Adler School of Professional Psychology (USA)

The Adler School of Professional Psychology is a non-profit independent graduate school of psychology located in Chicago, Illinois. The school offers a doctorate in clinical psychology and several masters degree programs including marriage/family therapy, counseling psychology, organizational development, art therapy, rehabilitation, gerontology, school counseling and the nation’s only Master’s program in police psychology specifically for police officers. Founded in 1952 as The Adler Institute, the Adler School now also operates a campus in Vancouver, Canada and enrolls about 800 students. The Adler School is committed to graduating socially responsible practitioners, engaging communities, and advancing social justice. The School pursues social responsibility through service to communities, especially to disenfranchised and marginalized populations, and through the Institutes for Social Change. The Adler School’s website>>

The Institute on Social Exclusion

The ISE seeks to analyze the ways in which structural features of society condition human welfare; stimulate public dialogue on the underlying causes of disadvantage and on possible solutions; and engage in practical work that sheds light on and addresses social marginalization. The ISE conducts research, community outreach, and educational projects. ISE research projects have included investigations on immigrant homelessness in Chicago, the displacement of Chicago’s public housing residents, and suicides rates in metropolitan Chicago. Another research project identified and documented indicators of social exclusion such as food insecurity, supermaximum prisons, death by preventable disease, youth confined to life in prison without parole, and the digital divide. Community outreach projects have included gun violence prevention programming in the Chicago community of Englewood, where youth-involved gun violence has been extraordinarily high. Students can become involved in the work of the ISE through independent study projects, the Community Service Practicum, work study, and host of volunteer activities. Learn more>>

Training and Community Engagement

All degree programs at the Adler School of Professional Psychology include practical training experiences that prepare students to become socially responsible practitioners. Community service and clinical training practicums help students develop the critical skills they need to provide ethical, empirically-based, compassionate care. The Clinical Practicum requires students to provide psychological services under the supervision of licensed clinicians. The non-clinical Community Service Practicum involves placement with nonprofit and professional organizations, political offices, and consumer advocacy groups. The practicums are done concurrently with related seminars and other courses. The practicums last one year and require 8-10 hours of work per week. Learn more>>

Adler Community Health Services (ACHS)

ACHS provides psychological services to underserved populations through its clinical training programs. Interns and externs offer clinical services through community-based partnerships based on their interests and abilities. Services provided in the community through community partnerships include individual, group, family, and couples psychotherapy; neuropsychological, personality, and cognitive ability assessment; support groups; parenting classes; consultation; and psycho-educational programs. Interns are each supervised by two psychologists and undergo training seminars and evaluation in addition to provision of services. Learn more>>