
Staff writer Lauren R. Dorgan can be reached at dorgan@fas.