A Reaccreditation Celebration! PsyD Program Earns Maximum APA Reaccreditation
Divine Mercy University’s Psy.D. program has received a 10-year reaccreditation from the American Psychological Association — the maximum term APA grants — with the program’s next site visit not scheduled until 2036. The accreditation letter affirms that the program is in substantial compliance with the Standards of Accreditation and specifically recognized the strength of its practitioner-scholar training model.
Fr. Sikorsky noted that the APA’s letter also highlighted something distinct to Divine Mercy’s approach: the program’s mission to serve the community while integrating “Catholic-Christian values and perspectives” into clinical training. For a program built on the conviction that sound psychological formation and Catholic anthropology belong together, the recognition — as he described it — affirms that the model works, not just as a matter of institutional identity, but by the field’s own accrediting standards.
“I was especially moved to see APA recognize not only the strength of our practitioner-scholar model, but also our distinctive mission to serve the community while integrating Catholic-Christian values and perspectives.”
— Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC, JD, JCL, President of Divine Mercy University
A Community Effort
In a letter to faculty, students, and staff, DMU President Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC singled out Dr. Graves, Dr. Morse, Dr. Orellana, Dr. Ferraras, and Dr. Klewicki for leading the years of work behind the achievement, while thanking the program’s faculty, students, staff, and alumni broadly for the effort that led to it.
Celebrating Together
The PsyD community marked the achievement on Sunday, September 20, and the celebration was, fittingly, a community effort from start to finish. Mass opened the day, with music led by fourth-years Joshua Elmore, Sarah Marie Elmore, and Andrea Peter alongside first-year David Regner. From there, the celebration spilled into food, games, and football scores playing quietly in the background — anchored by a cornhole tournament that fourth-years Gabriela Ruiloba-Portilla and Britt Lloyd, the Student Leadership Council’s president and vice president, pulled together.
Families turned out in force — nearly 20 children among them — putting the bouncy castle third-year student Alice Beatty donated for the occasion to very good use. Behind the scenes, PsyD Program Advisor Mrs. Mills kept the day running smoothly alongside second-years Alycia Crabb and Rachel Kuruvila and the rest of the program staff. By the end of the afternoon, every cohort — and every corner of the program — had left its mark on the celebration.
Dr. Graves, who chairs the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, framed the day as more than a checkpoint: “We have precious few opportunities during the year to put aside our work, come together, and simply enjoy one another.”
Multiple students noted that the event felt more like a family reunion than a corporate celebration.
The APA reaccreditation ensures that Divine Mercy University can continue its work of forming faithful and competent clinicians: certainly a reason to celebrate.
