Problematic Students: Gatekeeping Practices of Academic Professional Psychology Programs.

When the topic of problematic students arises, there are often more questions than answers. Professional psychology programs may serve as gatekeepers for the profession, yet there is little guidance on intervening with problematic students. This study surveyed training directors (TDs) of American Psychological Association-accredited academic psychology programs regarding problematic student behaviors. Over half of the programs that responded had terminated at least 1 student during a 3-year period, with TDs citing inadequate clinical skills as the major reason. Despite accreditation policies, 54% of the programs did not have written guidelines for intervening with problematic students. Recommendations to promote consistent evaluation and intervention at the faculty, student, program, and national-policy level are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate Students' Perspectives of Academic Positions in School Psychology.

An increasing number of vacancies in school psychology academic positions and the reduced number of applicants seeking to enter academia have created projected shortages in academe. The purpose of the current study was to determine perspectives of academia held by current school psychology graduate students, who are in line to become the next generation of trainers. Based on information yielded from focus groups conducted with graduate students at two major doctoral school psychology training programs, a 42-item survey was designed to assess students' beliefs regarding benefits and drawbacks of an academic position, possible incentives that would encourage one to apply for an academic position, and past and current likelihood of applying for an academic position. Doctoral students from 98 school psychology graduate programs were invited to participate in the study; a total of 236 students returned completed surveys. Results indicated a significant trend toward increased consideration of an academic career as students progress through graduate school. The highest-ranked benefits of an academic career involved roles and activities inherent to the position, as opposed to potential benefits such as salary or prestige. Regarding perceived drawbacks to academia, job stress was ranked as the most significant deterrent, while the area of least concern involved current preparation to assume an academic position. Finally, respondents agreed on several incentives that would be helpful in overcoming hesitancy in applying for an academic position, including reducing politics in the tenure process, increasing salary, and increased availability of academic positions that emphasize applied work. Implications for current trainers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology graduate students' perceptions of their scientific and practical training: A Canadian perspective.

The scientist-practitioner model is the most commonly used training modality in Canadian clinical psychology graduate programmes. Despite pervasive endorsement throughout Canadian psychology programmes, there is a paucity of data available on Canadian student opinions of the model's implementation. The current study assessed 134 students from 9 provinces with a 38-item questionnaire developed by the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology for assessing students' perceptions about the quantity, quality, and breadth of science training in their clinical psychology doctoral programmes. Most students described their programs as providing a mix of research and clinical focus, with slightly more weight given to research. Science training was reported as very important to students, with indications they receive a good amount of high-quality training in science. Moreover, there was a high level of agreement between desired levels of science training and the science training received. Implications for future research and training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The place of observation in biological and psychological science.

Historical origins and mutual contributions of biology and psychology are considered. The author concludes that "… psychology students should, as a part of their training, have more emphasis placed on the technique of objective observation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workshop.

If the article by Kahn and Santostefano in the April issue of the American Psychologist (1962, 17, 185-189) can be taken as an indication, clinical psychologists are still very much interested and concerned with their professional role image or images. Discussions of this topic invariably get around to a discussion of training programs for clinical students and the pros and cons of various types of curricula and educational experience. Partially because of the lack of agreement among faculty and practicum personnel, discussions of professional identity by clinical graduate students are filled with uncertainty, confusion, and conflict surpassing even that which is evident in the discussions of their professional fathers. Questions concerning "professionalism," academic versus clinical training, and the relationships of clinical psychology to other professions are representative of the omnipresent topics of conservation. As a matter of fact, the workshop was so well received that we plan to hold a second workshop next year. But we thought that those individuals who live too far from us to be easily able to attend our meeting might want to try something similar in their areas. We are preparing a more thorough summary and commentary concerning the recent meeting and would be glad to forward a copy to interested individuals. A group of graduate students in the clinical program at the University of Oklahoma decided that it might, be quite worthwhile if they could assemble a number of students from other training settings and attempt to exchange ideas concerning their future roles as professional people. It was the contention of these students that graduate students in psychology, and particularly clinical students, seldom have an opportunity to freely exchange ideas about these problems in an atmosphere which is specifically designed for this purpose. Thus, what we think is quite a unique idea was born: that we might be able to provide graduate students from various training programs in clinical psychology with the opportunity to get together to discuss training, role conflicts, identity, and other professional problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional ethics for graduate students in psychology.

Results of 2 independent questionnaires concerning the availability of courses on ethics for graduate students in psychology sent to various schools offering graduate work in psychology are combined. "Very few departments offer a course solely on professional ethics in psychology though several expressed plans for one in the future." "Ethics is handled best on a graduate level, in a seminar or colloquium, preferably on a required basis for all students, and definitely so for clinical students." "The APA code of professional ethics and journals are preferred sources of reference." "Professional training in ethics is a recent phenomenon coinciding with the APA research in this area and with the rise of clinical psychology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The graduate advising relationship in Canadian psychology programmes: Advisee perspectives.

The graduate advising relationship is generally considered to be a critical aspect of graduate student development. This is due, in part, to the highly involved and interactive nature of the relationship; graduate advisors assume responsibility for guiding their advisees in successful completion of several degree requirements, including theses/dissertations, coursework, and applied work. Despite the significance of this relationship, research on graduate advising across Canadian psychology programmes remains limited. The current study assessed Canadian psychology graduate students (n = 387) from clinical, experimental, counselling, and education programmes using an online questionnaire regarding students' perceptions of their advisory relationship and the advising they received in specific training areas. Overall, advising in self-care and work-life balance was the greatest predictor of perceived quality of the advisory relationship for clinical students, research design for experimental students, and clinical work for counselling students, respectively. Implications for training and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Issues in the education and training of women in Canadian psychology.

The high attrition rate of female students in graduate programmes in psychology is documented. Some of the literature (largely American) on the problems of female students is explored for possible reasons for this high rate. The problem areas identified are: admissions practices, financial support, inflexibility of graduate programmes, faculty attitudes toward graduate students, scarcity of female role models, and psychology as a "masculine" discipline. Recommendations for action by the Canadian Psychological Association are made in each of the problem areas with a special plea for the inclusion, in both graduate and undergraduate psychology programmes, of courses on the female experience. (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)     

Student reactions to the history of psychology.

Analysis of a short questionnaire administered to 53 students (26 men and 27 women) disclosed that the majority liked the course and found it "moderately" or "very useful." Topics liked best were hypnotism, dynamic psychology, behavioristics, and gestalt psychology; those liked least were the personal equation, psychophysiology in the 1st ? of the 19th century, and physiological psychology of sensation—1800-1850. Wundt, Freud, James, Helmholtz, and Darwin were regarded as the greatest contributors to psychology. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AM89N. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypothesis-testing and hypothesis-producing research.

The "primary function served by thesis research is training." Two kinds of research design can be discerned which might be termed: (a) hypothesis testing and (b) hypothesis producing. "The first type is characterized by the testing of tightly formulated hypotheses, the acceptance or rejection of which has meaning in the content of psychology." "The second, and a more advanced stage, is the kind of research study which we think is more suitable for the Ph.D. degree: the hypothesis-producting study." "We believe that there is merit to the idea that graduate students in psychology be given an opportunity to carry out both types of research." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training clinical students in personality theory.

In training graduate clinical psychology students at the University of North Dakota, "Using Hall and Lindzey's Theories of Personality as a basic text, the student studies each of the major theorists and is required to write a confidential personality evaluation of himself within the framework of the theory under consideration… . Aside from making the course more meaningful personally, students are found to become more introspective and to raise questions about their role in the clinical situation without ever having been exposed to such notions as counter-transference in any formal sense. The positive transfer to the course in projective techniques is also noteworthy." The student seems to approach clinical report writing in a more mature manner; he recognizes the advantages and inadequacies of a variety of personality theories. "To us it seems that a course in personality theory is one of the most fundamental in the training of clinical psychologists and can be enriched by relating the formulations of various theorists to the personal life of the student." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression symptoms in Canadian psychology graduate students: Do research productivity, funding, and the academic advisory relationship play a role?

Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders affecting university students (Rimmer, Halikas, & Schuckit, 1982; Vazquez & Blanco, 2008); however, undergraduate students have received the majority of the research focus. The limited research available on graduate students suggests they may also be vulnerable to developing depression (Eisenberg, Gollust, Golberstein, & Hefner, 2007). The current investigation provides initial data on depression symptoms in Canadian psychology graduate students. Participants included psychology graduate students from across Canada (N = 292; 87% women) who were currently enrolled in clinical, experimental, counselling, and educational programmes. Each of the participants completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) and measures of: funding, research productivity, hours worked, and their advisory relationship. A substantial proportion of students (33%) reported clinically significant symptoms of depression (CES-D > 16), with a significant minority reporting severe symptoms of depression and impairment. There were no differences in symptom reporting across programme type; however, results of regression analyses indicated that advisory relationship satisfaction and greater current weekly hours worked were significant predictors of depressive symptoms for students enrolled in experimental programmes. In contrast, depression symptoms were unrelated to funding, research productivity, hours worked, and advisory relationship satisfaction for students in all other programmes. Implications and future directions for research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate training in clinical psychology: Student perspectives on selecting a program.

Although graduate programs in clinical psychology spend considerable energy and resources selecting students, there is limited information regarding the factors students consider important when they choose a training program. A review of recent literature found one study that looked at how first-year graduate students rated the importance of a number of factors in their decision-making process when selecting a clinical psychology training program (Walfish, Stenmark, Shealy, & Shealy, 1989). The current study extends this research by comparing reports from first-year graduate students enrolled in traditional “Boulder model” programs with those enrolled in professional “Vail model” programs. As part of a larger survey project, students answered questions about factors they considered important when they made decisions about applying to and selecting a graduate program to attend. Responses from students enrolled in traditional programs were compared with students attending professional programs. These differences are discussed, as well as their implications for program directors engaged in student recruitment and selection. (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)     

Nonwhite Students in Counseling Psychology: A Closer Look.

Thirty-three doctoral programs responded to a survey assessing the racial/ethnic composition of doctoral students and student applicants. Different conclusions were drawn from four methods that were used to calculate the representation of the racial/ethnic groups in the applicant pools and enrollments in American Psychological Association (APA) and non-APA-approved counseling psychology programs. The data suggest that underrepresentation of nonwhites in our graduate programs is not due to the differential utilization of admissions standards for nonwhites, as opposed to other applicants, but rather to the small number of nonwhite students who apply. Although most programs design activities to recruit nonwhite applicants, few programs do as much as possible. Suggestions are presented for making psychology in general, and counseling psychology in particular, more attractive to undergraduate blacks. More nonwhites must view psychology as an appropriate major if the potential pool of graduate school applicants is to increase. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional interests and career aspirations of graduate students in professional psychology: An exploratory survey.

Graduate students in American professional psychology programs (N = 498) were surveyed to examine differences between specialty area (clinical vs. counseling), degree type (PhD vs. PsyD), and gender with respect to demographics, training models, theoretical orientations, career aspirations and reasons for choices, research productivity, and expected salaries. Clinical and counseling students differed with respect to training models, theoretical orientations, career aspirations, and expected salaries, whereas PhD and PsyD students differed with respect to training models, theoretical orientations, career aspirations, and research emphasis. The changing gender composition in professional psychology is unlikely to have a dramatic effect given their professional similarities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Undergraduate Training of Some Psychologists.

The author points out some problems, as he sees them, in undergraduate psychology training. He suggests urging some selected undergraduate students, who express an interest in psychology, to develop skills and understanding in some other area of science during their college years. In this scheme, and along the minimal lines for training in psychology states that he has included a course in general, experimental, psychological statistics, and perhaps one other such as tests and measurements. Among the major areas he has recommended are mathematics, physics, and zoology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student reactions to topics in general psychology.

"Two hundred students in four general psychology classes were asked to rank 16 topics on five dimensions. The topics used on the ranking sheets were the 16 chapter titles in Ruch's "Psychology and life," the textbook used in the general psychology course… . The five dimensions along which the chapters were ranked were Interest, New Information, Organization (preferred order of topics), Ease of Understanding, and Usefulness (in everyday life)." Results are presented in two tables and discussed. "The five dimensions themselves were ranked in importance by Ss as follows: (1) Usefulness; (2) Interest; (3) Ease of Understanding; (4) Organization; and (5) New Information." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)