Teaching psychological testing to psychiatric residents.

Psychologists can help alleviate the disenchantment with testing by participating in the training of psychiatric residents. Such training should familiarize residents with the basic principles of testing to help them become sophisticated consumers of the psychologist's consultative service rather than test practitioners themselves. This introduction of testing to residents must take into account their specific educational needs, especially the difficulties they have in learning psychological constructs early in their career, due to the physicalistic orientation of their former training. Of equal importance to teaching the principles of assessment is the elucidation of the collaborative diagnostic effort as an interpersonal process with opportunities for cooperation or interdisciplinary friction. The landmarks and pitfalls encountered during the collaborative diagnostic process involving psychologist and psychiatrist are outlined as crucial issues to be covered in training to help foster improved teamwork between the 2 disciplines. The sources of political friction that can arise when psychologists train psychiatrists are discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)