Clinical psychologists in the 1970s.

Reports a survey of 855 members of the Division of Clinical Psychology. Among the topics surveyed were professional activities, occupational setting, theoretical orientation, primary professional self-view of respondents, and satisfaction with the APA, graduate training, and choice of career. An ideology scale was administered to appraise attitudes along an intuitive-objective dimension and in terms of psychodynamic and behavioral value orientations. In general, the sample was very positive toward their choice of career and relatively so with regard to their graduate education. Approximately 41% of the respondents' time was devoted to clinical acitivities, 35% to training and research. Certain differences between subgroups are found with the greatest divergence noted between academic clinical psychologists and private practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extend careers at both ends?

Suggests that psychologists could lengthen their careers by completing professional training earlier and finding distinctive services they could render after usual retirement age. Early beginning of professional career is associated with success in the career. Further, retired psychologists might be valuable in work with elderly adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influences on the career choice of psychotherapists.

Motivations and experiences relevant to the career choices of 56 clinical psychologists practicing psychotherapy were assessed and compared with those from a sample of 53 social psychologists. Clinical psychologists were more likely than social psychologists to have been influenced in their career selections by (a) experiences of psychological distress in themselves and in their families of origin, (b) desires to resolve personal problems, and (c) a wish to pursue opportunities for vocational achievement and professional advancement. However, most respondents did not view problematic histories as central to their choice of career, and the magnitude of difference between the two groups of professionals was small. Results illuminate reasons why individuals choose careers as psychotherapists. Implications for the training of therapists are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Path to Excitement.

In the early days of the "scientist-practitioner" (Boulder Model) orientation to the education of professional psychologists, clinical graduate students studied in a climate that was both exhilarating and troubled. Students were challenged to blend two strikingly different and conflictual world views, albeit without guidance from previous generations of scientist-practitioners. Accordingly, the development of a methodologically sound, and clinically relevant, research program was a heavy burden. This paper reviews the author's effort to find a research question that would recognize clinical service, achieve scholarly goals, and also satisfy yearnings for a personally exciting topic. The search led to the study of aberrations in affective (excitement) modulation that are found in schizophrenic-spectrum disorder, and thoughts about therapeutic interaction with this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beliefs about the helpfulness of interventions for mental disorders: a comparison of general practitioners, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess health professionals' beliefs about the helpfulness of a broad range of possible interventions for mental disorders. METHOD: The study involved a postal survey of 872 general practitioners (GPs), 1128 psychiatrists and 454 clinical psychologists. These health practitioners were presented with a vignette describing either a person with schizophrenia or one with depression. The vignettes were taken from an earlier survey of the general public. Respondents were asked to rate the likely helpfulness of various types of professional and non-professional help and of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. RESULTS: Two-thirds or more of each profession agreed that the person with schizophrenia would be helped by GPs, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, antipsychotic agents and admission to a psychiatric ward. Similarly, two-thirds agreed that the person with depression would be helped by GPs, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, antidepressants, counselling and cognitive-behavioural therapy. However, there were also areas of disagreement. Psychiatrists were less likely than GPs and clinical psychologists to rate psychological and lifestyle interventions as helpful, while clinical psychologists were less likely to rate specifically medical interventions as helpful. Younger members of the professional groups and female members (who also tended to be younger) tended to rate a wider range of interventions for each disorder as likely to be helpful. CONCLUSIONS: Despite areas of broad agreement about treatment, health practitioners were more likely to endorse the interventions associated with their own profession. However, younger members of each profession tended take a broader view. If these age differences represent a cohort effect, health professionals may in the future show greater acceptance of the helpfulness of interventions offered outside their profession. These conclusions are limited by the methodology of the survey, which involved a questionnaire designed for the public rather than professionals.     

A causal model of the career orientation and career choice of adolescent women.

Expanded on R. E. Fassinger's (see record 1990-21225-001) model of career choice in college women by testing 2 causal models of career choice and orientation with high school women. Ss were 409 adolescent women enrolled in their last year of high school in an all-female private liberal arts high school in a large Midwestern city. Structural equation modeling analyses suggested that the career orientation and career choice of adolescent women were predicted by ability, agentic characteristics, gender role attitudes, and relationship with mother. Young women who possessed liberal gender role attitudes, were instrumental and efficacious with regard to math and careers, and exhibited moderate degrees of attachment and independence from their mothers tended to value their career pursuits. Adolescent women who selected nontraditional and prestigious careers showed high ability and strong agentic characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal and professional characteristics as factors in psychologists' ethical decision making.

We explored the choices made by practicing psychologists in the face of specific ethical dilemmas, and the reasons for those choices. In addition, we explored the relationship between particular choices and particular reasons, as well as the relationship of various professional characteristics to those responses. We presented 294 psychologists, randomly selected members of the Division of Psychotherapy, with ten vignettes, each representing a potential problem of professional ethics. They were asked to indicate their preferred resolution to each dilemma and their primary reason for choosing this alternative. Although practitioners were more alike than different, results showed that respondents with certain characteristics—for example, professed theoretical orientation, sex, and years of experience—did differ in their choice of response to certain ethical dilemmas. Adherence to codified ethical guidelines was also shown to be related to willingness to take direct actions to resolve ethical dilemmas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The professional pair: Husband and wife psychologists.

Analyzed responses to a questionnaire by 200 (of 605) couples who were both members of APA to determine the characteristics of these professional pairs. Questions covered demographic and biographic characteristics, employment histories, measures of productiviy, personal and professional satisfactions and problems, division of domestic responsibilities, and perceptions of relative value of careers. Responses were compared to those from 75 male and 62 female APA members who were not married to other psychologists. Results indicate that pairs were more productive than their same sex controls, but that both institutionally and familially imposed constraints caused the wife to subordinate her career to that of her husband, as indicated in division of responsibility for domestic activities, perceived relative values of careers, and satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Becoming a consultant: The real stories.

This article uses interview responses given by leaders and early career consulting psychologists to understand the similarities and contrasts between beginning a consulting career a generation ago and today. It also explores the progression of leaders' careers in order to understand the events and experiences that launched their careers. Broad themes in the interview data are identified to answer the following questions: (a) Why do psychologists become interested in consultation ? (b) What developmental process prepared them to become consultants? (c) What critical incidents shaped their careers? (d) What were their most valuable preparation experiences? (e) What skill or experience do they wish they had had or will they need? and (f) Why should psychologists consider consulting psychology as a career? Suggestions for changes in the way consulting psychologists are trained are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When frames of reference lag perception of reality: Managing senior careers in the first ten years of the 21st century.

This article summarizes a review of the careers of 50 executives who have been outstanding in traversing the careers of their professional lives. In a world of short job tenure-elongated middle age, most executives will have to simultaneously manage two separate careers. One career is called full-time assignment work and is the traditional "job." The other career is called project assignment work, also known as interim or consulting work. Many think these two careers will occur sequentially. This typical framework sets leaders up for perceived failure because this sequential model is no longer realistic. Leaders will be traversing between full time and project based work through their professional lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of sex and professional training area to job orientation.

Examined indications that differences in job orientation may be more closely related to professional interests as reflected in one's professional training area than to differences in sex. 175 university students subgrouped into male business majors, female business majors, and female psychology majors rated the importance of 25 job characteristics comprising 3 job orientation dimensions--long-term career objectives, comfortable working environment and pleasant interpersonal relationships, and intrinsic job aspects. Male and female business majors differed significantly on the comfortable working environment and pleasant interpersonal relationships dimension, but business majors, regardless of sex, differed significantly from female psychology majors on all 3 dimensions, thus supporting the use of professional training area as a control variable in research related to sex differences in job orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Management in psychology.

Many psychologists spend much or all of their time in administrative and managerial activities that involve supervising other psychologists in the delivery of psychological services. Although hard data are lacking, it appears that a significant proportion of these psychologist-managers may lack effective management skills because they are products of graduate training designed to produce scientists and individual practitioners, training that does not anticipate managerial careers. Four areas important to success as a manager are discussed: cognitive abilities, administrative skills, interpersonal skills, and motivation for advancement. Because good management in psychology is critical to the profession, recommendations are offered for evaluating and advancing its effectiveness. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors Influencing the Recruitment of Psychologists.

In APA's Project B (Clark, 1957), a large segment of professional psychologists were asked to recall reasons why they chose to enter the field of psychology. In terms of outlining factors motivating persons to select psychology as a career, and a future recruitment program for psychology, Project B doubtless will have far reaching implications. The question may be posed, however, whether factors professional psychologists recall as having been instrumental in their selection of psychology as a career are the factors influencing psychology majors now in college to make the same choice. The present study was, in part, an investigation of the applicability of the results of Project B to a sample of 211 graduate and undergraduate psychology majors. The trend of the results indicated that the graduate subjects who plan a career in psychology closely resemble the APA respondents, in that both groups give similar factors as important determinants in their selection of a career. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapists' assessments of their development at different career levels.

Experiences of current and career professional development were surveyed for 3,958 psychotherapists at all career stages in several western countries. Participants included psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health practitioners representing a broad range of theoretical orientations. The mean number of years in practice for the participants was 11.2, with a range of less than 1 to as many as 52. The Ss were aged 22–90 yrs. Measures of experienced development were consistent across professional and demographic categories. As expected, perceived therapeutic mastery increased with increasing years in practice, but currently experienced growth remained at a high and unexpectedly constant level across career cohorts, including the most senior practitioners. Overall findings suggest that therapists experience development simultaneously as a gradually increasing sense of professional expertise and as an ongoing sense of continual improvement, interpreted as essential to maintaining their motivation and morale. Contributions of these aspects of therapist development to process and outcome are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists as state legislators: Introduction to the special section.

Although many psychologists have engaged in political advocacy on behalf of their patients and their profession, few psychologists consider politics as a career choice. Special sections feature articles by five psychologists who have run for or have served in state legislatures. The authors describes how their training as psychologists has been both a help and a hindrance in legislature. They candidly disclose the satisfactions and frustrations of serving in elected office and being in the public eye. Several themes emerge from their accounts, including making personal sacrifice, dedicating oneself to the community, and having potential impact on society. If psychology is to have a greater opportunity to influence public policy and contribute to the public good, support for professional psychologists who serve as legislators is essential. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Gender in the Career Aspirations of Professional Psychology Graduates: Are There More Similarities Than Differences?

Although it has been claimed that the increase in the number of females enrolled in graduate programs in professional psychology has implications for the future of research, teaching, and clinical service, more research is needed to evaluate such claims. Canadian graduate students in professional psychology programs were surveyed to examine gender differences in their academic achievements, professional interests, career plans, as well as the reasons for their career choices, expected salaries, and personal opinions regarding affirmative action. Overall, the similarities between genders outweighed the differences. However, women were more likely than men to expect child-rearing to disrupt their careers, to make their career choices based on job flexibility, and to expect lower maximum salaries. Women were also less likely to want to pursue jobs in academia, yet were more likely to advocate for the recruitment of women into academia. The potential implications of the changing gender composition and overall trends in professional psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical Practice in Corrections: A Conceptual Framework.

Given the rich complexities of clinical practice in corrections, it is surprising that professional psychology lacks a conceptual framework for organizing the knowledge that guides such work. To accommodate the sources of information contributing to this knowledge base, a conceptual framework that informs clinical practice is presented. The framework posits several psychology services, each of which differs in core knowledge and treatment parameters. Implications for training are offered to guide psychologists who contemplate or begin careers in correctional facilities as well as educators and supervisors in training and internship programs who attempt to prepare students for roles as correctional psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)