Clinical psychology and evolutionary psychology: Toward a dialogue.

The growth of evolutionary psychology as a theoretical framework for the study of human behavior has been spectacular. However, evolutionary psychology has been largely ignored by clinical psychology. This article is an attempt to encourage greater dialogue between the two. First, some of the major principles of evolutionary psychology are outlined, followed by consideration of some of the criticisms that have been made of this approach. Second, an attempt is made to trace the influence of evolutionary theory on the history and development of clinical psychology. Third, the authors describe how an evolutionary perspective has enhanced the understanding and study of autism and depression. Finally, some implications of an evolutionary perspective for etiological theory, assessment, treatment, and ethics are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional issues in Canadian counselling psychology: Identity, education, and professional practice.

The past decade has seen significant growth in counselling psychology's professional identity, increased visibility of the specialization within applied psychology, and advances in doctoral training and accreditation by the Canadian Psychological Association. The current article details professional issues associated with the recent evolution of the field, including the establishment of a strong professional identity for the profession, developments and challenges associated with graduate training (e.g., the limited availability of predoctoral internships), and the implications of the dynamic, changing workplace environment for graduates affiliated with counselling psychology. Recommendations are offered for continued development of the specialization in its Canadian context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forensic psychology opportunities in Canadian graduate programs: An update of Simourd and Wormith's (1995) survey.

Forensic psychology has gained momentum in North America in recent decades, and Canadian psychologists have made considerable contributions to the field. Strong student interest and a high demand for professionals, however, have not been sufficiently matched with the availability of formal forensic psychology graduate training, nor with sufficient scholarly discussion of this issue. The purpose of the current study was to update Simourd and Wormith's (1995) survey of forensic psychology training available in Canadian psychology graduate programs. Of the 39 universities with psychology graduate programs, 36 (92%) responded to the survey. Twenty-four universities (67%) offered some forensic opportunities for students, although there was considerable variability in the number of courses, students, and faculty members in the forensic psychology programs. Since Simourd and Wormith's (1995) survey, forensic training is available at 10 new universities. Of the 14 programs with forensic psychology content in 1995 and in the current study, however, more than half of them reported a decrease in the number of faculty and students working with forensic issues. Considering the continued demand for trained forensic psychologists in applied settings, further attention to the availability of both education and training in forensic psychology is therefore still needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

American psychology's struggles with its curriculum: Should a thousand flowers bloom?

Although discussions of a core curriculum in doctoral training in psychology can be heard in contemporary psychology, there is no such common core, nor has one ever existed in American psychology's history. Advocates of a core curriculum argue that it ensures breadth of training, an outcome made even more important by growing specialization in psychology, and that it provides psychologists with a needed common identity as members of a recognized professional discipline. Opponents argue that a core curriculum places unwanted constraints on a program of study, prohibiting the kind of diversity needed to keep abreast of changes in psychology and related fields of study. The author reviews the history of this struggle within American psychology and discusses its implications for the science and practice of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Revue de La Psychologie Organisationnelle au Quebec.

Reviews the book, La psychologie organisationnelle au Quebec by Gilbert Tarrab et al (1983). This book has 25 chapters written by more than thirty authors. Despite its weaknesses, it comprises sufficient qualities representing an important stage of the development of organisational psychology in Quebec, Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of specialization in professional psychology.

Practicing psychologists face numerous questions regarding specialization, reflecting the dramatic changes occurring in the last half of the 20th century. Is the specialization trend in professional psychology practice and training out of step with marketplace realities? Should specialty training and practice be guided and controlled, and if so, by whom? In response to the interplay of various forces and in a spontaneous and unguarded fashion, specialization has evolved in the form of a two-tiered model, consisting of general practice specialties and delimited specialties. The model better reflects existing distinctions in roles, methods, and settings for education and training than does the systematic differentiation of specialist functions or practice competencies. Were the discipline to implement an orderly sequence of steps to develop a coherent system for specialization in psychology, it would facilitate its future growth and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forensic psychology and forensic science: A proposed agenda for the next decade.

The field of forensic psychology has matured as a discipline, having made considerable progress toward the goal of a close integration of foundational science with practice. Substantial challenges remain, however. This article first reviews the progress of the discipline over the past 3 decades by considering the recommendations made by previous commentators (Grisso, 1987; Otto & Heilbrun, 2002; Poythress, 1979) and the extent to which identified priorities have been met. Next, it analyzes a recent multidisciplinary report addressing the current state of forensic science in the United States (National Research Council, 2009), using the recommendations from this report as another source of guidance for tracking the progress in forensic psychology. Finally, it identifies important priorities for the field of forensic psychology for the next decade in light of this discussion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Graduate training...in Canada": Comment.

Comments on the original article by Dr. Park O. Davidson (see record 2007-02137-003) on "Graduate training and research funding for clinical psychology in Canada." Davidson has made some excellent recommendations regarding the nature of graduate training and research funding in psychology, and then has negated the effectiveness of such recommendations for social relevancy in community services by ignoring the spectrum of psychological services required and by restricting himself to a rather sterile Eysenckian model. Dr. Davidson's general recommendations regarding graduate training in clinical psychology are sensible and long overdue--less extreme specialization in Ph.D. programs, greater knowledge of problems of applied settings for research, more interdisciplinary training, broader methodology, more effective internship and practicum training, a community psychology program, and more effective bridging research. However when the needed spectrum of services for people is considered, there is an obvious need for psychologists who can share in the assessment and treatment of problems in human functioning beyond the technician level. Manpower needs will never be adequately met until service personnel and University personnel can share in the what, why and how of professional training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

L'emancipation de la psychologie Canadienne.

What has happened to psychology in Canadian universities in the past few years is indeed startling. It has been caught up in a wave of popularity, or public trust, which has produced disproportionately large increases in enrolments in psychology everywhere. Psychology departments now typically carry the largest or one of the largest undergraduate teaching loads, and most have also developed graduate programs. Since 1960, the number of Canadian graduate departments of psychology has more than doubled. By 1966 and 1967 psychology was, of all the traditional academic disciplines, the third largest producer of Canadian PhD's. The rapid increase in the number of faculty required to teach so many students has made it possible for departments to develop along a number of lines. The developments in the universities are only one small part of the story of Canadian psychology in the 1960's, but they are particularly significant because of the promise they hold for the discipline in the years ahead. During the present decade improvements in the state of psychology in this nation have been in every respect spectacular. Canadian psychology has come of age. The evidence is all around us. The question now before us is, will this discipline move forward with confidence into maturity? Will it accept full responsibility for itself? Will it control its own destiny? I believe that it can and that it will. The future holds out much promise if we shape it to our advantage. Opportunities to determine our fate are being presented to us now if we will only seize them. The Canadian Psychological Association is the organization which can provide the fulcrum for the efforts that are required. Hence, we must make it the strong representative organization it should be. There are many problems to overcome if we are to do this, but nothing is impossible if we keep our real goals in sight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Canadian psychology comes of age.

What has happened to psychology in Canadian universities in the past few years is indeed startling. It has been caught up in a wave of popularity, or public trust, which has produced disproportionately large increases in enrolments in psychology everywhere. Psychology departments now typically carry the largest or one of the largest undergraduate teaching loads, and most have also developed graduate programs. Since 1960, the number of Canadian graduate departments of psychology has more than doubled. By 1966 and 1967 psychology was, of all the traditional academic disciplines, the third largest producer of Canadian PhD's. The rapid increase in the number of faculty required to teach so many students has made it possible for departments to develop along a number of lines. The developments in the universities are only one small part of the story of Canadian psychology in the 1960's, but they are particularly significant because of the promise they hold for the discipline in the years ahead. During the present decade improvements in the state of psychology in this nation have been in every respect spectacular. Canadian psychology has come of age. The evidence is all around us. The question now before us is, will this discipline move forward with confidence into maturity? Will it accept full responsibility for itself? Will it control its own destiny? I believe that it can and that it will. The future holds out much promise if we shape it to our advantage. Opportunities to determine our fate are being presented to us now if we will only seize them. The Canadian Psychological Association is the organization which can provide the fulcrum for the efforts that are required. Hence, we must make it the strong representative organization it should be. There are many problems to overcome if we are to do this, but nothing is impossible if we keep our real goals in sight. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activités de la Société Québécoise pour la recherche en psychologie.

The Quebec Society for Research in Psychology aims to promote the echanges and the development of research in psychology in Quebec. It has more than 250 researchers. The activities of the company are coordinated by an executive committee and they include and annual conference and publication of a monthly bulletin. Two additional initiatives of the Society are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opinicon II: The state of the discipline review.

Informs that since the autumn of 1981, a growing group of psychologists have been carefully considering the current state of the discipline of psychology in Canada. The goal is an invited conference that would reflect on the major issues affecting psychology today and that would make recommendations to the Canadian Psychological Association and, indeed, to all Canadian psychology regarding the steps to be taken in the future to enhance the growth and development of psychology as a science and as a profession. Earlier state of the discipline reviews are briefly described and the terms of reference for the current project, Opinicon II, are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Force Four Psychology: Interactionism.

Notes that the three previous major forces setting the direction of applied psychology have been psychoanalytic, behavioral, and humanistic. All of them have been blended to some extent, but all, over time, have retained their basic flavors. The persons today most closely associated with each of the three forces are S. Freud, B. F. Skinner, and A. Maslow, respectively. Behaviorism was an attempt to make psychology more scientific. Humanistic psychology, the third force, is a reaction or really the antithesis to the first two. The current author describes "interactionistic psychology" or "force four psychology" as a possible synthesis of the previous three forces. A working definition of interactionism, taken from a quote by S. Chess (1979), is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology in Britain.

"Clinical psychology in Britain is a postwar development." Clinical psychology in the National Health Service is discussed in a major section of the article. "The past decade has… seen a rapid growth of clinical psychology in Britain from small beginnings. In 1945, 77 members of the British Psychological Society were identified as a group of professional psychologists in the field of mental health. Today some 400 are members of this group. "Psychologists in Britain have been vigorous in shaping their professional status. Training facilities are being extended and efforts made to extend them further. Higher degrees are encouraged. The structure of the psychological service is flexible, and adjustments have been made in response to new demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postdoctoral training in clinical psychology: As amorphous as an inkblot.

Although the American Psychological Association (APA) currently recognizes no formal training requirements beyond the PhD degree and offers no standards or guidelines for postdoctoral training, an examination of state licensing and certification laws clearly indicates that postdoctoral training is quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception for psychology doctorates pursuing state licensure. In light of the increasing demand for postdoctoral training experience before state licensing eligibility, and because of the further specialization of psychology, Toye and Pierce (1987) recently called for the development of a required postdoctoral residency program after a year of predoctoral internship training, to be instituted and promulgated by the APA. Whether one is in favor of or opposed to the implementation of a mandatory postdoctoral residency program, current and future licensing and certification laws may eventually force psychologists to implement such a program as well as develop standards and guidelines regarding postdoctoral training. Thus although postdoctoral training experience has become a practical reality for psychology professionals pursuing state licensure, the APA currently offers no standards or guidelines for postdoctoral training or the postdoctoral training application process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of human behavior: The clinical psychologist.

The psychologist "has derived some benefit by the mixture of being a doctor but not being identified with the mentally ill person." By reviewing personal and cultural forces the attempt was made to establish the variety of emphases current in clinical psychology. "Nearly every adjustment pattern observed among clinicians has occurred as a result of training and experience in some university, school or clinic. As yet, no completely satisfying or dominant component of needs has been discovered for the training and role of the clinical psychologist… . But it is a backward step to discard special curricular requirements for clinical psychologists." A prime requirement for a profession is "a disciplined and recognizable training program." The public that supports us will demand "a real and inexorable service contribution that we have implicitly promised… . We evolved on the impetus of service need." A number of current conflicts of the clinical psychologist are indicated. "The only way professional psychologists can hold to a responsible place is by partial separation from the academic, basic science psychologists." Leaders in clinical psychology should "be more than 80% in real clinical work with ill patients." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community psychology training in Canada in the new millennium.

Ten years ago, Walsh-Bowers (1998) described in Canadian Psychology the marginalized status of community psychology in Canada. The purpose of this research was to investigate the current status of community psychology training in Canadian universities. The online calendars for undergraduate and graduate programs in departments of psychology in Canadian universities were reviewed for course offerings in community psychology. Subsequently, an e-mail survey of program directors was conducted to confirm and extend the findings of the online search. Results were compared with those of similar previous surveys conducted in 1980–1981 (Nelson & Tefft, 1982) and 1992–1994 (Walsh-Bowers, 1998). Findings show a small amount of growth in community psychology training at the undergraduate level since the last survey in 1992–1994, with more courses available in more Canadian psychology departments. There are also marginally more graduate courses in community psychology offered now than 15 years ago, but these are located in fewer psychology departments. Findings are discussed in the context of contemporary professional psychology and future directions for growing community psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Essential tension: Specialization with broad and general training in psychology.

The practice fields of psychology develop through specialization in training and education. The recognized specialties play a major role in developing new opportunities for professional psychology and providing quality services for the public. The essential tension comes from the balance of innovation and tradition and, in professional psychology, from the balance of fragmentation and unification. As an example, specialization in clinical child psychology is integrated within the broad and general traditions. The greater degree of focused science and practice in a specialty is the logical consequence of advances of the discipline and profession of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Current and future advances in physiological and comparative psychology.

"An important current advance in both comparative psychology and physiology during the last ten years has been the development of a very considerable number of laboratories devoted, at least in part, to the use of primates as experimental subjects." During the next twenty-five years a truly comparative psychology will be developed. A number of predictions are made based in part on recent researches which appear to suggest trends for the future; the presentation is semi-whimsical. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)