Award Date

5-15-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

First Committee Member

E. Michael Nussbaum

Second Committee Member

Lisa Bendixen

Third Committee Member

Jonathan Hilpert

Fourth Committee Member

William Ramsey

Number of Pages

153

Abstract

This study explores the integration of complexity theory and interdisciplinary approaches in clinical psychology education and training. Responding to growing concerns about the fragmentation of knowledge and the limitations of reductionist models in mental health education, this qualitative research investigates how faculty and graduate students conceptualize and engage with complexity, systems thinking, ethics, culture, and curricular innovation. Using semi-structured interviews with clinical psychology professors and students, the study applies thematic analysis grounded in interpretive paradigms and educational philosophy. Findings reveal widespread epistemological fragmentation, varied familiarity with complexity theory, institutional resistance to interdisciplinary integration, and emerging calls for curricular transformation. Participants emphasized the need for recursive, reflective pedagogies and complexity-informed clinical models that center ethical pluralism, contextual sensitivity, and non-linear development. The study concludes with recommendations for reforming clinical psychology education through complexity-based frameworks that bridge neuroscience, ethics, cultural studies, and philosophical inquiry. This research contributes to the discourse on systemic reform in psychological education by foregrounding the epistemic, pedagogical, and ethical imperatives of transdisciplinary training.

Keywords

clinical psychology education; complexity theory; cultural psychology; curricular reform; interdisciplinary pedagogy; qualitative research

Disciplines

Education | Educational Psychology | Other Educational Administration and Supervision

File Format

PDF

File Size

977 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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