Evaluation of United States of America psychology by the "four-years-absent" method.

Criticisms are leveled at psychology in the United States: (a) psychology, both as a discipline and as a profession is vague; (b) psychology lacks goals; (c) psychology is fragmented—the specialities are isolated from each other with little effective inter-communication; (d) psychology appears to be angry—the profession lacks harmony; (e) psychology is insecure—we have a status problem; (f) psychologists suffer from inbreeding—their views are often narrow; (g) psychology lacks tradition; (h) psychology has no modern heroes; and (i) psychologists have surrendered—not only do we lack a concept of self, but "we do not seem to seek one within the framework of our profession." Remedies are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology applied to education: A specialty in search of an identity.

Proposes that a revision of doctoral school psychology be considered within the American Psychological Association that better meets standards for specialty status in professional psychology. School psychology as it currently exists has become a nondoctoral profession of a highly applied nature that is not really a product of psychology. A new professional specialty concerned with the application of psychology to education should be commensurate with accepted goals of professional psychology education and practice and meet at least 3 additional requirements: movement from concern for schools to concern for schooling, greater emphasis on an educational orientation than on mental health, and greater reliance on educational psychology as the knowledge base for professional practice. What is presently called school psychology is moving toward a doctoral specialization that is trying to decrease the gap between assessment and intervention. An impetus for this movement has been the use of behavioral psychology in educational settings. Educational psychology has expanded due to the development of cognitive psychology and decreased reliance on the laws of learning. (97 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation psychology: We zigged when we should have zagged.

Rehabilitation psychology is more broadly based than we historically have acknowledged. Rehabilitation psychology should be viewed as the application of psychological constructs and principles to the care of individuals with chronic health conditions that are often, but not necessarily, disabling. In addition, the type of care provided by rehabilitation psychology constitutes a primary care psychology. Primary care psychology has a distinct focus on the care of individuals with chronic conditions. Four issues important to understanding rehabilitation psychology's development and future are reviewed: (a) the factors that have driven the growth of rehabilitation, (b) future trends that will shape the development of rehabilitation, (c) the implications of the emergence of "organized delivery systems" for rehabilitation, and (d) the visibility of rehabilitation psychology as a model for primary care psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology, clinical psychology, and human services psychology: Where the twain shall meet?

Comments on the proposal by L. H. Levy et al (see record 1984-27507-001) for a new charter for clinical psychology—human services psychology. Current trends suggest that both clinical and counseling psychology are becoming eclectic and health oriented. Clinical psychology appears to be becoming more involved in community psychology and to be tempering its remedial role with the preventive role. Counseling psychology appears to be becoming less involved in its vocational and preventive roles and more involved in the remedial role. It is concluded that clinical and counseling psychology have come to be increasingly similar and could be integrated into a human services psychology. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prominent schools or other active specialties? A fresh look at some trends in psychology.

Past studies investigating trends in psychology have reported some conflicting and surprising results. This article critiques and reevaluates these reports, with a particular focus on those related to the cognitive revolution and the place of neuroscience in psychology. Based on a wide variety of indicators, the following trends are demonstrated: (a) Although cognitive psychology has grown in importance, it has not come to dominate psychology; (b) contrary to prior findings, attention to neuroscience in psychology has grown in a pattern similar to that of cognitive psychology; and (c) there are many signs that cognitive neuroscience is in the process of emergence. Trends are interpreted in light of the argument that psychology is a disunified discipline allowing for many different interests, schools, and approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical psychology seen some 50 years later.

Important developmental aspects of the history of clinical psychology over the past 50 yrs are considered, beginning with the author's own early Jamesian orientation toward viewing psychology (experimental and clinical) as a unity. Several reports influencing the development of clinical training in psychology are described, including the 1945 report of the Subcommittee on Graduate Internship Training to the Committees of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Association for Applied Psychology, "Recommended Graduate Training in Clinical Psychology," written in 1947 by the Committee on Training in Clinical Psychology, and that committee's subsequent progress reports written in 1948 and 1949. A report by F. H. Sanford to the APA Committee on Relations between Psychology and the Medical Profession, with its 13 aspirations of psychology, is seen to provide the basic principles guiding the relationship between psychology and other professions and a code of ethics still governing the present field of psychology. In summary, several pleas are directed at departments of psychology, divisions of psychology, and clinical psychology students to improve the effectiveness, validity, and standards of clinical training programs and to clarify the issues within clinical psychology and between different fields of psychology. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Iowa tradition.

Psychology at the University of Iowa began in 1887, when George R. W. Patrick started a psychology laboratory. Since its inception, Iowa psychology has passed through four stages, each with a distinctive emphasis: (a) the establishment of psychology as an independent discipline, (b) the development of psychology as an experimental science, based on natural science methodology, designed to yield reliable knowledge, (c) the formulation of a comprehensive theory, and (d) the current reorientation designed to benefit from the lessons of the past. The Iowa tradition in psychology, most indebted to the efforts and achievements of Carl E. Seashore and Kenneth W. Spence, represents the strivings for a synergistic relationship between experimental and applied psychology, a close and intimate bond between research and comprehensive theorizing, and a continuing methodological clarification of psychology. In line with the tradition of methodological surveillance, some of the major trends of Iowa psychology, during its third stage, are assessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling psychology in clinical health psychology: The impact of specialty perspective.

Not all clinical health psychologists are trained as clinical psychologists. A significant minority is trained and identifies as counseling psychologists. As a field, it is important to understand how the specialty-specific values, training context, scholarship, and parameters of practice of counseling psychology contribute to clinical health psychology. In this article, we (a) identify the core values and training context of counseling psychology, (b) review the scholarly history of clinical health psychology by counseling psychologists, (c) present the parameters of practice of clinical health psychology as identified from the extant counseling psychology literature, and (d) examine American Psychological Association membership status to investigate joint membership in the Division of Health Psychology and the Society of Counseling Psychology. Conclusions indicate that (a) an identifiable set of core values guides the training of counseling psychologists, (b) scholarly literature by counseling psychologists has contributed to the growth and development of clinical health psychology, and (c) parameters of practice reflect the specialty-specific perspective of counseling psychology. As professional psychology continues to grow as a health care profession, clinical health psychology will benefit from the knowledge, values, attitudes, competencies, and practice parameters of counseling psychology, and counseling psychology will benefit from recognizing what it brings to the practice of clinical health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a viable community health psychology: Caveats from the experiences of the community mental health movement.

Discusses opportunities and pitfalls in the development of a health psychology, with particular reference to the community mental health movement and community psychology. Health psychology in its preventive rather than curative aspects is stressed. Health psychology should adopt a community or public health perspective rather than an individual disease or individual treatment model. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can disability studies and psychology join hands?

Although the field of disabilities studies incorporates psychology within its interdisciplinary purview, it embodies a distinct perspective consonant with the new paradigm of disability. This perspective is contrasted with that of psychology, and the place of disability within psychology is examined. Although psychology has begun to embrace diversity, disability has remained marginalized. Four areas are presented in this article: (a) the foundational ideas of disability studies, (b) training in disability within psychology, (c) the paradigms of disability reflected in research on disability, and (d) future research directions. (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)     

What Is a Psychologist?

Comments on I. McCollom's original article (see record 1972-21933-001) which examined the reading preferences of psychology students. This author states that in contrasting contrasting general interest psychology with academic psychology, the original article strikes a common truth: that students' innate interests in psychology often go unmet due to the rigors and technicalities of academic psychology. Although less appealing and lacking in consensus, the "good" psychology of the classroom has the support of a few academicians, each sharing a common goal of "psychologist." While "good" psychology may be less enticing, it continues not from popular demand but out of the complexities of defining the profession, psychology, and the professional psychologist. The current author hopes that this comment stimulates more academic support toward assisting students in becoming self-educative, creative individuals, and not stereotypes of whatever happens to be the current vogue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neoscholastic Psychology Revisited.

Beginning around 1879, a Neoscholastic psychology developed, an experimental psychology with a soul. Opposed to materialism, it sought to renew Scholastic philosophy by incorporating the findings of the natural sciences. Neoscholastic psychology is an important chapter in the history of the relationships between science and religion in the 20th century. Neoscholastic psychology was both experimental and philosophical. This article presents the main accomplishments of North American Neoscholastic psychology in academic and applied areas. Neoscholastic psychologists championed scientific psychology while insisting on a better conception of human nature. Philosophical critiques led to a decline of Neoscholasticism; after the 1960s it was no longer official Catholic philosophy. Neoscholasticism gave psychologists concerned with philosophical questions impetus to turn to phenomenology, existentialism, and humanistic psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 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)     

Health psychology training in doctoral psychology programs.

Presents the results of a Division 38 (the health psychology division of the American Psychological Association) survey of graduate training programs in psychology, along with facility-specific information on doctoral training opportunities in health psychology as of Fall 1981. 310 questionnaires were returned from psychology programs; 53 indicated that doctoral training in health psychology was available at their institution. It was found that established subspecialty programs were expanding to include health psychology, and new programs were developing in that area. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond the Psychology Fair.

Comments on the article by Benjamin et al (see record 1978-30211-001) which discussed the college psychology fair as a vehicle for providing the public with a view of experimental psychology, a view shared by and Perloff and Perloff (see record 1977-28555-001). The current author agrees that providing high school students with an insight into the science of psychology is important, but suggests that psychology departments and the APA need to encourage the teaching of a scientific attitude to undergraduates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stanley F. Schneider (1922-2002).

Reports the death of Stanley F. Schneider (1922-2002) and notes his contributions to the field of psychology training and education. Notable life works include his positions in training and career development at the National Institute of Mental Health. Scheider helped to influence post-World War II American psychology with his belief that a productive clinical psychology was not possible unless embedded in a more general psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The current impact of Freud upon psychology.

The impact of Freud's ideas on contemporary psychology are evaluated for several subfields on a scale of from 0 (none) to 6 (very great). Physiological psychology and intelligence are rated 0; learning, thinking, perception, comparative psychology and vocational psychology 1; drive, feeling and emotion, memory, child and adolescent psychology 2; social psychology and industrial psychology 3; imagination 4; abnormal psychology 5; clinical psychology and personality 6. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High School Teachers of Psychology and APA.

Comment on the lack of high school teachers of psychology being members of the American Psychological Association. With so few high school teachers of psychology being members of APA and with so few using journals published by APA, there is danger that many thousands of students will be introduced to psychology in a manner not in accord with the best interests of psychology as a science and as a profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contemporary issues in counseling psychology: A selected review.

As a psychology specialty, counseling psychology has confronted and dealt with many issues since its inception. Currently, a number of highly challenging issues continue to confront counseling psychology. In this article I provide a selected review of contemporary issues affecting counseling psychology. In my review I supplement previous issue publications by drawing on recent developments emerging in counseling psychology over the past several years. The three areas reviewed are (a) changing work settings and work roles, (b) identity issues, and (c) educational and training issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)