Characteristics of doctoral and nondoctoral school psychology programs: Their implications for the entry-level doctorate

In the past 10 years the number of graduates in school psychology has doubled, and student enrollment has tripled. Rapid growth in the psychological profession has brought with it an attempt to make the doctoral degree the minimal credential for entry to independent practice. Examination of the characteristics of doctoral and nondoctoral training programs in school psychology suggests that each type of program has distinct points in its favor.     

Postdoctoral education and training for clinical service providers in health psychology

It was recommended by the 1983 National Working Conference on Education and Training in Health Psychology (Stone, 1983) that 2 years of postdoctoral education and training be mandated for future licensed health service providers in health psychology. The background for requiring this postdoctoral training, a model for education, criteria for developing programs, issues of funding, and a rationale for accepting this mandate are presented. Highlighted are the stable and consistent growth of health psychology, the need to expand the period of clinical training to meet the many advances in the field, and the challenges that exist for the fully trained clinical health service provider.     

Graduate training in school psychology

A survey was conducted in spring of 1975 to elicit factual information concerning organizational characteristics and training emphases of the school psychology training programs in the United States and Canada. Ninety-nine training institutions responded. The result indicated a rapid growth of graduate education programs in school psychology in the past 10 years. Faculty shortage constituted a major problem in many training institutions. Overall, the school psychology programs placed strongest emphases on assessment, consultation, and other active intervention techniques in their training content. Significant differences in training emphases were found between doctoral and subdoctoral programs.     

School psychology in the Republic of Ireland

This report considers the practice of school psychology in the Republic of Ireland. Information about the system of education, scope of school psychology services, administration, and training programs of school counseling is presented. A detailed account of the problems that the profession faces as well as the expected future developments are discussed.     

The growth of school psychology in the last decade

With reference to the first question, it seems that school psychology as a profession is growing much more rapidly than membership in Division 16 of APA would indicate. While the Division is growing, it is not growing in proportion to the number of practitioners in the field.

Factors that seem to be positively related to the rapid expansion of school psychological services are: financial support from the state level; training programs in the colleges and universities; special certification requirements and the designation of school psychology as a specific profession; and increasing demand for services in rural as well as the urban areas. The school psychologist, by virtue of his training and professional competence, is apparently meeting an important need in the educational system. The general tenor of the response to this survey is that the growth of school psychological services will continue.     

School psychology in Brazil

The purpose of this study was to review the status of school psychology in Brazil. Information about the system of education, school psychology-related training programs, types of services rendered, and the major problems that are encountered are described. Future trends as well as the anticipated needs of the profession are also discussed.     

Is the Role of the School Psychologist in Early Childhood Truly Expanding? A National Survey Examining School Psychologists' Practices and Training Experiences

Historically, the role of school psychologists in early childhood settings has been limited to the identification and evaluation of children who may be in need of special education services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It has been suggested that the role should reflect a more proactive model; specifically, it should continue to expand to include involvement in school readiness and early intervention for all students. The purpose of this study was to examine the present role of school psychologists in early childhood settings and investigate the graduate-level training provided to school psychology graduate students. Results of the survey found that a significant percentage of school psychologist practitioners continue to spend a substantial portion of their professional time completing special education evaluations. Furthermore, respondents reported minimal to moderate graduate training in the area of early childhood populations. Implications for school psychology practitioners and school psychology graduate training programs are discussed.     

Pulling it all together: Meeting varying training requirements on national,state, and university levels for marriage and family therapy education

Marriage and family therapy programs face many challenge in trying to meet different sets of criteria including national, state, and university requirements. State regulation of the marriage and family therapy profession is a much sought after commodity. Currently 22 states have some type of MFT licensure or certification. MFT regulation criteria established by states to restrict title and function can differ in varying degrees from criteria established by the AAMFT's Commission on Accreditation. At the university level, MFT programs continue to be housed in a variety of schools including social work, education, psychology and home economics, as universities attempt to define a proper place for family therapy training. Confusion exists about whether MFT is a separate discipline or a specialization of another profession. The task of pulling it all together is addressed using one program's experience as an example.     

The historical origins and growth of programs to prepare school psychologists in the United States

A study of the growth of school psychology preparation programs reveals their rapid increase since 1950. With somewhat obscure origins related to professional growth in generic education and psychology, preparation has gained increasing clarity and stature that are consistent with the identify of school psychology in general.     

The Australian Psychology Workforce 2: A national profile of psychologists' education,training, specialist qualifications and continuous professional development

Objective data on the training profiles of Australian psychologists is scarce, despite important reforms across the higher education sector. This study aimed to profile Australian psychological training leading to registration. Universities, Registration Boards and registrants were profiled during 2008. Results revealed that there were 1063 postgraduate places a year across 34 university postgraduate training programs, with two thirds of places in clinical psychology. However, half of psychologists do not undertake postgraduate training, but undertake four years of university psychology followed by a 2 year internship (4+2) to make up the minimum standard for registration of 6 years training. Those with over 6 years of university training tended to work more in clinical, university or specialised areas of practice, whereas those with 4+2 were more likely to work in schools and general counselling. One quarter of psychologists are College members and 13% have doctoral qualifications. Analysis revealed a workforce that is actively engaged in ongoing professional development, supervision and further training. The profession has grown steadily in size by 6.24% per annum over the past 8 years and this presents a challenge for increasing the supply of postgraduate training places.     

The affirmation of the scientist-practitioner. A look back at Boulder

In the aftermath of World War II, several influences were paramount in forcing academic psychology to recognize, albeit reluctantly, the coming professionalization of psychology. The federal government, wishing to avoid a repeat of blunders following World War I that led to significant dissatisfaction among veterans, took proactive steps to ensure that mental health needs of the new veterans would be met. The USPHS and the VA were mandated to expand significantly the pool of mental health practitioners, a direction that led not only to the funding of the Boulder conference but also to the development of APA's accreditation program, funded practical and internship arrangements with the VA, and the USPHS grants to academic departments for clinical training. The GI Bill, amended to include payment for graduate education, created tremendous interest in graduate programs in psychology. As a result, psychology programs were inundated with funded applicants, most of whom were interested in the application of psychology to clinical and other applied fields. Graduate psychology departments were mixed in their views of this "blessing." The reality of a separate curriculum for professional training in psychology was a bitter pill for some academic psychologists to swallow. Graduate departments feared that control of their programs would be taken over by external forces and that they would lose their right to determine their own curriculum. Further, they feared the domination of clinical training within their own departments and the effects of such educational emphasis on their traditional experimental programs. The Boulder conference brought together these disparate needs and concerns, although one can argue about how well some points of view were represented with respect to others. It was a time of high anticipation and fear. The conference could easily have ended in failure, with such diverse interests being unable to reach any consensus. There are many letters in the correspondence of committee members that suggest disagreements serious enough to prevent the development of any single model of training. Instead, by most yardsticks that one could apply, the conference succeeded, perhaps beyond the dreams of many of those in attendance who were most invested in a model for professional training. In evaluating the legacy of Boulder, several points are apparent. First, the conference succeeded because 73 individuals were able to agree to some 70 resolutions in 15 days, creating the scientist-practitioner model of professional training. Such consensus was arguably a remarkable achievement. The endorsement of the model by academic units followed with little evident resistance, although it is clear that some Boulder-model programs were developed that bore little resemblance to the model's insistence on significant training in both research and practice. Second, as a response to social and political needs, the conference was clearly a success. The cooperation of the APA, the USPHS, and the VA benefited all three entities. Clinical psychology was given the financial support and backing to advance it as a profession, and the federal government was able to begin the process of securing the personnel needed to address the mental health needs of the nation. The architects of Boulder were clear that their vision of training for professional psychology should be viewed as dynamic and experimental rather than fixed and prescribed. Certainly there are several variants of professional training extant today, yet the overwhelming majority of currently accredited programs in psychology label themselves as "Boulder-model" programs or "scientist-practitioner" programs. Still, new national conferences on professional training in psychology occur with some regularity as participants seek to resolve many of the same concerns debated by those at Boulder. The grand experiment goes on.     

Self-assessment in clinical health psychology: a model for ethical expansion of practice

Society expects autonomous professions to ensure the competency of it practitioners, and professions should facilitate the continuing education and training of its members. Given the shift from psychology as a mental health profession to that of a health profession, the authors propose a self-assessment model for the individual practitioner to gauge his or her readiness to provide professional service in expanded areas of practice. This model could also be useful to the American Psychological Association, state psychological associations, and other purveyors of continuing education programs in systematically developing postgraduate experiences. A template for self-assessment that reflects well-accepted core domains of knowledge and skills is presented.     

Jon Carlson: Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology

Presents Jon Carlson as the 2011 winner of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology. "For his contributions in creating educational and training materials in psychology for instruction and the public. Jon Carlson has a distinguished career in higher education, maintained an active private practice, served 34 years as a school psychologist/counselor, is a prolific author and scholar, and is an innovator in the development of media-based training materials. His contribution to education and training is noteworthy for the volume of his professional production, the scope of topics addressed, and his ability to provide meaningful tools to change how psychologists are trained. His audiovisual work documents the profession of psychology in terms of research and practice for current scholars and for future generations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).     

Preparing psychologists for evidence-based school practice: lessons learned and challenges ahead

The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has the potential to significantly advance the quality of psychological and educational services provided by psychologists working in schools. Training psychologists in EBP has challenged the profession and caused faculty in graduate programs to reevaluate and retool professional training curricula and instructional practices. Four domains of challenges in graduate training are identified: (a) integrating the EBP knowledge base into the curriculum, (b) expanding models of research training, (c) expanding training in prevention science, and (d) expanding training in problem-solving consultation and school contextual issues. For each of these, the author discusses the range and scope of the challenge and possible solutions for advancing graduate training in psychology relevant to school practice.     

The school psychologist in evaluating educational programs

A discussion of school psychology practice is presented, with emphasis on school programs rather than on individuals. While pressures exist to continue emphasizing the individual as the unit of study, current literature in evaluation theory and community psychology suggest a more viable model for the practice of school psychology. The learning process as it occurs in school programming is discussed, illustrating potential sources of involvement for school psychologists in effecting change in education. It is suggested that school psychologists, operating from a framework of evaluation theory, are well suited to be evaluators of school programs.     

Improving the lives of millions of school children

R. Fulghum (1993) contended that all he really needed to know, he learned in kindergarten. This finding does not generalize to predoctoral-postdoctoral education and school-based action researchers. After 20 years, the author's current aspiration is to collaborate with others to disseminate research-based social and emotional learning programs that improve the lives of millions of school children. High-quality graduate and postdoctoral training inspired this commitment. However, realistically speaking, ongoing early- and midcareer training are needed to achieve it. This author describes 2 sets of advanced learning experiences that strongly affected his current activities. He draws implications from these experiences to encourage more support for the early- and midcareer training of school-based action researchers. The address also highlights several priorities that midcareer scientists should address to advance the positive impact that psychology has on the lives of children.     

Changes in Hungarian academic psychology after the end of “people's democracy”

The paper surveys the last 30 years of Hungarian academic psychology. Around 1989–1990, the time of the great social changes Hungarian psychology was rather Westernized, but still a relatively small scientific field and applied profession. The opening and liberalization of politics made psychology in Hungary a booming profession and a rich research field. Education of psychologists was spreading, and becoming more Westernized in textbook usage and reading materials. Entrance numbers at two universities with 80 students were replaced by 2010 by 6 university programs and about 8000 incoming students. The training system is a Bologna type BA + MA + PhD system, The educational booming has its own problems. As all university subjects, psychology training is also underfinanced, with high teaching loads and a move by university management towards applied areas, neglecting basic research. The research activity is characterized by a fivefold increase of English language publications coming from Hungary over a 20 years period. University research was strengthened, and competitive grant systems were introduced, whth good success aretes by psychologists. Here again, managerial thinking questions many aspects of basic research and liberalized science management. These factors are peculiar to psychology, but they do have an impact on it. The paper gives some details about one chapter of academic psychology, cognitive psychology. Institutionally, support by the Soros foundation in the 90s for the university cognitive programs had as one consequence that three departments of cognition are active in Budapest today. Another aspect of insitutional development was the series of multidisciplinary conferences in Hungary (MAKOG), and Hungarian involvement in international graduate training programs in cognitive science. The most successful cognitive group, at Central European University (5 ERC grants, publications in leading journals) is recently chased out of Hungary by anti-Western and antiliberal legal moves. This would certainly have a detrimental effect on Hungarian cognitive psychology for quite a time.     

The Role of Government and Lobbying in the Creation of a Health Profession: The Legal Foundations of Counseling

The state and federal governments, along with private industry, play an important role in the development of a health profession. State governments establish training standards through licensure laws, and state programs dictate employment and payment opportunities. The federal government unifies a profession through recognition in national health care programs. Private industry provides public access through private health insurance. The counseling profession has spent decades opening these federal, state, and private programs to become an established health profession.     

"FEMINIZATION" OF PSYCHOLOGY

Women are participating in the field of psychology in increasing numbers relative to men. This development has been referred to as the "feminization of psychology," and it carries with it a number of implications. This article reviews statistical data relating to the changing sex ratio and discusses their implications. Participation rates of women in psychology are examined as they pertain to enrollment in doctoral programs, graduation from baccalaureate programs, and career progress within the profession. Implications of changing sex ratios for occupational prestige, income and economics, work structure, education and training, and theory, research, and practice are then discussed. In conclusion, the concept of "feminization" is challenged as questions are raised about whether the increase in the number of women in psychology is a problem, as has been alleged, or a symptom of other problems within the field     

Continuity and Change in Role Definitions and Training Models of School Psychologists in Israel

Abstract

In accordance with one of the major challenges of psychology research and practice worldwide, school psychology in Israel has setas its aim the promotion of the emotional well-being of students. These aims are achieved through psychological evaluation and intervention, at the systemic and individual-student level. School psychology emerged in Israel in the 1930s, as a relatively narrow field, focused mainly on the placement of students in special education settings. Over the decades, major changes occurred in Israeli society, including waves of immigration, coping with security situations and additional socio-political challenges. In light of these transformations, the discipline grew and broadened, encompassing additional areas of professional practice. The training of school psychologists evolved in relation to these processes. From unsystematic training procedures, mostly embedded in child-clinical psychology and relying on on-the-job training, to a well-established system of graduate school programs producing dozens of school psychologists every year. Academic pre-service training is followed by a post-graduate internship in the public-school system. The developments in the field of school psychology brought about a host of challenges and dilemmas. These issues are discussed in relation to the broad aim of school psychology in Israel: the promotion of the emotional well-being of all students.