Don’t Sweat It: The CPPR

By Libby Peachey, Summer 2010

One of the milestones every CSPP graduate student must conquer along the way to earning their doctoral degree is the Clinical Proficiency Progress Review (CPPR). Like the comprehensive exams, proposal orals, and dissertation defense, it looms in the back of every student’s mind, threatening to be the one roadblock that stalls forward momentum. However, although the task seems quite daunting to many first, second, and even third year students, the CPPR is much more transparent and student friendly than one might expect.

As outlined in the CPPR guidelines, the purpose of the review “ ...is to evaluate the degree to which students have attained those clinical competencies expected of a third-year student.” The evaluation of these clinical competencies is accomplished through a written clinical case report (around 12 pages) and an oral presentation (lasting approximately 40 minutes). The paper and presentation are evaluated by a panel matched by the CPPR Coordinator, Dr. Patrick Petti, based on either their clinical competence with the multicultural population, the clinical population, or the theoretical orientation being presented.

While the formality of this process may be stress inducing, many students will be happy to know that there is a year-long class that all third year students take designed specifically to get you prepared for the CPPR. The Advanced Clinical Seminar is not merely a continuation of the theory and technique courses but your ticket to passing the CPPR. Students can choose to either take the psychodynamic, family systems, or cognitive behavioral sections, but be prepared to choose that orientation as the case formulation for your paper and presentation.

In addition, myriad resources are made available to students to aid in the report writing and presentation process. Students have access to samples of “exemplary” papers online under course reserves, as well as detailed criteria for evaluation and an outline of what information should be in the written case report. Furthermore, if you do not pass the first “round” of the CPPR’s, you can retake it before the summer is underway. That way, students who are getting ready to relocate for internship have every chance available to pass the progress review with time left over to sneak in a summer vacation before internships begin.

Melissa Guariglia, a fourth year student and CPPR veteran, stated that, “It’s important to remember that you don’t always have to have an answer. This is not a defense of the work you have done, it’s a gauge at how well you can think or entertain different perspectives, ideas, and concepts on the spot. It’s okay to say, ‘I hadn’t thought about that before ...’” The goal of the progress review is to make sure that students are equipped with the skills necessary to be good clinicians, not try to trap them in the torrent of grad school chaos.

So, don’t sweat too much over the CPPR. While the process may seem scary at first, all the information and resources are there to ensure students pass.