Training and Education in Professional Psychology

Social justice in practicum training: Competencies and developmental implications.
This article addresses the challenge in the predoctoral education of professional psychologists of providing practicum training experiences with a strong social justice focus while also ensuring that students are acquiring the full range of foundational competencies expected of practicing psychologists. The theory-based distinction between interactional, procedural, and distributive justice will be discussed as a framework for considering a developmental progression in practicum training, moving from individually focused skills to more advanced competencies emphasizing social/institutional change. The article concludes with aspirational recommendations for any academic program seriously committed to the pursuit of social justice as part of its training mission. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Integrating social justice training into the practicum experience for psychology trainees: Starting earlier.
Calls from the psychological literature have highlighted a need for the integration of social justice training in both didactic and fieldwork practicum experiences in professional psychology. This article presents concrete strategies for practicum instructors and applied fieldwork training site staff to integrate social justice work into practicum experiences. The authors review current scholarship on social justice training, identify foundational principles of social justice and recommendations for teaching social justice in applied training facilities, and apply these principles and recommendations to practicum experiences. Learning activities and evaluation methods are identified and presented, and recommendations for integration of these methods for teaching psychology trainees are underscored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Critical incidents in counseling psychology professionals' and trainees' social justice orientation development.
Through a qualitative, critical incident research design, this study identified and defined critical incidents that cultivated a social justice orientation among counseling psychology doctoral students and professionals. Research questions included: (a) What incidents are critical in the development of a social justice orientation? (b) Of these incidents, which are most influential? (c) How do these incidents affect social justice orientation development? Thirty-six counseling psychology doctoral students and professionals, who demonstrated a commitment to social justice through scholarship and clinical practice, completed an online survey, which consisted of rank-order and open-ended items. Qualitative data were analyzed utilizing the constant comparative method. Analyses revealed five categories of critical incidents to which participants attributed their social justice orientation development. In addition, five themes were identified that categorized the ways in which critical incidents changed individuals. Analyses of rank-ordered items indicated that the categories of Exposure to Injustice and Influence of Significant Persons were most frequently ranked as the most influential critical incidents in the development of a social justice orientation. Implications of these results and future directions for education, training, and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Social justice in the training of professional psychologists: Moving forward.
The Special Section for Social Justice in Training of the journal for Training and Education in Professional Psychology adds to the growing social justice literature and offers advances in training. This article reflects on the main themes presented in the Special Section including the prevalent role of developmental perspectives, multiculturalism, implementation of learning through action, and organizational recommendations. Further, we highlight areas for additional consideration including the importance of examining values and assumptions of the profession, issues of power within training programs, the need to provide training in navigating and negotiating in systems, benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, pragmatic and ethical issues in shifting to a social justice framework, and professional development needs of faculty and supervisors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
The graduate research training environment in professional psychology: A multilevel investigation.
Very little program-level research on psychology graduate research training environments (RTEs) exists despite the RTE being a program-level (vs. student-level) construct. In the current study, the authors investigated correlates of programs' RTEs, including characteristics of the students, the faculty, and the programs themselves. Proportional stratified sampling of American Psychological Association-accredited PhD programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology yielded data from 40 programs. Students and faculty in those programs completed Internet questionnaires, and additional faculty and program characteristics were coded. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that programs with positive student-rated RTEs had faculty who also viewed the RTE as positive and had satisfying faculty–student relations. These programs also had students with higher levels of research interest and stronger advisory alliances, yet within-program student differences in the RTE explained more variance in these student characteristics than did between-programs differences. This research supports the value of examining the RTE at both the student and program levels, and it suggests that training interventions ought to occur at both levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Group process and learning: A grounded theory model of group supervision.
While there is a small but growing body of literature on group supervision, it has been limited to a handful of qualitative studies, and quantitative studies that have focused on specific aspects of the supervision process. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical model of the process of group supervision and its relation to student learning. A grounded theory design with some features of consensual qualitative research was utilized to achieve this goal. Fifteen counseling psychology doctoral students and three supervisors comprising 13 supervision groups completed questionnaires following each group supervision session over the course of six semesters. Varying degrees of safety were reported by participants and group supervision was either facilitated by safety or inhibited by a lack of safety. However, when students reported feeling safe, a greater variety of learning occurred than when they reported they felt less safe. Also, within a supervision group, students experienced the group differently based on their ability to manage anxiety and develop supportive relationships with other peers in the group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Experiences of students of color in a graduate-level diversity course.
Outcome studies of multicultural education have neglected the student of color experience. This study examined ethnic minority students' responses to a doctoral level diversity course. Results revealed that though all students reported new learning experiences, including increased cultural knowledge and personal insights, learning outcomes varied based upon previous exposure to racism, and opportunities to process this experience. The learning course appeared to proceed from reactive and emotion-focused, to reflective. Commonly reported in the reflective phase was the emergence of the question of what position students would take as persons of color on racial issues. Implications for training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Training and Education in Professional Psychology - Vol 4, Iss 3