Chapter 2

INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL

PSYCHOLOGY, THIRD CANADIAN EDITION

by John Hunsley and Catherine M. Lee

• Questions

• Activities of clinical psychologists

• Employment settings

• Prescriptive authority

• Canadian Code of Ethics

• Staying healthy

• Training in clinical psychology

• Accreditation, Licensure, & the MRA

• For next class..

Overview

Activities of clinical psychologists• Assessment

• Intervention

• Research

• Clinical supervision

• Administration

• Will be covered in detail in Weeks XXX

• Large % of clinical psychologists engage in assessment

• Over a quarter of professional time devoted to assessment

• May focus on individual, couple, or family

• May address many different types of questions

• Multi-method approach

• Integrates diverse data

What would it be like to spend almost a day a week doing psychological assessments?

Assessment

• Will be covered in Weeks XXX

• Professional activity engaged in by highest percentage of clinical psychologists

• Largest % of professional time devoted to intervention

• Many clients attend only a few sessions

What would it be like to spend over 40% of your work week helping people with their problems?

Intervention

• Will be covered in each class and especially in Week X

• Almost half engage in research

• For many conducting research is only small part of workday

Can clinical psychology be a science-based profession, if clinical psychologists spend so little time conducting research?

Research

• Almost half engage in supervision

• Model of supervision reflects model of supervisor

• Very little research on what makes a good supervisor

Clinical Supervision

• Almost half psychologists spend some of their time in administration

Does this figure surprise you?

Are there ways that a clinical psychologist can apply clinical skills in administration?

Administration

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Your ideal career….

• Hospitals

• Community clinics

• Residential clinics

• Child protection agencies

• Prisons

• Family practice

• Private mental health practice

• Universities

Where do clinical psychologists work?

• May lead to greater prescribing as it is quicker in short-term

• Psychologists should focus only on psychological interventions

• Extend training or drop something else?

Con

• Brain-behaviour links

• Psychologists could be as competent as other health-care providers

• Offer comprehensive services

• Especially helpful in remote or underserved areas

Pro

Prescriptive authority

• Classes of drugs for different problems

• Efficacy of drugs and of drugs in combination with psychological treatment

• Side-effects

If psychologists do not prescribe medication, what should they know about it?

• Sets out principles that should guide all activities

• Requires psychologists to base their practice on scientific evidence

• Evidence may not address the specific issue you are working with

How can psychologists use science to tailor their work to meet the needs of an individual person, couple, or family?

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists

• Why is it important for clinical psychologists?– Not immune

– Exposed to suffering and stressors

– Ethical responsibility to ensure own issues do not interfere

– Credible model of coping

• How do they do it?– Balance

– Priorities

– Consultation

– Time management

Staying healthy

• Most popular area in psychology

• Highly competitive

• All accredited programs are required to present data on their applicants and students

Training in Clinical Psychology

Clinical Program Statistics

Scientist practitioner: PhD

• Most common• Balance of science and practice

Clinical scientist: PhD

• Strongest focus on the development of research skills

Practitioner scholar: Psy.D.

• Clinical psychologist as ‘research consumer’

• Practice based on scientific findings

• Require clinical skills

• Continuum—research producer to research consumer

• In Canada all accredited training programs are university-based

• In US PsyD is also offered in large free-standing professional schools

Models of training in clinical psychology

• Courses:– Statistics; research methods; core content areas of psychology: biological,

cognitive, social, individual differences

– Assessment, Intervention, Consultation, Program evaluation

– Diversity

• Practica– Graduated exposure to clinical skills in a variety of settings

• Research– MA + PhD or PsyD vs combined masters and doctorate

– Large single study, versus series of smaller studies

• Internship– 2000 hours fulltime in accredited setting

Clinical psychology training

• How do you want to spend your time as a professional?

• What proportion of your time do you want to spend in direct service provision?

• Are you interested in training, supervising and administration?

• How long do you want to spend in training?

• Where would you like to work on the continuum from research producer to research consumer?

Choosing a health profession

• Honours thesis: Your experience in conducting research

• Psychology credits: The background knowledge you have gained

• GPA: Your academic achievement and likelihood of getting a scholarship to fund your studies

Are you eligible for clinical psychology training?

• Finding out– Websites

– CPA lists

– professors

• Contacting potential supervisors– Email

– CV & transcript

– Questions: availability; areas of research; expectations of students

• Applying– CV, transcript

– Letters of support

Applying to grad programs in clinical psychology

• What areas interest you? Age? Population? Problem?

• Are there populations you do not want to work with

• What are your long-term goals?

• What type of supervisor would be the best match for you?

Potential supervisors

• Valuable learning for you

• Can be in community agency or research lab

• May help you identify what interests and does not interest you

• If in research lab may be helpful in getting letter of reference

Volunteer experience

• Equivalent to a three-credit course in time required

• Odds of acceptance are low even for excellent candidates

• Many successful candidates have applied several times

• Essential that you:– Have a ‘plan B’

– Do not take the rejection personally

Coping with the application

• What is it?

• Why is it important?

• How does it affect students?

Accreditation

• Of individuals– Degree

– Supervised practice

– Jurisprudence exam

– EPPP

• Continuing education

• Annual fee

Licensure

• Of programs and internships– Self-study

– Site visit

– Panel decision

• By national (CPA or APA), or provincial (OPQ) body

• Limited term

• Annual fee

Accreditation

Protecting students and protecting the public

• Biological (12%)

• Cognitive-affective (13%)

• Social-cultural (12%)

• Growth-life span (12%)

• Assessment & diagnosis (14%)

• Treatment, intervention, prevention & supervision (14%)

• Research methods & statistics (8%)

• Ethical/Professional/Legal (15%)

Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)

• Agreement between ten provincial licensing association, plus government of NWT

• Core competencies– Interpersonal relationships

– Assessment & Evaluation

– Consultation & intervention

– Research

– Ethics

– Supervision

Mutual Recognition Agreement 2000 & 2004

For next class….

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