Abstract

The doctoral project represents scholarly work that demonstrates a student's ability to assess, critically evaluate, and integrate knowledge gained from research, theoretical, and clinical sources regarding a topic in counseling psychology. Each student, under the direction of a faculty committee, investigates a problem of practical concern to practitioners in counseling psychology and presents the results of this investigation in the doctoral project. As "skeptical observers", this process requires students to immerse themselves in relevant literature, develop expertise in a give topic area, and approach the topic with a critical orientation. All doctoral projects consist of three major sections. Section I consists of an introduction to the topic explicating the significance of the issue to the professional practice of counseling psychology. Section II entails a critical review of scholarly literature on the chosen topic Section III requires selection from two investigatory approaches, 1) original contribution to practice or 2) empirical investigation. Note that the doctoral project differs from a traditional doctoral dissertation that have a