Academic and Internship Directors' Perspectives on Practicum Experiences: Implications.

Academic and internship training directors (TDs) were surveyed regarding practicum training. The most frequently endorsed definition was that a variety of specific activities at a practicum site constituted a legitimate part of a practicum hour, including supervised clinical assessment, clinical intervention, and community consultation, advocacy, or training. Academic and internship TDs differed in their views regarding the minimum number of practicum hours necessary and whether the number of hours should be capped. Implications for points of agreement and disagreement are discussed, and applications of these data to future education and training initiatives are proposed. Suggestions for turning the focus toward competencies rather than hours obtained are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology Training Directors' Views of Number of Practicum Hours Necessary Prior to Internship Application.

A national survey of training directors of academic programs, predoctoral internships, and postdoctoral fellowships was conducted to explore what constitutes an adequate number of practicum hours necessary to apply for internship. Training directors agreed that minimum standard hours should be set but differed on what those hours should be, with academic training directors endorsing fewer hours than directors of predoctoral internships and postdoctoral fellowships. The results raise questions about what is a practicum hour and suggest a need to obtain consensus about minimum standards and the possibility of a competency-based approach rather than emphasizing hours of practicum experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training graduate students to be clinical supervisors: A survey of Canadian professional psychology programmes.

Recognising the need for training in clinical supervision, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) requires that accredited professional psychology programmes offer graduate students training in supervision. To fill a gap in the existing supervision literature, we surveyed training directors (or designates) of CPA accredited clinical and counselling programmes to understand how this training standard is currently being met in the area of clinical supervision. Responses were obtained from 20 of 28 programmes (71.4% response rate). Approximately 50% of respondents indicated that their programmes required some coursework related to clinical supervision, with wide variability, however, in the number of hours of coursework provided to students (range 3 to 39). Most courses included lectures and group discussion, but also often provided students with practical experience in clinical supervision provision. Only 25% of programmes required a practicum in which students gained experience in clinically supervising other students, although an additional 40% of programmes offered an elective practicum in which students gained some training in clinical supervision. Most programmes (~71%) identified strategies for improving training in clinical supervision (e.g., improving course work, requiring practical experience), but also identified challenges to offering clinical supervision training (e.g., availability of skilled supervisors, insufficient time to devote to supervision, student competency). Based on the findings, we offer some recommendations for how training in clinical supervision could be improved in Canadian professional psychology programmes as well as describe some important directions for future research in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspectives on practicum: A survey of directors of accredited PhD programs and internships (or, what is a practicum hour, and how many do I need?).

Directors of American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited graduate training programs in clinical psychology and APA-accredited internships were surveyed regarding preinternship practicum requirements, definitions of practicum experience, and supervision practices. A striking degree of variability in the number of required hours was found for both samples. There was unanimous agreement within each sample that direct contact with clients should be considered practicum experience. Most respondents indicated that individual supervision counted as practicum. Beyond these 2 categories, there was considerable disagreement as to what should be considered practicum experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The next generation: How are clinical child psychologists being trained?

A survey of doctoral programs in psychology examined the extent to which 17 key program components, derived from Roberts et al. (1998), are integrated into graduate training programs in clinical child psychology. Results from 29 programs indicate that training is comprehensive and addresses a variety of components related to development, assessment, intervention, context and community, diversity, and ethical and legal issues. In addition, 93% of the programs require exposure to, experience with, or expertise in evidence-based interventions, suggesting a robust focus on this issue. Programs vary in number of students admitted, number of faculty, and number of child-oriented practicum placements available; more than 80% offer practicum at program-administered clinics or centers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encountering difference in graduate training: Potential for practicum experience.

Psychotherapists attempt to cultivate sensitivity to difference in their work with diverse client populations. Developing therapists may also benefit from theoretical and practical encounters with difference during graduate training. Although graduate students may thrive in training institutions where orientations resonate with their intuitive understandings, valuable opportunities for growth emerge when students obtain practicum experience at sites using alternative approaches to psychotherapy. This article documents the challenges and opportunities met by one graduate student trained in existential, psychodynamic, humanistic, and sociocultural approaches, when she embarked on a practicum experience in a medical setting, where dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was the treatment of choice. She discusses professional growth, steps toward psychotherapy integration, and implications for graduate training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student Perspectives on Clinical and Counseling Psychology Practica.

Clinical practica are essential to the training and socialization of future clinical and counseling psychologists. When training expectations are not met, however, students may not be candid about these gaps, instead opting to grin and bear it. A sample of 321 doctoral psychology students responded to a survey that qualitatively and quantitatively assessed their expectations and actual training experiences at practicum. Results indicated that although many students received what they expected, a large minority did not, in areas ranging from work responsibilities to primary supervision. Implications for students, practicum, graduate programs, and the profession are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of a structured case presentation examination to evaluate clinical competencies of psychology doctoral students.

Although the evaluation of clinical competence is an essential responsibility for all programs in clinical and counseling psychology, this task presents many conceptual and operational difficulties. The Clinical Proficiency Progress Review (CPPR) was developed to define and evaluate clinical competencies for third-year practicum students. Normative data for 911 students and 52 examiners over 10 years are presented. Outcomes yielded consistent pass/fail rates and positive student feedback. Moreover, the examination represents an important quality assurance procedure for faculty and provides constructive feedback to students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A training plan for first year graduate psychology students in a Veterans Administration hospital.

The geographical proximity and working relationship of the University of Utah and the Salt Lake City VA Hospital have facilitated integration of academic and practician phases of the cooperative training program in psychology. Consultants from the university have a just-across-the-street contact with the students practicum work, and VA staff psychologists are used by the university in planning curricula and in teaching. The training plan described here represents an attempt to use the close working relationship of university and hospital in planning and carrying out a meaningful training experience for first year graduate students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Practicum Experience: A Survey of Practicum Site Coordinators.

It has recently been acknowledged that more needs to be known about predoctoral practicum experience in professional psychology from the perspective of those who do the practicum training. This article reports the results of a survey completed by 263 predoctoral practicum sites in the United States and Canada. Information presented includes the distribution of sites where practicum training is currently taking place and the wide range of training opportunities occurring at diverse sites. Results indicate problems in communication between practicum sites and graduate programs, evidenced in a lack of awareness of graduate program expectations by practicum site coordinators. Recommendations to improve communication are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social justice in practicum training: Competencies and developmental implications.

This article addresses the challenge in the predoctoral education of professional psychologists of providing practicum training experiences with a strong social justice focus while also ensuring that students are acquiring the full range of foundational competencies expected of practicing psychologists. The theory-based distinction between interactional, procedural, and distributive justice will be discussed as a framework for considering a developmental progression in practicum training, moving from individually focused skills to more advanced competencies emphasizing social/institutional change. The article concludes with aspirational recommendations for any academic program seriously committed to the pursuit of social justice as part of its training mission. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing an inpatient practicum program for patients with serious and persistent mental illness.

Training psychology students to treat patients with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) can provide an excellent opportunity for psychologists to help an historically disenfranchised and ignored population. With proper training, psychologists can play an important role in the development, provision, and administration of services to people with SPMI. We outline some of the issues to be considered in developing such a training program for practicum students, discuss the clinical skills and systemic issues that need to be mastered at the graduate level, and delineate the process by which this can be achieved in an inpatient, acute-care setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training Ethical Psychologists: An Acculturation Model.

This article presents an approach to graduate (and professional) training that views becoming an ethical psychologist as an acculturation process. J. W. Berry's (1980, 2003) model of acculturation strategies is used as a framework for understanding ethical acculturation, a developmental process during which students can use several types of adaptation strategies. Students enter training with their own moral value traditions and concepts but are confronted with new ethical principles and rules, some of which may be inconsistent with their ethics of origin. The article explores several applications of the framework to ethics courses, practicum supervision, and other areas of training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A further comment on reafferentiation in psychology.

Questionnaire surveys can be an initial source of information on how the employer in the community service setting views the product of the University training departments. This article presents results from a study in which a questionnaire was mailed from the Psychology Department, University of Calgary to 58 employers or potential employers of psychologists in the Calgary community. Enquiries were made of their present use of psychological services, their needs, their views on adequacy and inadequacy of training, their need for inservice training, their views on academic level of training required, their theoretical orientation, and their interest in involvement in practicum training. The University psychology departments have a responsibility to use ongoing research and promising new discoveries in determining training policies, as well as to help meet the manpower needs in service settings. While University training in many instances will not be perfectly congruent with stated community requirements, it is important that there be communication of knowledge and expectations between University and community in order that graduates be employable and able to contribute their new knowledge to service programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking psychology and public health: A predoctoral clinical training program in youth violence prevention.

Although clinical psychology has made strides in developing prevention and intervention strategies to reduce youth violence, there has been little attention to skills-oriented preprofessional training to prepare graduate students for practice roles in this emerging area of public health concern. This article describes a practicum training experience that prepares doctoral-level clinical psychology trainees to serve as youth violence prevention service providers, trainers, and consultants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initial training in professional psychology: The practicum competencies outline.

The practicum is the first practice-based step toward independent professional competence in psychology. As the practicum becomes a focus of interest in psychology education, there is a strong need to identify the domains and levels of competence that should be the focus of practicum training. To address this need, the current report introduces the Practicum Competencies Outline, a summary of competency domains and expected levels of competence that may be attained during practicum. The relationship between the Outline and other recent work on competencies in psychology is discussed, and its potential uses in education and training are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does the internship shortage portend market saturation? 1998 placement data across the four major national training councils.

The number of students admitted to applied psychology doctoral programs (clinical, counseling, school, professional) continues to rise despite recent shortages in internship positions. This study provides a historical context (1998) from which to compare the 1999 Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) placement data as well as information not available from APPIC data, such as a breakdown of placement success by training council, type of placements (American Psychological Association-accredited–nonaccredited, paid–nonpaid) by training council, and analysis of reported practicum hours as they predict placement success. Incorporating these findings, the authors then discuss relevant implications as well as suggestions for future direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workshop.

If the article by Kahn and Santostefano in the April issue of the American Psychologist (1962, 17, 185-189) can be taken as an indication, clinical psychologists are still very much interested and concerned with their professional role image or images. Discussions of this topic invariably get around to a discussion of training programs for clinical students and the pros and cons of various types of curricula and educational experience. Partially because of the lack of agreement among faculty and practicum personnel, discussions of professional identity by clinical graduate students are filled with uncertainty, confusion, and conflict surpassing even that which is evident in the discussions of their professional fathers. Questions concerning "professionalism," academic versus clinical training, and the relationships of clinical psychology to other professions are representative of the omnipresent topics of conservation. As a matter of fact, the workshop was so well received that we plan to hold a second workshop next year. But we thought that those individuals who live too far from us to be easily able to attend our meeting might want to try something similar in their areas. We are preparing a more thorough summary and commentary concerning the recent meeting and would be glad to forward a copy to interested individuals. A group of graduate students in the clinical program at the University of Oklahoma decided that it might, be quite worthwhile if they could assemble a number of students from other training settings and attempt to exchange ideas concerning their future roles as professional people. It was the contention of these students that graduate students in psychology, and particularly clinical students, seldom have an opportunity to freely exchange ideas about these problems in an atmosphere which is specifically designed for this purpose. Thus, what we think is quite a unique idea was born: that we might be able to provide graduate students from various training programs in clinical psychology with the opportunity to get together to discuss training, role conflicts, identity, and other professional problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Criteria for evaluating training programs in clinical or in counseling psychology.

Standards for university training in clinical psychology and counseling psychology previously published in the American Psychologist which serve as criteria for evaluating curricula submitted for approval as doctoral training programs are briefly summarized under the following major headings and subheadings: I. Staff—basic staff, clinical or counseling staff; II. Content Areas—general psychology, psychodynamics of behavior, diagnostic methods, psychotherapy and counseling, research methods, related disciplines; III. Facilities and Equipment—offices and classrooms, laboratory space and equipment and shop facilities, practicum facilities, library, student seminar or reading rooms; IV. Overall Atmosphere of the Department. Internships are also discussed in terms of staff, prerequisites of students accepted, content and methods of practicum training, and facilities for study and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parentline: A demonstration program for graduate practicum training and community service in clinical child psychology.

Describes a telephone consultation service for parents with questions about their children's developmental, behavioral, and learning problems. First-year graduate students participate as staff after having completed an intensive 10-wk training program that provides a knowledge and skill base in assessment, empathic responding, child development, parenting techniques, and change theory. Staff members learn to propose interventions that include providing information, developing individualized management programs, or offering referral assistance. Community utilization of the program as well as the impact of this practicum training experience on graduate students' professional development are discussed. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)