L2 Education & Training in the US

? ? 2.1 Background & Training Models

Timeline for becoming a psychologist

Undergrad (4 years) - (select/apply to) Grad School (5-7) - Predoctoral Internship (1) - Licensure (required to practise) - Postdoctoral Fellowship (1-5)

Time to first job post college graduation

Shortest 5-6 years; Academic faculty position: 8-9 years (Postdoc)

Graduate Programs

Master’s degree (Clinical & Counseling)

2 years of coursework

Yearly practicum placements

Doctoral degrees

Ph.D. (Clinical & Counseling) / Psy.D (usually Clinical)

4-5 years of coursework

Yearly practicum placements

Predoctoral Internship (1-year full time)

Program locations

Clinical Ph.D.: Psychology Departments

Clinical Psy.D.: Professional Schools / Psychology Departments

Counseling Ph.D.: Education Departments (75%) or Psychology

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Training models (from left to right: increasing focus on science & research)

Practitioner-Scholar (Vail) Scientist-Practitioner(Boulder) Clinical Science

Training models: Practitioner-Scholar

Also known as the Vail Model

- Named for a conference in Vail, CO (1973)

- This conference created a new degree: Psy.D.

Major emphasis on applied clinical skills

- Fewer courses focused on research and statistics

- More courses on practise

Features and characteristics:

- Often housed with freestanding, independent professional schools of psychology

- Provides training in scientific methods that addresses clinically immediate research concerns (not broad)

- Better fit for students pursuing careers highly focused on direct service

- Limited research training, rarely academic career

- Evaluates faculty based on practice achievements and competence

Approach to research:

- Directed by clinically immediate practice concerns

- N=1, sMall N designs, qualitative methods, program evaluation

CriticisM of other training models: focus on quantitative methods on topics that are not of interest/relevant to practitioners.

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Training models: Scientist-Practitioner

Boulder model

- Named for a conference in Boulder, CO (1949)

Equal focus on science and practice

- “Only when you practice can you know what needs to be researched; only if you research can you know how you are practicing”

- reparation for careers involving research or clinical practice

Very popular model for clinical and counseling PhDs: Counseling PhD ~87%; Clinical PhD ~70%; Clinical PsyD ~13%

CriticisM of Practitioner-Scholar Model:

-?Informed consumerisM is not enough

-?Effectiveness of interventions cannot be determined

-?Clinically-relevant research is not conducted

-?Practitioners deliver treatment with no scientific basis

Goal of training:

- Develop science-based assessMents and treatments

- Conduct N=1 research on own practice

- Accountability for claims

CriticisMs of this model:

- Clinicians using this model do not actually consume research, use evidence-based methods to evaluate their own practice, or participate in the scientific community

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Training Models: Clinical Science

McFall: “Manifesto for a Science of Clinical Psychology”

- Paper published in 1991

-?“Scientific Clinical Psychology is the only legitimate and acceptable form of clinical psychology”

-?Goal = generate competent clinical scientists

-?Training may not include applied clinical services

-?Clinical service provision must be evidence-based

- Academy of Psychological Clinical Science

Psychological services should not be provided unless:

- The exact nature of the service is described clearly

-?The claimed benefits are stated explicitly and have been validated scientifically

- Negative side effects that may outweigh?benefits are ruled out empirically

This model is used in about 22% of all APA accredited Clinical Psychology doctoral programs.

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2.2 Pathway from Undergrad to Clinical Psychologist

Applications

Carefully search programs for a good match?- Departmental Websites, Books

Topics/questions to consider:

- Specific research mentors

- Amount of time spent on research

- Amount of time spent on clinical work

- Types of clinical training

- Clinical settings and populations

- Teaching opportunities

Look for:

- Admission Statistics (Psy.D. highest acceptance rate)

- Financial Assistance (Psy.D. least likely been funded)

- How long does it take to complete (Median Time Clinical Ph.D. 6 years; Clinical Psy.D. 5.1 years; Counseling Ph.D. 5.9 years)

- percentage of students match for Predoctoral internship (Clinical Ph.D. 87%; Clinical Psy.D. 45%; Counseling Ph.D. 80%)

- Apply to many programs; range of competitiveness

You need: Transcripts, GRE, CV, PS, 3 letters of recommendation

Application deadlines:

- November/December (Ph.D.; Psy.D.)

- Feb/March/April (Psy.D.; Masters)

Competitive applicant

GPA: Median Clinical Ph.D. 3.7; Clinical Psy.D. 3.3; Counseling Ph.D. 3.5

Engage in research, make presentations, and publish

Find opportunities for clinically-relevant experience

PS - Personal Statement

A statement of career goals and what you hope to gain from graduate school.

- For a PhD program, should focus almost entirely on research experiences, interests, and goals

“Personal”?is a misnomer - not too personal

Take time to prepare this statement - Usually start months before applications due

Interviews:

Be prepared:

Professional setting

Familiarize yourself with faculty research/work

Generate a lot of questions

You may be responsible for the cost of the visit

On the interview day(s)

Program evaluates you and you evaluate the program

Interview = Entire day visit

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Graduate Training

Coursework (many many topics); Practicum Placements; Research; Master’s Thesis; Doctoral Dissertation; Predoctoral Internship (At the end).

Predoctoral Internship

Required for doctoral degree - Occurs before graduation

12 month, full-time clinical position

Year 5-7 of training

Competitive, national application process - organized by APPIC

4-5% of applicants do not match (recent years)

Match process determines placement

Licensure

- Necessary to advertise as a “psychologist”

- Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)

225 questions covering a broad range of topics: Ethics, neuroscience, psychopharmacology, learning theories, developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, I/O psychology, assessMent, research methods, statistic, psychometrics...

- State-specific requirements and licensing exam. In order to be eligible to take the state exam, must have:

(most requires) Doctoral Degree; Passing EPPP Score (varies); 3000+ hours supervised clinical work

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Postdoctoral Training (before or after licensure)

APA-accredited fellowships

- Emphasis: Clinical training

- Funding: Hospitals/clinics

Investigator-funded fellowships

- Emphasis: Clinical or research training

- Funding: Individual faculty grants

NIH-funded research fellowships

- Institutional NIH T32 Training Grants

- Individual NIH-funded Training Grants (F32 Fellowships)

- Emphasis: Research training

- Funding: The National Institutes of Health