Training in psychodiagnostic testing in APA-approved PsyD and PhD clinical psychology programs

Fifty-one percent (N = 80) of directors of doctoral PhD and PsyD programs in clinical psychology, accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), responded to a survey on assessment training. The study was a replication of an earlier survey by Piotrowski and Keller (1984b) on instruction, practices, and attitudes on testing. Our findings indicated that training emphasis in assessment coursework has changed very little over the past decade. Intelligence testing was emphasized in most programs, followed by objective and projective personality assessment. However, training in behavioral assessment techniques was required in only half of the responding programs. There were no significant differences between PhD and PsyD programs concerning required coursework in assessment. Factors that influence the perennial importance of testing in the clinical core curriculum are discussed.     

A survey of Rorschach teaching in APA-approved clinical graduate programs.

A questionnaire on teaching of the Rorschach technique was sent to all APA-approved graduate clinical psychology programs in the United States and Canada. The questionnaire asked for the degree of emphasis placed on the Rorschach in the primary assessment course, the Rorschach teaching experience of the respondent and the respondent's evaluation of the technique as a clinical tool, a teaching aid and a research instrument. The respondent in each case was the faculty member teaching the major diagnostic assessment course. There was a 100% return of the questionnaires. The major results show that (1) 81% of the programs place major emphasis on the Rorschach Technique in the assessment course; (2) only 24% of the programs offer the course for a full year; (3) respondents with more than 10 years teaching experience rated the Rorschach higher than respondents with less experience, and (4) respondents as a group rated the Rorschach highly as a clinical tool and teaching aid, but gave it generally low ratings as a research instrument.     

Relevance of multicultural training to students' applications to clinical psychology programs

Interest in the efficacy of multicultural training for practitioners and scientists working with multicultural populations has led to questions about the characteristics of students who seek this training. Students of ethnic minority background, as compared with White students, may be more likely to seek programs that offer this training, and their ethnic or racial identity may be related to this preference. This study explores the relevance of multicultural training to White and ethnic minority graduate students in accredited clinical psychology programs. Students rated the relevance of multicultural and general training components to their decisions about where to apply to graduate school. The ethnic minority students' mean ratings of the relevance of multicultural components were higher than those of White students, and the degree of ethnic minority students' ethnic identification was positively correlated to these relevance ratings.     

Multicultural training practices in community psychology programs

Surveyed the directors of 56 community psychology graduate programs to assess multicultural training practices and attitudes. Although most program directors agreed that multicultural training is important in their mission to educate students, less than half the programs (48%) required their students to take any relevant course work and only half of the programs surveyed had any faculty who were members of an ethnic minority group and one third had only one such faculty member. Furthermore, less than half the programs had a combination of training opportunities in place to integrate classroom, research, and field experiences relevant to multicultural issues. Finally, only 23% of program directors believed their training programs were successful for most students, suggesting the need to improve training.     

Personality assessment training in counseling psychology programs

Although data about personality assessment training in clinical psychology programs have often been gathered, little comparable data have been collected about assessment training in counseling psychology programs. To collect such information, we conducted a survey of all programs identified as part of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. A two-page questionnaire was sent out to the 64 program directors, with 56 (88%) of the questionnaires being returned. Information about availability of required personality assessment courses, availability of elective assessment courses, and types of personality tests covered in the counseling curriculum is presented and discussed.     

Exemplary multicultural training in school psychology programs

This study examined the characteristics of school psychology programs noted for training students from a multicultural perspective. The program characteristics and training environment at 17 programs were studied through semistructured interviews with faculty and students, and reviews of prospective student application materials for multicultural content. Findings suggest that students at all programs were exposed to minority clients during applied fieldwork, 94% of the programs required a diversity issues course, 59% of the programs specialized in training with specific minority group populations, 31% of the students and 25% of the faculty represented a racial-ethnic minority group member, and 24% of the faculty were bilingual. Most programs used multiple multicultural curriculum models and employed a wide variety of recruitment and retention strategies specifically aimed at minority students. Faculty and students characterized their overall university training environment as supportive of programmatic initiatives regarding diversity issues, yet several reported uneven experiences with implementation.     

Rorschach teaching in APA-approved clinical graduate programs: ten years later

A questionnaire on teaching of the Rorschach technique was sent to all APA-approved graduate clinical psychology programs in the United States and Canada. The survey represents a 10-year update of a study conducted in 1974 and reported in 1976. The questionnaire asked for the degree of emphasis placed on the Rorschach in the curriculum; the Rorschach teaching experience of the Rorschach instructor; the instructor's evaluation of the technique as a clinical tool, a teaching aid, and a research instrument, and a list of the instructional material used to teach the Rorschach. Based on a 93% return of questionnaires, the major results show that 88% of the programs place major emphasis on the Rorschach in at least one assessment course (compared to 86% in 1974); in contrast to the results of the 1974 survey, there were no differences between the ratings of highly experienced and moderately experienced instructors; as in 1974, instructors as a group highly rated the Rorschach as a clinical tool and teaching aid, but gave it generally low ratings as a research instrument; and the results clearly indicate that the Exner Comprehensive System is widely used as an instructional method.     

An analysis of training programs in school psychology

The 85 institutions below indicated that they have a graduate training program in school psychology or that one may acquire certification although there is no formal program as such. The information was supplied in response to a questionnaire by a representative of each institution and is current as of March, 1967. The list is far from complete. Several institutions with known programs failed to respond to the questionnaire and their names are not included.

As suggested by Smith (1964), the institution should be contacted directly for further information.     

Emerging issues in accreditation of training programs in school psychology

Accreditation is an important concept in school psychology training and it is becoming a source of much controversy. There are definite reasons for accreditation of school psychology programs by APA, but the jurisdictional conflict still has not been fully resolved. The matter of nondoctoral program accreditation and the role of social issues in accreditation are other important issues.     

Incorporating a developmental perspective in doctoral training: survey of clinical child psychology training programs and introduction to the special section

Examined the degree to which clinical child programs incorporate and integrate developmental theory into their training, and introduced the contributions of 6 leaders in the field to this special section. Fifty-one clinical child doctoral programs responded to the survey. Results indicate that 3 types of training programs are operating: (a) child emphasis (n = 7), which do not have a formal clinical child training program but do have a faculty member who has child research interests; (b) clinical child (n = 37), which have a group of faculty members with specific child research and clinical interests and a formalized program of study; and (c) developmental-clinical programs (n = 7), which are similar to clinical child programs but require a substantive amount of developmental psychology course work and endorse a developmental psychopathology perspective. Findings reveal that clinical child programs have become increasingly differentiated and specialized over the past 20 years, but, with the exception of developmental-clinical programs, most programs are still neglecting to incorporate developmental theory into training. This issue, as well as concerns about the future direction of clinical child doctoral training is addressed in this special section on the Importance of Incorporating Developmental Theory Into Clinical Child Training.     

Accredited internship and postdoctoral programs for training in psychology: 2011

Presents the official listing of accredited internship and postdoctoral residency programs. It reflects all Commission on Accreditation decisions through July 17, 2011. This list also is provided by electronic means (http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/programs/index.aspx), but that listing is for informational purposes only and should not be used for official credential review.