Competency-Based Education for Professional Psychology

Over half of the clinical psychologists graduating each year come from professionally oriented doctoral programs in psychology. Therefore, the impact of the type of training those students receive is tremendous. Competency-Based Education for Professional Psychology presents the most up-to-date, research-based model for education in professional psychology.

Based on more than 30 years of research and development by the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP), the model contains five components:

• psychological science and education

• integrative pedagogy

• core curriculum and the professional core competency areas

• elements of practice

• social responsibility, diversity, and gender

Of these components, the third one—core competencies—constitutes the primary focus of the book.

The volume is divided into four parts.

• Part I presents an overview of the training model and discusses the theories and research that form the basis of the model.

• Part II describes the seven core competencies needed by professional psychologists: relationship, assessment, intervention, research and evaluation, consultation and education, management and supervision, and diversity. Chapters in this section discuss the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that characterize each competency and provide examples of proven curricula and teaching methods.

• Part III addresses the characteristics and key roles of faculty and administrators.

• Part IV describes future challenges in professional psychology education.

By providing methods for implementing the model in different educational and training settings, this book will serve as a key resource for everyone involved in the education, training, and regulation of professional psychologists.

Contributors

Introduction

I. Overview

1. The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology: Educational Model 2009
   —Roger L. Peterson, Donald R. Peterson, Jules C. Abrams, George Stricker, and Kelly Ducheny
2. Applying the Competency Model to Professional Psychology Education, Training, and Assessment: Mission Bay and Beyond
   —Kathi A. Borden and E. John McIlvried
3. Threats to Quality in Professional Education and Training: The Politics of Models, Obfuscation of the Clinical, and Corporatization
   —Roger L. Peterson

II. The Competencies

4. The Relationship Competency: Broadening and Deepening
   —Lorraine Mangione and Lavita Nadkarni
5. The Assessment Competency
   —Radhika Krishnamurthy and Jed A. Yalof
6. The Intervention Competency
   —Jeffrey L. Binder and Fredrick S. Wechsler
7. The Research and Evaluation Competency: The Local Clinical Scientist—Review, Current Status, Future Directions
   —Steven J. Trierweiler, George Stricker, and Roger L. Peterson
8. The Consultation and Education Competency
   —Mark Stanton
9. The Management and Supervision Competency: Current and Future Directions
   —Kathleen A. Malloy, James E. Dobbins, Kelly Ducheny and LaPearl Logan Winfrey
10. Diversity Competence in Training and Clinical Practice
    —Gargi Roysircar, James E. Dobbins, and Kathleen A. Malloy

III. Key Training Elements

11. Creating a Culture of Advocacy
    —Jeffrey M. Lating, Jeffrey E. Barnett, and Michael Horowitz
12. Clinical Training in Professional Psychology Programs
    —Kelly Ducheny
13. Psychological Service Centers: Training Integration and Community Service
    —Robert A. King II, Stephanie C. Wood, Marcie Kirkup, Christine N. Runyan, and Mark E. Skrade
14. Mentoring in Professional Psychology
    —Clark D. Campbell and Tamara L. Anderson
15. Faculty and Administrators in Professional Psychology Programs: Characteristics, Roles, and Challenges
    —Mary Beth Kenkel and Raymond E. Crossman

IV. Conclusion

16. The Future of the Professional Psychology Educational Model
    —Mary Beth Kenkel

Index

About the Editors

Mary Beth Kenkel, PhD, has been involved with the education and training of professional psychologists for the past 30 years, first at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) where she started as faculty and then held many senior administrative positions, including chancellor of the Fresno campus, and then, since 2001, as dean of the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Kenkel received a PhD in clinical psychology from Miami University (Ohio) after completing a clinical–community psychology internship at the Community Mental Health Center of Rutgers Medical School. Dr. Kenkel is a licensed psychologist and a Distinguished Practitioner and Member of the National Academies of Practice.

Much of her research and writing has focused on finding effective ways of bringing mental health services to underserved populations, including rural areas, through innovative programs and community participation. She is a leader in the professional training area, having served as president of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (1995–1996) and chairperson of two national NCSPP conferences (1995, 2003).

As editor (2000–2006) of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, she concentrated on publishing articles that presented current research findings or clinical knowledge and drew out the implications of that work to inform practicing psychologists, helping to close the gap between research and practice.

Dr. Kenkel is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA; Divisions 12, 27, 42) and has served on numerous committees within APA. She has been most involved in determining the societal and broader human resources issues affecting psychology and therefore has served on the APA Committee on Employment and Human Resources, the Committee on Rural Health, the Task Force on the Changing Gender Composition in Psychology, and the Task Force on Training Issues in the Emerging Marketplace, and she cochaired the Task Force on Women in Society and Technology. She was the recipient of the APA Presidential Citation in 2000 for her work and commitment to the education of current and future leaders in professional psychology.

Roger L. Peterson, PhD, is professor and chair of the Department of Clinical Psychology, Antioch University New England. He received a BA from Harvard University in 1966 and a PhD from Purdue University in 1971, after an internship at Duke University Medical Center. He is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology (1999).

Dr. Peterson is a past president of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (1994–1995) and past co-chair of two national NCSPP conferences (1990, 1994). He has been a member of the Committee on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (1999–2004) and is now a member of the Commission on Accreditation (2008–2009).

He was editor of The Core Curriculum in Professional Psychology and senior author of "The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology Educational Model" (1997) and is an associate editor of Training and Education in Professional Psychology.

In 2008, Dr. Peterson received the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology Distinguished Professional Psychologist Award for Exemplary Contributions to Professional Psychology Education. He is licensed in New Hampshire.