Vermont Psychological Services
(formerly the Behavior Therapy and Psychotherapy Center)
Vermont Psychological Services (VPS) is a non-profit outpatient mental health clinic and training facility for the clinical psychology graduate program in the Department of Psychological Science at The University of Vermont. VPS has been in operation for over 50 years.
Through their training in the clinical program and at VPS, doctoral clinical students learn to deliver effective psychological services for individuals of all ages, abilities, genders, orientations, ethnicities, and spiritual beliefs. Evidence-based treatments employed within VPS aim to improve quality of life and enhance mental health outcomes for those suffering with problems such as anxiety, depression and other affective disorders, child behavioral problems, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental health concerns.
Training Aims
Vermont Psychological Services (VPS) was established in 1972 and has served over 15,000 clients since that time. VPS has focused on providing clinical training, while simultaneously offering community services based on empirical research. Though much has changed since the clinic's inception, our primary training aims have remained constant:
- To train clinical psychology graduate students in providing high quality, empirically-supported clinical interventions utilizing the scientist-practitioner model Generally, these approaches entail Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in addition to other well-supported modalities [e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Motivational Interviewing (MI)].
- To train clinical psychology graduate students in providing evidence-based, psychological services to the widest range of individuals possible, particularly those who identify as part of a historically underserved population (e.g., low-income individuals, LGBTQ+ individuals, traumatized individuals, refugees, individuals involved in the criminal justice system, and individuals struggling with substance use).