INTRODUCTION TO CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY,
THIRD CANADIAN EDITION
by John Hunsley and Catherine M. Lee
Chapter 2
Overview
• 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..
Activities of clinical psychologists
• Assessment
• Intervention
• Research
• Clinical supervision
• Administration
Assessment
• 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?
Intervention
• 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?
Research
• 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?
Clinical Supervision
• Almost half engage in supervision
• Model of supervision reflects model of supervisor
• Very little research on what makes a good supervisor
Administration
• 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?
Your ideal career….
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Where do clinical psychologists work?
• Hospitals
• Community clinics
• Residential clinics
• Child protection agencies
• Prisons
• Family practice
• Private mental health practice
• Universities
Prescriptive authority
Pro
Con
• Brain-behaviour links
• May lead to greater prescribing
as it is quicker in short-term
• Psychologists could be as
competent as other health-care
providers
• Offer comprehensive services
• Especially helpful in remote or
underserved areas
• Psychologists should focus only on
psychological interventions
• Extend training or drop something
else?
If psychologists do not prescribe medication,
what should they know about it?
• Classes of drugs for different problems
• Efficacy of drugs and of drugs in combination with psychological
treatment
• Side-effects
Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists
• 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?
Staying healthy
• 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
Training in Clinical Psychology
• Most popular area in psychology
• Highly competitive
• All accredited programs are required to present data on their applicants
and students
Clinical Program Statistics
Models of training in clinical psychology
• Practice based on scientific
findings
Scientist practitioner: PhD
• Require clinical skills
• Most common
• Balance of science and practice
• Continuum—research producer
to research consumer
Clinical scientist: PhD
• In Canada all accredited training
programs are university-based
• Strongest focus on the
development of research skills
• In US PsyD is also offered in large
free-standing professional schools
Practitioner scholar: Psy.D.
• Clinical psychologist as ‘research
consumer’
Clinical psychology training
• 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
Choosing a health profession
• 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?
Are you eligible for clinical psychology training?
• 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
Applying to grad programs in clinical
psychology
• 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
Potential supervisors
• 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?
Volunteer experience
• 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
Coping with the application
• 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
Accreditation
• What is it?
• Why is it important?
• How does it affect students?
Protecting students and protecting the public
Accreditation
Licensure
• Of programs and internships
• Of individuals
– Self-study
– Degree
– Site visit
– Supervised practice
– Panel decision
– Jurisprudence exam
– EPPP
• By national (CPA or APA), or
provincial (OPQ) body
• Continuing education
• Limited term
• Annual fee
• Annual fee
Examination for Professional Practice in
Psychology (EPPP)
• 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%)
Mutual Recognition Agreement 2000 & 2004
• Agreement between ten provincial licensing association, plus
government of NWT
• Core competencies
– Interpersonal relationships
– Assessment & Evaluation
– Consultation & intervention
– Research
– Ethics
– Supervision
For next class….
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