The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute was founded in 1979 to provide an alternative to the traditional teaching PsyD programs of education. The programs were designed for individuals desiring an education to prepare them to serve as direct providers of mental health services rather than researchers or academicians. Programs emphasize a holistic approach to mental wellness grounded in the science and practice of clinical psychology.
Forest Institute operates the Robert J. Murney Clinic in Springfield and is one of the few graduate programs in the USA to offer its students a free-standing clinic for practicum experience. This "classroom†provides services to members of the local community and offers students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom.
Forest also supports the Center for Innovation and Community Health, the Center for Continuing Education and numerous programs in the greater Springfield area. These programs are intended to fill needs for mental health services, training and consulting in the metro-area and the surrounding rural communities.
In 2007 its enrollment totaled 221 students (nearly 75% of whom were women), and it awarded 66 doctoral degrees that year. In 2003 its national rank as a doctoral program in psychology in the United States (by volume of doctorates awarded) was 177 out of 200.
The school announced its closure in 2015, citing financial difficulties. Transcripts and psychology internship/residency training records/verifications have become available through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) Closed Record Verification Service (CRVS) http://www.asppb.net/?page=ClosedRecord
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