Education for Research in Psychology.

Comments on the report of the Estes Park Seminar on Education for Research in Psychology (Amer. Psychologist, 1959, 14, 167-179). The seminar apparently advocates the doctrine of the golden mean: theory, breadth of scholarship, statistics, etc. are not bad, are indeed necessary; but there is a serious danger that they may be carried to excess. This is no doubt true; but the warning is anchored neither by specific recommendations, nor by any relevant data, nor even anything more than a lip service suggestion that it would be useful to investigate curriculum problems in an objective way. There is thus a serious danger that the seminar's report will be all things to all men and that energy which could be spent in such investigation will be dissipated in arguing out compromises of opinions based on insufficient data. It is the purpose of this note to present evidence on one aspect of the problem: that of statistics training. Psychology will be fortunate if the members of the seminar set their manifold talents to bringing the greater problems of graduate instruction out of the domain of personal-impression correlations and into the light of objective and of experimental evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education for research in psychology.

A report of a seminar held at Estes Park, Colorado, July 28-August 22, 1958, sponsored by the Education and Training Board of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of the seminar was "to provide information which would aid institutions giving graduate degrees in psychology in examining and improving their programs for training research men." Major sections are: (a) How Research Gets Done; (b) Formal Aspects of Graduate Training (Statistics, Other Tool Subjects, Breadth of Scholarship, Role of Theory in Research, Standardization), (c) Development of the Individual (Selection, Motivation, Apprenticeship); (d) Summing Up. Research is "learned by doing and taught mainly by contagion. Research must first be going on if there is to be research training… . Apprenticeship is, we believe, the most important part of education for research in psychology; the professor who hires a graduate student as a research assistant takes on the primary teaching responsibility for that student, a responsibility which both he and his department must recognize." Opposition is expressed to standardizing training programs for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model for teaching psychotherapy theory through an integrative structure.

This article discusses a model for teaching psychotherapy theory through an integrative structure from the start of graduate students' training. This model articulates an ordering structure for the reputed 400+ so-called "theories" of psychotherapy. The rationale for such a structure highlights one dimension among several--that is, the recognition that a vast majority of mental health practitioners describe their orientation as eclectic or integrative. Professionals in training are encouraged to use this structure as an organizing principle to create the underpinnings for future professional development. The structure informs all aspects of a graduate-level course, including its syllabus, the textbooks selected, the reader, learning objectives, and tools for learning outcome assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in counseling and psychotherapy: An evaluation of an integrated didactic and experiential approach.

An approach to training in counseling and psychotherapy integrating the didactic-intellectual approach which emphasizes the shaping of therapist behavior with the experiential approach which focuses upon therapist development and growth was successfully implemented with both a group of graduate students in clinical psychology and a group of lay hospital personnel, including 3 attendants, a volunteer worker, and an industrial therapist. The program relied heavily upon scales which in previous and extensive research had been predictive of positive patient outcome in estimating levels of therapist empathy, positive regard, and congruence and patient depth of self-exploration. It was found that the trainees could be brought to function at levels of effective therapy quite commensurate to those of more experienced therapists in less than 100 hours of training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educating about gender and sexuality issues in graduate training: Introduction.

The topic of gender issues and sexuality has been a concern in counseling and psychotherapy since the days of Freud. The purpose of the next four articles is to provide an overall understanding of issues related to sex roles and gender that need to be addressed in graduate education and to suggest the direction that this education might take. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and counseling psychology doctoral trainnees: How students perceive internships.

The authors examined applicants' perceptions of internship site types by specialty affiliation (clinical and counseling psychology). Multidimensional scaling analyses suggest that clinical psychology students focus their attention on internship site prestige, future job opportunities, opportunities for research, degree of client psychopathology and physical illness, and their overall comfort in working with the client population associated with the site type. Counseling students focus on fewer attributes, including site prestige, quality of supervision, degree of client physical illness, and comfort in working with the client population. Specialty affiliation also accounted for systematic differences in internship site preferences. Results are discussed with regard to internship supply-and-demand issues, and implications are offered for student applicants, academic training directors, and internship training directors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ambivalance in Graduate Education.

The authors state that, other than a brief flurry of articles in the early 1950s, and despite the sober pronouncement by the APA Miami conference on graduate education (Roe, Gustad, Moore, Ross, & Skodak, 1959) that "the preparation of teachers of psychology is the responsibility of graduate departments of psychology," there has been little evidence in our journals in recent years regarding a serious concern with such training per se. In an effort to assess the extent and kind of this training a questionnaire was distributed under the sponsorship of the Division on the Teaching of Psychology. Contacted were the 184 schools listed in the 1961 article in this journal on educational facilities and financial assistance (Ross, 1961). A brief summary of the results is provided here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survey of graduate education in psychology: Some trends for the last decade.

In 1963, 182 of 186 psychology departments responded to a questionnaire in the endeavor to develop a contemporary picture of graduate training in psychology. 880 doctoral degrees were granted by 99 departments and 1796 masters degrees were granted by 158 departments. "At the doctoral level, the 13 largest departments produced 36% of all psychology doctorates granted in academic year 1962-63. At the doctoral level, clinical and experimental psychology dominated the areas of specialization with 36% and 29%, respectively, of the degrees granted. "In 1954, 37 or 77% of the 48 psychology doctoral programs in clinical were APA approved; in 1963, 60 or 76% of the 79 programs were approved." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Another Log: Comment.

Suggests that C. H. Patterson (see record 2005-11640-008) has thrown another log on the fire of controversy regarding how it is possible that psychologists can reach opposite answers to the simple question, "Are counseling and psychotherapy the same or different?" L. Goldman notes that it is possible for a number of reasons, and discusses two of them having to do with the procedures used in analyzing this or any other such comparison. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training issues in psychotherapy integration: A commentary.

This article is a commentary on A. J. Consoli and C. M. Jester's (see record 2006-01691-002) and J. Gold's (see record 2006-01691-003) eloquent and stimulating reflections on training in psychotherapy integration. Three issues are addressed: (a) the timing of an integrative perspective in training, (b) the potential merits of "hero worshiping" at an early phase of training, and (c) some misconceptions about training in "pure-form" psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate training for managed care: A national survey of psychology and social work programs.

Although there is much discussion within the professional literature about the training needs of graduate students in response to managed care, little empirical research exists that assesses the extent to which graduate programs provide training opportunities in this field. The present study surveyed graduate program training directors in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and social work about the training opportunities available for their graduate students. Almost 60% of the respondents indicated that they provide some type of training related to managed care. Implications and applications of these results are addressed. (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)     

Learning styles as predictors of self-efficacy and interest in research: Implications for graduate research training.

The literature on research training in professional psychology has yet to address the role of student learning styles on training outcomes. A mail survey of graduate students (N = 132) in professional areas of psychology from 11 universities assessed four dimensions of learning styles, research interest, and research self-efficacy. Students with more active (vs. reflective) and more intuitive (vs. sensing) learning styles reported greater research self-efficacy, and students with more intuitive (vs. sensing) and more verbal (vs. visual) learning styles reported greater research interest. The authors discuss implications for improving graduate research training by encouraging student self-assessment and by providing instruction using balanced pedagogies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and Hurricane Katrina: Natural disaster response through training, public education, and research.

The purpose of this article was to describe a model of clinical/disaster psychology and illustrate how one psychologist applied training in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The primary focus of the article relates to training graduate students of clinical psychology and assisting evacuees, public education and dissemination, and research. Psychologists may find themselves in similar positions when disasters occur in the future, and the linkage of research and theory with anecdotal accounts may provide mental health professionals with ideas regarding avenues of training to pursue and the various roles that may be served in times of disaster. Recommendations are offered to training programs with regard to infusing tenets of clinical/disaster psychology into their curriculum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education and Training Board. Doctoral training programs in clinical psychology and in counseling psychology.

"On recommendation of the Committee on Evaluation, the Education and Training Board with the concurrence of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association has approved the doctoral training programs in clinical psychology and in counseling psychology… " in a number of institutions. 43 institutions are specified in the clinical psychology approved list; 23 in the counseling psychology list. The institutions listed have been reported to the USPHS, to the VA and to the Surgeon General's Department of the U. S. Army. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapy integration in internships and counseling psychology doctoral programs.

Training directors from APA-accredited internships and counseling psychology doctoral programs reported on the status of doctoral training in psychotherapy integration. A mail survey was used to assess several areas related to psychotherapy integration, such as didactic and clinical training, faculty/staff theoretical orientation and hiring practices, student competency and evaluation, directors' beliefs about integrative/eclectic training, and internship admissions. Overall results show a positive attitude toward psychotherapy integration in predoctoral training and suggest that the foundations for further student development in psychotherapy integration exist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Faculty and students in departments with graduate programs in psychology.

An analysis of data from a questionnaire sent to institutions offering graduate training in psychology in terms of the number and status of faculty members and students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research in dynamic psychotherapy.

The Psychosocial Treatments Branch of NIMH held two conferences during 1982 and 1983 at which groups of experts in dynamic psychotherapy and research examined the feasability of mounting a special research program on dynamic psychotherapy. Recommendations regarding such a research program are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investigation of early research experience and research self-efficacy.

Graduate students in psychology typically report that they either love research or hate research. Despite the fact that most doctoral students in psychology enter some type of clinical practice upon graduation, research is a requirement for all students enrolled in scientist-practitioner programs regardless of their career aspirations beyond graduation. Research advances knowledge in the field of psychology and often guides clinical practice, yet very few psychologists conduct research after graduate school (C. J. Gelso, 1993). Efforts have been undertaken to determine factors that contribute to graduate students' research productivity. One such factor may be research self-efficacy. This study examined the influence of early research experience as a factor to bolster research self-efficacy. Results indicated that supportive peers and mentors contributed to positive research experiences. Additionally, positive team research experiences significantly predicted research self-efficacy. Implications for training programs and students are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Workers and Psychotherapy.

The three papers, by Ausubel, Brody, and Kelly (February, 1956, American Psychologist) were both refreshing and illuminating. They brought to mind an incident of a number of years ago while I was taking graduate work in psychology. I was talking to one of my professors (a well-known and distinguished psychologist) about the American Orthopsychiatric Association. Toward the end of our discussion he commented more philosophically than bitterly, "Ortho is like a car with the psychiatrist in the driver's seat, the social worker next to him, and the poor psychologist in the back seat." Perhaps this may not have been a fair appraisal at that time (and I certainly do not believe that it applies today). However, I am inclined to think that outside of ortho, even among some of the more "mature" members of these disciplines, there may be considerable jockeying for position in the game known as, "Who Should Do Psychotherapy?" Although, as indicated by the authors, there are many indications of competitiveness between psychologists and psychiatrists, this phenomenon is further complicated by the feelings and attitudes of social workers, particularly those on clinic and hospital "teams" employing all three disciplines. It should be pointed out that in the usual mental hygiene clinic the bulk of the "treatment" is carried out by the social workers, probably for no more sinister reason than that there are more social workers than the total of both other disciplines in such clinics. One cannot help but wonder if in the next decade or two a plodding and less articulate dark horse called social work may not emerge as the leading contender in the scramble to corner the "psychotherapy market" while the more spirited fillies--psychology and psychiatry--knock themselves out in the race. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)