Program Description

The Doctoral Program in Psychotherapy is jointly hosted by the School of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the Department of Psychology and the Departments of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the Universidad de Chile. It is built upon the interdisciplinary research work conducted by an international network of psychotherapy scholars, which includes specialists in psychotherapy research, psychology, psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, and neuroscience.

The program has signed agreements with foreign institutions such as Heidelberg University, the Free University of Berlin, and the University of Applied Sciences Neubrandenburg.

*Students enrolling in this full-time program must devote 40 hours to it per week*

General Objective

The main objective of the Program is to provide students with top-level postgraduate education which will enable them to perform to a high academic standard in psychotherapy and mental health research.

Specific Objectives

Students in the program are expected to:

1. Conduct clinically- and socially-relevant research, considering the influence of cultural variables, especially with respect to the etiological mechanisms of mental disorders, development trajectories, and change mechanisms and processes in psychotherapy and mental health.
2. Apply methodologies that are up-to-date, coherent, and relevant to the sociocultural context in order to tackle empirical issues in psychotherapy and mental health research.
3. Promote and disseminate, in their academic practice, ethical convictions regarding the importance of a scientific and interdisciplinary approach to psychotherapy as a treatment capable of suitably relieving the suffering caused by mental health problems.
4. Establish links with the national and international scientific community, thus gaining opportunities to collaborate with top-level academics and institutions.

Graduate Profile 

Students who graduate from this program are expected to contribute to the body of knowledge in the fields of Mental Health and Psychotherapy and to the training of academics and professionals. In addition, they are expected to promote the progress of this subject area, both in the sphere of research and in clinical practice, in order to contribute to human development and well-being in general and to the study and resolution of specific problems.

Degree Awarded

PhD in Psychotherapy.