Training and Education in Professional Psychology

When voices are left unheard: BIPOC doctoral student feedback toward a decolonized curriculum.
The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) is a training council of over 80 professional psychology doctoral programs across the United States and Canada. NCSPP also hosts their Ethnic and Racial Diversity Committee to support the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in delegate programs. In 2020, two inspired doctoral students founded the Students of Color Council (SOCC) under the auspices of the Ethnic and Racial Diversity Committee. The dual mission of the SOCC is to provide support and mentorship for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) doctoral students in NCSPP delegate programs, as well as to provide feedback and consultation for the NCSPP Executive Committee regarding antiracist education. In this article, the results of more than a year of SOCC meetings are summarized. The authors, composed of currently matriculating BIPOC doctoral student participants of the SOCC, provide a set of 10-point feedback meant for faculty and administration to improve professional psychology programs regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion. This article will provide the history and purpose of SOCC, its philosophical pillars, a comprehensive literature review of BIPOC doctoral students in clinical psychology, introduce the 10 points expanding on each point using lived examples, and address the implications for BIPOC students, administrators, and faculty. These points will address pedagogy, curricular design, recruitment and retention, student/faculty relationships, competency remediation, and program administration. Recommendations for program faculty and administration then follow. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Transgender and gender diverse clinical competency and affirmative training in graduate education.
Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people face marginalization and exclusion within the mental health field. Barriers to services include providers’ insensitivity, internalized cisgenderism, microassaults, and lack of skills and knowledge related to TGD affirmative practices. As the mental health field has worked to address the historical pathologizing of TGD people, this study aimed to examine students’ and faculty’s self-reported TGD clinical competency and perceived TGD affirmative training in graduate programs. We sampled students (N = 155) and faculty (N = 69) from nationally accredited clinical training programs (i.e., American Psychological Association, Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, and Council on Social Work Education). Results indicated that faculty and students self-reported moderate levels of TGD clinical competency and TGD affirmative training in graduate programs. We discuss implications for training programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Effects of training on multicultural case conceptualization skills.
The infusion of multicultural factors into all aspects of training, research, and service is an expected competency for professionals in health service psychology. This includes skills in multicultural case conceptualization, the basis upon which diagnoses, and treatment interventions are selected. However, there is a paucity of research on the effects of training on multicultural case conceptualization ability and limited evidence of its effectiveness. Using a single-case research design, this study addressed this inadequacy by training doctoral students to interpret and integrate multicultural factors in their case conceptualizations. Results indicated no functional relationship between the training intervention and multicultural case conceptualization skills. A combination of statistical and visual analyses indicated weak effects of the intervention for two participants and a counter to the intended direction of effect for one participant. The limitations of the study and valuable insights are discussed, raising important implications for future research and training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Current training practices and training gaps in clinical child and adolescent psychology: Implications for training guidelines.
This study aimed to inform training guidelines for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (CCAP) by assessing current CCAP training practices and perceived gaps in trainee readiness at each stage of training. Training directors (TDs) of doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral programs offering training in CCAP completed an online survey regarding training experiences offered in their program and areas in which trainees could be better prepared. Responses from each training program were coded to characterize the program’s level of specialty training using the Taxonomy for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Among doctoral programs, 30.8% met criteria for Major Area of Study in CCAP, 23.1% for Emphasis, 28.2% for Experience, and 15.4% for Exposure. Most internship programs (94.3%) and all postdoctoral programs met criteria for Major Area of Study. TDs indicated that trainees could be better prepared in areas specific and central to each level of training; time management was identified as an area for improvement across levels of training. Postdoctoral TDs identified proficiency gaps among trainees nearing independent practice that are critical for competent service delivery in CCAP, including case conceptualization, assessment, and intervention. The pattern of increased specialization later in training and identified gaps particularly near the end of training have implications for specialty training and the development of training guidelines in CCAP. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
A graduate training protocol to provide evidence-based treatment for substance use and co-occurring disorders in rural correctional facilities: Process and lessons learned.
The majority of those incarcerated in the United States meet criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD), the presence of which is associated with recidivism, among other negative outcomes. Treatment of SUD within corrections is limited and complicated by a substantial incidence of co-occurring mental health disorders. Graduate training programs may be equipped to deliver evidence-based treatment for SUD and co-occurring disorders in correctional facilities, but providing treatment in a prison or jail necessitates training beyond that provided in noncorrectional settings. The current work describes a graduate training program for facilitating SUD and co-occurring disorder treatment delivered by trainees in a rural jail setting. We briefly review current literature regarding SUD and co-occurring disorder treatment in corrections and discuss the needs and training benefits of such a program, as well as recommendations for development and the results of pilot data analyses examining the effectiveness of our treatment program. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The relation between knowledge and skills assessments in psychotherapy training: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.
Although the assessment of therapists’ competence is often conceptualized in a hierarchical model, the model’s implications are underresearched. This study thus focuses on the association between theoretical knowledge and applied knowledge on one side, and communication and therapy skills on the other. Psychology students (N = 69) took part in a psychotherapy training study, including role-plays with standardized patients. The training interventions included reading treatment manuals and watching model videos. We measured theoretical knowledge using multiple-choice questions, applied knowledge using case vignettes, and psychotherapy skills in videotaped sessions with standardized patients using independent competence ratings. Theoretical knowledge correlated significantly with practical competences (r = .28–.36, p <.05) and predicted postintervention skills in standardized patients interactions (β = .21–.35, p <.05). Applied knowledge was significantly correlated with practical competences (r = .31–.54, p <.05), and predicted postintervention skills in one out of two treatment conditions (β = .47, p <.001). The results underline the importance of theoretical knowledge and applied knowledge in psychotherapy training in the early career of therapists. The discussion focuses on methodological aspects, and on implications for future studies and training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Health service psychology trainees’ use of ecotherapeutic interventions with clients: The roles of environmental justice beliefs and training experiences.
The connections between climate change, the environment, and mental health have been well documented by psychological research. However, the extent to which health service psychologists who work in clinical settings address these issues with clients is not well understood. Health service psychology trainees participated in an exploratory investigation of the predictors of ecotherapeutic intervention use in their clinical work. The significant predictors were trainees’ environmental justice beliefs and the degree to which environmentalism issues were discussed in their training programs and supervision. However, social justice attitudes, along with biospheric values and environmental identity, were significant predictors of environmental justice beliefs. Biospheric values and environmental identity were also significant predictors of personal conservation behaviors, but personal behaviors did not predict professional attention to environmental issues. Implications for training are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Training and Education in Professional Psychology - Vol 18, Iss 2