Towards an integrated identity in counselling psychology: Graduate,professional and academic experiences

The paper is a reflective summary of my identity as a counselling psychologist. It discusses personal life, work and training experiences. The reason I would like to publish such a work is to encourage students in Greece, where the field of Counselling Psychology is less developed, to consider this kind of specialization, as well as to continuously enhance their professional identity, assimilating both practice and research opportunities, throughout their career paths. The paper focuses on three major influences in my development and training in the field: (a) graduate experiences as a doctoral student, writing a thesis on women's professional development, (b) work experiences in a career center of a large academic institution, and (c) academic and instructional experiences in a School of Psychology, where I teach and supervise research of both undergraduate and graduate students. The above influences delineate three separate, yet integrating identities: the identity of a feminist, the identity of a practitioner, and the identity of a researcher and instructor in the academia–that is, the identity of a scientist. My intention is to show how these three identities have been well integrated all these years, improving continuously my level of work in each and every dimension.     

Qualitative research in psychology: Attitudes of psychology students and academic staff

Qualitative research is experiencing a resurgence within the field of psychology. This study aimed to explore the range of attitudes towards qualitative research in psychology held by students and academics, using the model of attitudes by Eagly and Chaiken as a framework. Twenty‐one psychology students and academics were interviewed about their attitudes towards qualitative research. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. While qualitative research was described as inherent to the psychology profession and useful for generating rich data, some participants felt that this approach was not well respected or considered as legitimate as quantitative methods. Reflecting common misperceptions about qualitative research, participants also expressed concerns that qualitative research was too subjective and had limited generalisability. Furthermore, some participants felt that they lacked the skills and confidence necessary to conduct qualitative research. Large investments in time and resources were identified as barriers to undertaking qualitative research. Identifying attitudes towards qualitative research provides a basis for future work in dispelling myths, promoting attitudinal change and increasing both the use and teaching of qualitative approaches in psychology.     

Group psychodynamic counselling with final-year undergraduates in clinical psychology: A clinical methodology to reinforce academic identity and psychological well-being

Educational institutions should ensure that students develop a professional identity, as well as safeguarding their well-being and activating awareness and change processes. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a means of reinforcing academic identity – considered the forerunner of professional identity – and psychological well-being in a group of final-year undergraduates studying clinical psychology. Thirty-three final-year-students of clinical psychology who participated in six group psychodynamic counselling sessions were compared with sixteen final-year students of clinical psychology who had never participated in an intervention of this kind. The results suggested that group psychodynamic counselling made students feel more capable of managing their lives and more open to new experiences as well as encouraging them to perceive their relationships as more positive and satisfying, to believe that their life is meaningful, and to achieve greater self-acceptance. The in-depth exploration also prompted students to consider their commitment to their choice of career. Group psychodynamic counselling also reinforced students’ educational choice, as the likelihood of students becoming less committed to this choice was reduced after the intervention. Thus, the study confirmed the efficacy of group psychodynamic counselling as a means of reinforcing both academic identity and promoting well-being and demonstrated that it is a tool clinical psychologists and university teachers could use to activate self-reflection and change within educational settings.     

Bowlby before Bowlby: The sources of an intellectual departure in psychoanalysis and psychology

John Bowlby's first scientific papers express a viewpoint of the etiology of childhood disorders that gradually developed during his university years and the first years of his professional life. As becomes clear from, among other things, Bowlby's private correspondence, it was the period spent as a student at Cambridge, his work as a teacher at two progressive schools, and his work at a child guidance clinic that allowed him to articulate a view on childhood deviancy that was at variance with the Kleinian variant of psychoanalysis. Bowlby's position as an ‘independent’ thinker in the British Psycho-Analytical Society can be understood against the background of these intellectual influences. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The identity of Brexit: A cultural psychology analysis

In this paper, we propose a culturalist interpretation of the outcome of the Brexit referendum. This interpretation is grounded on the analysis of the U.K.'s cultural milieu, which is part of a more general study of the cultural milieus of several European countries. Specific to the United Kingdom, our analysis is based on a questionnaire carried out on a representative sample of U.K. respondents stratified by sociodemographic variables and geographic region (NUTS1). Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to multidimensional analysis—a combination of multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. Findings about the multicountry analysis show how cultural milieus are characterized by five basic, embodied, affect‐laden, generalized worldviews (defined as “Symbolic Universes”). Four out of five symbolic universes consist of a way of interpreting reality by a specific anchorage (i.e., the ethical norm, the institutional order, the emotional experience interpersonal bond, and the belongingness). One symbolic universe can be viewed as the anomic reaction to the failure of those anchorages. Focusing on Brexit, by means of a discriminant analysis, it is showed how the incidence of the symbolic universes (and of the underpinning basic dimensions of meaning within the 12 U.K. macroregions') enables to identify differentially the macroregions with high proportion of “leave” at the Brexit referendum against those with low proportion. More specifically, the high “leave” macroregion are characterized by higher relevance of cultural forms anchored on local identity/belongingness. Findings are discussed within the wider aims of the project and its implications for a cultural psychology informed policymaking.     

Building academic partnerships in psychology: the Psychology Partnerships Project

The increased number and mobility of psychology students, the need for a more coordinated curriculum and a more diverse student population in psychology programs, and the need to prepare students for a changing marketplace pose serious challenges for psychology educators. Partnerships among psychology teachers in high schools, community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities, and graduate programs in research universities can help teachers address these challenges effectively. This article outlines how academic partnerships across educational levels can help psychology teachers address educational challenges, examines factors that facilitate the formation and maintenance of these partnerships, and presents the American Psychological Association's successful Psychology Partnerships Project: Academic Partnerships to Meet the Teaching and Learning Needs of the 21st Century, describing the organizational features that enhanced its success.     

School psychology in the Federal Republic of Germany

Reviews of the origins and evaluation of the present status of school psychology in the Federal Republic of Germany reveals the current system to be rooted in the strict separation of school tracks. However, the system has been evolving into a more flexible organizational structure in recent years. In addition to roles and functions, the administration, training, relationships with other professions, and future trends in school psychology are discussed.     

The identity of the sport psychology profession: A multinational perspective

ObjectiveTo ensure public safety, duty of care, and professional advancement, there is a need for scholars to explore factors that impact the professional experiences of sport psychology professionals (SPPs). One such factor is professional identity, which has been shown to positively contribute to an enhanced sense of legitimacy of the profession in the eye of the public and sport stakeholders (i.e., athletes, coaches, sport scientists, administrators) and to positively impact the experience and effectiveness of practitioners. Yet, little research has directly examined the construct of professional identity within sport psychology, with this oversight posing a risk to the future of the profession.DesignThis interview-based study was situated within critical realism. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the understanding and perceptions and experiences of the professional identity among SPPs.MethodsFollowing theoretical criterion-based sampling, we interviewed 33 expert (n = 13), experienced (n = 12), and early career (n = 8) SPPs regarding their views on PI. The nationalities of these SPPs (male n = 16; female n = 17) represented sixteen different countries on four different continents.ResultsData were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and showed a relatively shared meaning of professional identity which unfolded across the career span. Moreover, the professionals in this study seemed to identify their pride for and their knowledge of the profession as key factors in the development of their PI. Furthermore, they identified how their professional role, expertise, and interactions with other professionals within the field played an important role in sustaining a professional identity.ConclusionWe interpreted the interview data as supporting the importance of professional identity for SPPs and consider the contribution of this within a developmental framework for effective practice.