Ethics training in Canadian graduate schools of psychology.

Evaluated the extent and nature of ethics training in 27 Canadian graduate schools of psychology by means of a questionnaire sent to the schools that asked questions on the nature of graduate programs, the nature of graduate programs and of graduate employment, the content areas, and views on whether and how ethics should be taught. It was found that many graduates from nonclinical programs obtain clinical employment, and that clinical students are more likely to receive some ethics training than are nonclinical. In view of the variable and often minimal approaches to ethics in some institutions, it is unsafe to assume that graduates generally have knowledge and practice in dealing with ethical issues. In order to avoid potential harm to the public and to the profession of psychology, it is recommended that professional associations promote continuing education programs and that graduate schools increase their commitment to teaching ethics and developing effective teaching models. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Canadian graduate training in psychology.

As a result of a questionnaire sent to all Canadian graduate training schools in psychology, a tabulation was made of a) qualifications for admission to each programme, b) graduate training specialty in each department, c) broad numerical comparisons of size of university with number applying and accepted for study. Overall the results indicate that the minimum qualifications for entry are a B average in 7 or 8 undergraduate psychology courses including basic experimental psychology and statistics. Qualifying years are usually offered to those who do not reach these minima. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of graduate education in community psychology.

Assessed the current status of training in community psychology by mailing a questionnaire to departments of psychology listed in 1969-1970 as having doctoral programs in clinical psychology approved (or initially approved) by the American Psychological Association Education and Training Board. Replies were received from 59 of 81 departments, representing a 73% return. Presentation of results focused on subprogram status course offerings, practicum experiences, and research activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology graduate student training in developmental disability: A Canadian survey.

Psychology graduate student training in developmental disability has received very little attention in North America, and no study has examined the state of training for clinical and counselling psychologists in Canada, despite their involvement in the controlled act of diagnosis and their use of standardised instruments used regularly with this population. This study sought to examine psychology graduate student training in the area of developmental disability across Canada. We invited students from every Canadian Psychological Association accredited Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Counselling Psychology program to participate in an online survey, distributed through university email lists. Three hundred and three students reported on the developmental disability content within their training and coursework, their perception of the adequacy of that content, and their ideas for program improvement. Results indicated that the majority of students believed it important to have training in developmental disability, yet struggled to obtain adequate didactic and experiential opportunities. The lack of sufficient training was most pronounced for students whose training was adult-focused, but was also high for students with a life span or child focus. We discuss different possibilities for increasing developmental disability training opportunities, including integrating its content within courses on assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, and ethics, and providing students with supervision from psychologists who work with this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training in medical psychology: A survey of graduate and internship training programs.

Surveyed American Psychological Association-approved doctoral and internship programs in clinical and counseling psychology regarding training opportunities in medical psychology. 42 graduate and 65 internship programs responded. Results indicate that the majority of both types of programs offered didactic and experiential training, including diagnostic and therapeutic activities with a wide variety of medical/surgical patients. There appears to be a sufficient number of faculty psychologists with special interest and/or expertise in this area to adequately prepare new psychologists for employment in medical centers and other types of medical settings. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 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)     

Alcoholism and substance abuse training: A survey of graduate programs in clinical psychology.

Surveyed the American Psychological Association's approved clinical training programs in an attempt to quantify the extent of research activity, clinical course work, and clinical training offered or required of graduate students in the areas of alcoholism and abuse of other mood-altering substances. The low level of training in the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of substance abuse was viewed as disproportionately low relative to the magnitude of these problems. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School psychology graduate training: A comprehensive analysis.

Describes a comprehensive study of the nature of graduate training in school psychology. A historical perspective is presented. Demographic information on current trends in school psychology training at the master's, specialist, and doctoral levels is provided. A discriminant analysis of the curriculum for doctoral, master's, and specialist programs at 211 institutions is examined, and conclusions are drawn with regard to the relation between the content at these 2 levels of training. It is concluded that school psychology training has advanced significantly in the past 10 yrs and is moving gradually to the doctoral level. A discussion of the implications of these data for professional psychology is provided. Suggestions are made for organizational changes that will facilitate the accreditation of school psychology programs and ameliorate the historical concern regarding the appropriate entry level for practice. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Training graduate students to be clinical supervisors: A survey of Canadian professional psychology programmes.

Recognising the need for training in clinical supervision, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) requires that accredited professional psychology programmes offer graduate students training in supervision. To fill a gap in the existing supervision literature, we surveyed training directors (or designates) of CPA accredited clinical and counselling programmes to understand how this training standard is currently being met in the area of clinical supervision. Responses were obtained from 20 of 28 programmes (71.4% response rate). Approximately 50% of respondents indicated that their programmes required some coursework related to clinical supervision, with wide variability, however, in the number of hours of coursework provided to students (range 3 to 39). Most courses included lectures and group discussion, but also often provided students with practical experience in clinical supervision provision. Only 25% of programmes required a practicum in which students gained experience in clinically supervising other students, although an additional 40% of programmes offered an elective practicum in which students gained some training in clinical supervision. Most programmes (~71%) identified strategies for improving training in clinical supervision (e.g., improving course work, requiring practical experience), but also identified challenges to offering clinical supervision training (e.g., availability of skilled supervisors, insufficient time to devote to supervision, student competency). Based on the findings, we offer some recommendations for how training in clinical supervision could be improved in Canadian professional psychology programmes as well as describe some important directions for future research in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Private practice practica and graduate training in clinical psychology: A survey of APA-approved programs.

A survey of the directors of 107 programs showed that a small majority of respondents viewed such training as worthwhile, but only a few programs actually offered such placements. A large minority did not view such a training placement as worthwhile. Malpractice protection and the lack of a scientist–practitioner model were cited as the most common concerns that directors have relevant to private practice training placements. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Methods of teaching introductory psychology: A Canadian survey.

Surveyed 33 Canadian university departments of psychology on methods used in teaching introductory psychology, such as degree of uniformity in format and test content and course length. Most instructors used objective questions on exams and did not require any written assignment during the term. Discussion groups and video presentations had varying success. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health care psychology and graduate education.

Contends that health care (HC) psychology should be more strongly emphasized in graduate clinical psychology training programs so that clinical psychologists can better meet demands for services that come from society, the HC field, clinical psychology itself, practicing clinical psychologists, and clinical psychology graduate students. The relationship of clinical psychology to HC psychology and the efficacy of training in HC psychology to meet those sources of demand are described. Various means of implementing graduate programs that stress or include HC psychology are discussed. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 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)     

Short-term psychotherapy and graduate training in psychology.

We present the thesis that the psychology internship and the university-affiliated practicum site offer a special opportunity to train new professionals in brief psychotherapy. The reasons for this include (a) a growing client demand for time-limited treatment and hence psychology's responsibility to prepare professionals in this mode of intervention, (b) a period of residence that can be comfortably tailored to training in short-term psychotherapy, and (c) trainees who are eager to learn a pragmatic form of intervention. Training considerations are outlined and include client selection variables, therapist/trainee considerations, and supervision/teaching. Conclusions are offered and emphasize the agency's and supervisors' need to feel a commitment to train in this modality. Likewise, the program should seek trainees who are eager to learn brief psychotherapy. In order to maximize the opportunity for a successful experience, careful consideration should be given to client selection criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Undergraduate statistics in psychology: A survey of Canadian institutions.

Studied the curriculum in statistics courses required by undergraduate psychology departments in Canada. Questionnaires examining the content of undergraduate statistics courses were sent to 51 Canadian post-secondary institutes offering major degrees in psychology. Responses received from 59% of the institutions suggest that several basic statistical procedures constitute a small core content covered in almost all undergraduate statistics courses and that the incorporation of computer applications is relatively common. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of clinical psychology training in Canadian federal corrections: Implications for psychologist recruitment and retention.

Although survey results seem to indicate an abundant interest among Canadian psychology graduate students in pursuing training in criminal justice psychology, the recruitment and retention of psychologists in the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has been of some concern. The present study is a 2008 survey of sites within CSC that provide opportunities for clinical psychology training with offender clientele. Survey findings demonstrated that a broad range of clinical psychology training opportunities were available across 16 sites. The most frequently cited barrier to providing training was lack of time by prospective trainers, and sites reported retaining relatively few of their trainees for subsequent psychologist positions. Information was also obtained regarding vacant psychologist positions across CSC regions. In light of survey findings, substantive discussion is devoted toward the issues of psychologist recruitment and retention in Canadian federal corrections, including a discussion of both potential and existing training initiatives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of Canadian clinical psychology educators: Recommended readings.

Surveyed Canadian clinical psychology educators to compile a list of recommended readings for clinical training. 36 faculty members from 18 clinical psychology programs completed a survey asking about their training orientation and the 10 best references for training clinical psychology graduate students. The 15 most frequently endorsed references and the 12 most frequently endorsed authors are presented, along with the total number of endorsements by subject area. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research and relevance: A survey of graduate students and faculty in psychology.

Survey results indicate a strong trend toward increased social concern in psychology faculty and students and a weaker trend toward decreased reliance on experimental methods. Ss identified 3 issues of major importance for psychology-relevance, research and theory, and therapy and humanism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The graduate preparation of the college professor of psychology: A survey.

Reports results of a questionnaire mailed to psychology department chairmen in 4-yr colleges. General agreement was found in the responses of 95 Ss from a random sample and 37 Ss from highly selective colleges. The majority indicated that graduates of conventional PhD programs were not well prepared to assume faculty positions in the 4-yr college. Ss favored a balanced doctoral program which would emphasize (a) broad subject-matter competence to enable the professor to teach a variety of undergraduate courses, (b) supervised teaching experience in a variety of situations, (c) training of the doctoral student as an active scholar in his area of special research interest and as a supervisor of student research, (d) development of counseling-advising skills, and (e) orientation of the student to the multifaceted roles of the professor as a general faculty member in his college. (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)