Practicum training for pediatric psychologists: A case study.

Describes a university-based practicum training program in pediatric psychology that represents a collaborative effort of the 2 areas of clinical and developmental psychology, as well as joint efforts between pediatric residents and pediatric psychology students. The academic component of the training involves shared course work between psychologists and pediatric residents. The clinical component includes consultation, assessment, and short-term treatment of children with combined medical, developmental, and psychological problems. An evaluation of the training program using several effectiveness indicators is presented. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Undergraduate training for psychologists.

"The chairmen of the psychology departments of the 167 institutions listed in the December 1956 issue of the American Psychologist as offering graduate work in psychology were surveyed as to their opinions regarding an ideal undergraduate curriculum for prospective graduate students. One hundred and forty-nine (89%) of the questionnaires were returned… . A large majority of the chairmen (85%) agreed that the best undergraduate major would be psychology." Biological science and mathematics were listed most frequently as the best minor. Tables are presented of the preferred undergraduate nonpsychology courses for graduate training applicants and preferred undergraduate psychology courses for graduate training applicants. The preferred nonpsychology courses listed by at least 70% of all the chairmen were algebra, anthropology, physics, physiology, and sociology. Preferred psychology courses were beginning statistics and experimental psychology (indicated by 96% and 95% of the chairmen, respectively). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal therapy in the training of psychologists.

Surveyed 185 clinical and counseling psychologists in British Columbia about their opinions on personal therapy as a component of professional training, and about the circumstances under which personal therapy had been provided to them while they were in graduate school. Ss identified potential benefits and risks of personal therapy. 88% saw at least 1 benefit for the experience, and 83% saw at least 1 risk. 41% of Ss had undergone therapy as part of their clinical training, and in many cases this experience was provided in a manner inconsistent with ethical guidelines. Of those receiving personal therapy, 46% reported that therapy was required rather than optional. Ethical issues concerning therapeutic interventions in the training of psychotherapists are discussed. A French summary of the article is also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychoanalytic psychologists evaluate their academic training.

Responses to a questionnaire surveying the attitudes of psychologists were obtained from four training analysts, two recent graduates, and six candidates in training at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology. "The heterogeneous character of psychologists' prepsychoanalytic training and the varying evaluations they accord it is a reflection of a rapidly changing field." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The training of psychiatrists and psychologists.

Compares the training of psychologists (PSLs) and psychiatrists (PSTs) and concludes that PSTs have little formal training in the study of human behavior and little contact with problems and methods in science, while PSLs have a more extensive background in the study of human behavior and formal training in science. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time management training for school psychologists.

Describes a program for training school psychologists in time management, which was derived from a behavioral problem-solving framework and can be used by a practitioner either alone or with initial assistance from a supervisor. It consists of 4 steps: orientation to time management, time management problem analysis, plan development and implementation, and plan evaluation. Utilization of the program by 2 school psychology practitioners appears to have increased the amount of time devoted to behavioral counseling and to planning and evaluation of individualized education programs, without decreasing quality of assessment services. The program was judged to be socially valid by 10 outside practitioners. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Administrative training for psychologists in APA-approved clinical programs.

Assessed the extent of administratively oriented course work and experiences available to clinical students through a survey of 99 directors of American Psychological Association (APA) approved clinical training programs. Relatively limited opportunities for such administrative training of current doctoral candidates was revealed. This contrasted sharply with the opinions of respondents: Nearly 80% thought that such experiences should be made available in clinical programs. These results and additional data regarding the possible settings for such experiences are discussed in light of the increasing administrative opportunities for clinicians and the potential relevance (and inadequacies) of the typical psychology curriculum to administrative functions. A set of conditions is offered to provide strong justification for developing administratively oriented experiences. Examples of training content and methods are suggested. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educating health psychologists in traditional graduate training programs.

Discusses potential resources to enhance subspecialty training in health psychology. These include resources within the psychology department, the university, and the community, and also those beyond the geographical area where training is based. Suggestions are offered for assisting students who choose to work toward a subspecialty in health psychology. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internships vs. field training for industrial psychologists.

It "… is better to take advantage of opportunities for training that now exist in industry than to sell industry on the merits of internship programs." Practical difficulties of organizing, developing, and maintaining psychological internships in industry are indicated. The merits of a work-centered program are discussed. Twenty-five years of "experience… (with a great variety of college graduates including psychologists) indicates that internships for industrial psychologists are unnecessary." "An internship can be described as a weaning period… . Few industrial employers are interested in weanlings." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A training curriculum for professional psychologists in primary care.

Primary care psychology is a growing field that requires specific training opportunities for successful practice. The knowledge and skills that practitioners need for work in this setting are outlined here in detail. This curriculum integrates literature and experience in family psychology, health psychology, and pediatric psychology; considers multiple levels of education and training; and provides illustrative examples. It is a first attempt in an evolving process of integrating historical and cutting edge literature from many areas of psychology and other disciplines to contribute to comprehensive primary care psychology training. It can be used by programs and individual practitioners alike in designing education and training experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of psychologists in training toward persons with AIDS.

Clinical and counseling graduate students (N?=?266) from 8 different universities read a vignette that described a hypothetical patient as having either AIDS or leukemia. These psychologists in training then completed a scale that measured attitudes toward the hypothetical patient. Results indicated that psychologists in training had some attitudes toward AIDS patients that were less positive than their attitudes toward identically described leukemia patients. However, psychologists in training were more willing to interact with AIDS patients and to accept them as psychotherapy clients than were psychologists studied in earlier research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate training and employment experiences of community psychologists.

We surveyed the graduate training and employment experiences of 177 current students and 152 recent graduates from 39 psychology programs. Of interest were differences among applied social, community and community-clinical programs. Results suggested that these training programs represented a continuum of research, community, and clinical interests. Applied social and community programs had a stronger community and research emphasis, whereas community-clinical programs had a stronger orientation toward clinical skills. Similarly, the job skills used by recent graduates suggested that persons from applied social programs went into administrative and organizational consulting jobs, graduates of community-clinical programs were employed in areas demanding more human services skills, and community graduates found jobs requiring the use of research skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in the training of school psychologists in program evaluation.

Program evaluation is becoming increasingly important to all professional psychologists, including school psychologists. Despite a burgeoning of information about program evaluation principles, little attention has been given to program evaluation training, especially the utility of that training for program decision making. Five issues pertinent to the training of school psychologists in program evaluation are discussed: need for training, extent of training, goals of training, methods of training, and evaluation of training experiences. The material presented is based on the authors' experiences in program evaluation training at the Rutgers School Psychology Training Program. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A symposium on family therapy training for psychologists.

Presents 5 articles on family therapy (FT) training. R. J. Green generally describes the lack of formal training and the abundance of informal training programs in FT. A curriculum for the family-centered clinical psychologist is outlined. Green and the 4 other participants in the symposium then discuss different settings: an interdisciplinary university family studies clinic (L. R. Ferguson), an academic department of psychology (J. L. Framo), an independent family institute (K. La Perriere), a department of psychiatry in a medical school (R. J. Shapiro), and an independent graduate school of FT and marital therapy (Green). Interrelated issues in training are also examined, including teaching and supervision methods, personal and countertransference aspects of acquiring a family orientation to treatment, the influence of the professional-organizational context of FT training, and the place of family systems theory, therapy, and research in training professional psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The education and training of clinical psychologists in the Netherlands.

With the reduction of the doctorandus program in the Netherlands to 4 yrs, a graduate program has been created that is significant to clinical psychology because it separates the research and applied orientations. The research orientation leads to the PhD, the applied orientation to a certificate of professional registration. This distinction has effectively ended the scientist–practitioner model underlying the training of clinical psychologists. In moving clinical psychology from its scientific research base, psychology has become more fragmented, and in a way that has far-reaching implications for the discipline and the profession in the Netherlands. These developments are of interest due to the debate in the US and elsewhere on training and licensure of clinical psychologists and concern about the unity of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role functions of pediatric and health psychologists in health care settings.

686 pediatric and health psychologists completed questionnaires requesting background information concerning years of experience, current work settings, graduate training, and professional identification. Ss were also asked to describe services and functions they performed, difficulties they encountered, and general consultation goals. Results suggest that both groups are involved in a wide range of diagnostic, treatment, and consultative activities in health care settings and that there are many similarities in the ways they conceptualize their roles and how they function. However, pediatric psychologists were especially involved in clinical assessment activities, whereas research was a high priority for health psychologists. Other aspects of the roles, functions, and activities of these 2 groups are described. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research training for clinical psychologists: Point–counterpoint.

Reviews the history of the controversy over training models for clinical psychologists. The arguments against research training and a research dissertation (e.g., research training dilutes clinical training, costs more than clinical training, and is not relevant or needed) are presented, and rebuttals are offered. The importance of such training for the professional psychologist and for the vitality of the field is emphasized. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HIV/AIDS training and continuing education for psychologists.

The HIV infection and AIDS pandemic presents professional disciplines, including psychology, with unique challenges. The authors review the literature on education concerning HIV/AIDS in doctoral psychology programs, internships, and continuing education efforts in psychology and other disciplines. Recommendations are offered regarding the process and content of continuing education for psychologists regarding HIV and AIDS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Length of graduate training for experimental and clinical psychologists.

Tabulations of data on Division 3 (experimental) and Division 12 (clinical) members listed in the 1959 "American Psychological Association Directory" are reported. It "takes the average experimental psychologist slightly over 2 years to receive the MA after he receives the BA, but over 3.25 years are spent by the average clinical psychologist… . It also takes the average clinical psychologist much longer to progress from the MA to the PhD degree"—about 3.5 years for the experimental psychologist and over 6 years for the clinical psychologist. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AM78V. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)