Citing a critical need for mental and behavioral health professionals, one Gem State school is addressing the issue with a new program.
At a Glance:
- ISU launches a new Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD) program in 2026
- Program focuses on clinical training and direct patient care
- Designed to address Idaho’s mental and behavioral health provider shortage
- Emphasis on rural mental health and integrated behavioral care
Idaho State University on Aug. 27 announced the launch of its new Doctorate of Psychology, or PsyD, program to launch in the fall of 2026.
According to ISU, the program will prepare students for licensure as clinical psychologists. The emphasis, the school stated, is “on hands-on, supervised clinical training. Housed at ISU’s Meridian campus, the PsyD program is part of the university’s broader mission to build Idaho’s health care workforce, especially in rural and underserved communities.”
“As Idaho’s leader in health care education, ISU has a responsibility to step up when there are gaps in care,” said Kandi Turley Ames, dean of the ISU College of Arts and Letters. “The PsyD program directly addresses one of the most urgent challenges we face today: mental and behavioral health access.”
ISU also offers other doctorates in psychology, such as its Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology and experimental psychology. What sets the PsyD program apart is that it will be practitioner-oriented, whereby the students will have a main focus on clinical application and direct patient care during training. The program will also specialize in integrated behavioral health and rural mental health.
“The benefit is recognizing that health behaviors have a strong mental health component,” said Dr. Joshua Swift, chair of the Department of Psychology at ISU. “If a doctor’s working with someone with diabetes, they can prescribe medication, but the psychologist can help the person develop a plan to take the medications and change behaviors that contribute to the diabetes.”
With the new program, the hope is that students will remain in Idaho to practice.
“The goal is to recruit students from all over the country but with an emphasis here on Idaho and local areas, with the hope those students will go into clinical practice here in Idaho,” Swift said. “There’s a shortage of mental health providers in Idaho, particularly in the rural areas, so there’s a high need for more mental health providers. The graduates from this program and our existing program can fill a role in fulfilling that need.”
The first cohort will have just six students when it begins next year and will expand that number with clinical and faculty partnerships, the school stated in a release.
“By investing in the PsyD program, we are investing in healthier families, stronger communities and a better future for Idaho,” said Turley Ames. “The long-term impact of having more licensed clinical psychologists in the state cannot be overstated.”
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