Approaching Spirituality/Religiosity in Clinical Psychology

CPA Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology as a Profession (2000) - Prix de la SCP pour contribution remarquable iL la psychologie en tant que profession (2000) Abstract Whether clinical psychology continues to comprehensively serve the public and to benefit from enhanced future professional opportunities depends significantly on its ability to extend the professional identity and mainstream activities of clinical psychologists beyond the current nearly exclusive focus on mental health. Clinical psychology needs to embrace all areas of health with the same vigor and skill that has been applied to mental health. Tiis enhancement in professional role requires, in my opinion, significant change in the educational approach of many Canadian clinical psychology doctoral training programs. Such suggested change will undoubtedly provoke much resistance. Considerable leadership will be required of our professional associations and accreditation bodies to encourage mid guide the broadening of clinical psychology's educational and training programs. Suggestions for educational reform are presented here to stimulate discussion rather than to provide a blueprint for the re-conceptualization of clinical training. I believe that the single most important challenge facing clinical psychology today relates to its ability to significantly diversify its clinical and academic focus in order to incorporate a broader vision of health, which both includes but also extends beyond mental health. As the major clinical practice component of psychology related to health, clinical psychology must adopt a broad perspective which encompasses the whole area of health. While a certain degree of specialization in mental health issues is indeed desirable, this orientation should not continue to so dominate the clinical and academic activities of clinical psychology as is the case today. Academic psychology departments have done an excellent job in teaching sophisticated research skills to clinical psychology students and in inculcating a strong appreciation for the scientific method in approaching problems. They have also done a reasonably good job of imparting clinical skills in the area of mental health. They have, however, fallen far short in providing education and training in the vast majority of general health areas outside of mental health. Internship training, although still heavily focused on mental health, generally has provided a significantly broader training experience in general health areas. The career modifying impact of predoctoral internship training, however, has generally been significantly limited by its relatively brief duration and by the fact that it typically occurs late in the education and training process, well after the student's core professional identity has already been substantially formed. Clinical psychology appears to be one of the few health professional groups (aside from the medical specialty of psychiatry) which has maintained such a pronounced unidimensional focus on mental health. The professions of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, occupational therapy, etc. have all, in general, followed a much broader and more diversified approach to health. While their professional and academic activities have included mental health, they have not been limited in a major way to this area. I would also suggest that partly as a result of their greater diversification, these fields have all grown in size and impact in the Canadian health care system much more over the last 25 years than has clinical psychology. I do not believe that these fields all have an inherently greater contribution to make to health than does clinical psychology. In my view, clinical psychology's long-standing lack of action in diversifying the education, training, and practice domains of the field has been the major contributing factor to its relatively limited impact so far. This situation has not only hurt the profession but it has also not served the public interest very well. …

Individuals trained in counselling psychology and clinical psychology dominate the landscape of applied, professional Canadian psychology, yet there is little consistency in understanding the similarities and differences between these two specializations. Although much research has been conducted on this topic in the United States, not all of these results generalize to Canada due to distinct characteristics in the development of the specializations within each country. The current study used a 32-page coding instrument that addressed over 300 variables to compare all CPA and/or ???-accredited PhD programs in counselling psychology (n = 4) and clinical psychology (n = 22) at the time of data collection, primarily using publically available information (e.g., Web sites, program handbooks, student manuals). Data analysis centred on parameter and inferential tests of difference and their magnitudes of effect. Results showed a large number of similarities but also many differences between the two specializations in Canada. Students seeking guidance on which of the two specializations better fits their academic/ professional goals can use this information to assist with career decision-making. Keywords: counselling psychology, clinical psychology Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) sections that include members heavily invested in direct service delivery to the public are amongst the largest sections: Clinical Psychology (n = 977), Criminal Justice (n = 401), Counselling Psychology (n = 358), Psychologists in Education (n = 323), and IndustrialOrganisational Psychology (n = 295; CPA, 2010). Upon making the reasonable assumption that a notable proportion of individuals who belong to the Criminal Justice Section are trained in either clinical or counselling psychology, it seems that those trained in counselling and clinical psychology dominate the landscape of Canadian applied professional psychology. Historically, applied professional psychology training in Canada did not emphasise professional specializations; instead, training was broad and generalist - typically including clinical, counselling, industrialorganizational, and school components (Conway, 1984). Today, however, applied professional psychology has branched into a number of distinct fields, although the ways in which clinical psychology and counselling psychology are similar and are different have not been consensually established. There seems be more widespread awareness about the characteristics of clinical psychology compared to counselling psychology, perhaps partly owing to the fact that the CPA endorsed an official definition of clinical psychology in 1993 (Vallis & Howes, 1996) but not of counselling psychology until 2010 (Bedi et al., 2011). This is despite the fact that the CPA section on clinical psychology was established in 1991 (J. Conway, CPA Archivist and Historian, personal communication, May 14, 201 1), five years after the formation of the counselling psychology section. Another reason the characteristics of clinical psychology are more widely recognized might be because literature on the history of psychology in Canada has, for obvious reasons, focused on general departments of psychology. The development of certain branches of psychology (e.g., counselling psychology, educational psychology, school psychology) that are typically located in different university faculties (and in specialized psychology or even nonpsychology departments) is less documented in academic Canadian psychology literature. As a result, there seems to be ample misunderstanding amongst the general public, students seeking graduate study, academics, and even psychology professionals in regards to the similarities and differences between counselling psychology and clinical psychology. Although researchers in the United States have paid considerable research attention to this issue (e.g., Brems & Johnson, 1997; Fitzgerald & Osipow, 1986; Neimeyer, Rice, & Keilin, 2009; Norcross, Sayette, Mayne, Karg, & Turkson, 1998), scholars in Canada have not, and there remains little published literature (and no comprehensive, empirical research) on the similarities and differences between these specialties in Canada (although please see Arthur, 1971). …

Clinical psychology is the area with the greatest number of practitioners, both in the United States and in Western Europe, as well as in Latin America. In more recent decades, health psychology has also become very important. This chapter presents a detailed view of this psychology field. During the first half of the twentieth century, the study of clinical phenomena focused on the mental ability diagnosis field and on the evaluation of individual differences. There was a great emphasis on the development of psychological tests and their application to specific contexts. Later, during the 1970s and 1980s, clinical psychology in Latin America developed other fields besides diagnosis, such as psychotherapy, research on abnormal behavior, and the promotion of mental health. The methodological controversies among various paradigms such as psychoanalysis, experimental analysis of behavior, humanistic psychology, systemic psychology, and Gestalt were very intense. Today there is in general a scientific and professional emphasis in clinical and health psychology in Latin America. On the other hand, there are centers dedicated to a specific approach to clinical and health issues, and there are notable differences among some countries.

- Clinical health psychology is a specialty widely recognized because of its evidence based practice, its contribution to an integrated health care system, and the costeffectiveness of its services. The specialty of clinical health psychology applies scientific bio-psycho-social knowledge to the promotion and maintenance of health, to the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of illness and disability, and to promotion of the health care system. The distinct focus of clinical health psychology is on physical health problems, as delineated by ICD-10. In this article the authors review its definition, provide a brief overview of practice in the specialty, address the training in clinical health psychology. The greater degree of focused science and practice in a specialty is the consequence of advances of the discipline and profession of psychology. In every case, the future holds a variety of important challenges and opportunity in research, practice, training and policy. Key words: clinical health psychology, bio-psycho-social model, clinical psychology, health psychology, education and training, specialization.

Psychology classes were first taught at Rajshahi University in 1956. In 1965, the University of Dhaka established the Department of Psychology. The Department of Psychology at Jagannath University offered an MSc programme in Psychology within the Faculty of Science in 1986. Chittagong University’s Department of Psychology was founded in 2005 as part of the Biological Sciences Faculty. During the 1993–94 academic years, the University of Dhaka began a postgraduate professional training program in conjunction with the University of London as part of the link initiative. In 1995, the MS in Clinical Psychology program began. Since 1997, Dhaka University has had a separate Department of Clinical Psychology within the Faculty of Biological Sciences, which offers clinical psychology masters and training program as well as produces professional clinical psychologists. In 2012, the Department of Psychology at Jagannath University introduced one-year master’s degrees in psychology in three areas: clinical and counseling psychology; industrial and organizational psychology; and educational and developmental psychology. In 2015, Rajshahi University created a new Clinical Psychology Department inside the Faculty of Life and Earth Science. The Department of Clinical Psychology provides a fouryear BSc Honors degree in Clinical Psychology and a one-year Master’s program in Clinical Psychology. The availability of applied psychologist placement chances in Bangladesh is still limited, indicating that there is a great need for and numerous opportunities to work as a professional psychologist in various fields in Bangladesh.

It has been evidenced that work stress and professional identity are associated with work performance, mental health and intentions of turnover and profession change. However, there has been a dearth of research on work stress and professional identity among clinical psychologists in Taiwan. The purposes of this study were to investigate work stress and professional identity among clinical psychologist and to explore their effects on mental health, intentions of turnover and profession change. A cross-sectional research method was employed. An E-questionnaire was used to collect data. The email for participant recruiting was sent to all clinical psychologists by local clinical psychologist associations. The related message was posted on the website of Association of Taiwan Clinical Psychologist (ATCP) as well. A total of 139 questionnaires were successfully collected, deriving a response rate of 20.5%. Data were analyzed by the SPSS for Window 12.0 system. The results showed the average of clinical psychologists’ work stress was at a moderate level. The main stressors were “workload”, “lack of resources” and “organizational structure and processes”. Clinical psychologists who were with less working years and full-time workers reported more stress than those with higher working years and part-time workers. Institutional type showed differences on work stressors. Clinical psychologists working in “psychiatric hospital” reported higher stress on “relationships and conflicts with other professionals” than those who work in “other institutions”. Those who worked in “general hospital” perceived more stress on “lack of resources” and “professional self-doubt”. The average of clinical psychologists’ professional identity was above moderate level. Work-related variables (e.g. working year, institutional type, employed type) did not have any significant effect on the level of professional identity. The results showed that work stress and professional identity had significant relations with mental health. Those indicated higher work stress and lower level of professional identity reported poorer mental health. Both work stress and professional identity had significant effects on intention of turnover, but only professional identity had a significant effect on intention of profession change. Work stress and professional identity are not only associated with clinical psychologists’ mental health, but also linked with their intention of turnover. Administrators should pay attention on the workload of clinical psychologists to maintain clinical psychologists’ mental health and stabilize clinical psychologists’ workforces. Professional identity is an important factor associated with clinical psychologists’ intention of profession change; further studies are recommended to clarify the forming process and the related factors of professional identity in clinical psychologist.

SUE C. JACOBS, Associate Professor, Training Director, and Ledbetter Lemon Endowed Diversity Professor in Counseling Psychology at Oklahoma State University earned her PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1989. Her interests include issues in ethics, education and training, difficult dialogues, the teaching of psychology, older adults, health, diversity, social justice, disaster response, mindfulness and anger. STEVEN K. HUPRICH earned his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina–Greensboro in 1999. He is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Eastern Michigan University, having research interests in personality disorders and personality assessment. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Personality Disorders. CATHERINE L. GRUS is the Deputy Executive Director, Education at the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Grus received her PhD in clinical psychology from Nova University. At APA, Dr Grus works to advance policies and practices that promote quality education and training in psychology. EVELYN A. CAGE is a Doctoral Candidate in Counseling Psychology at Auburn University. After graduating with a BA in Psychology from Emory University in 2006, Evelyn pursued graduate training and has plans to receive her degree in 2013. Her research interests include training and development, multicultural counseling, and disordered eating in AfricanAmerican women. NANCY S. ELMAN received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh where she also served for nearly 20 years as training coordinator for the doctoral program in Counseling Psychology. She has served as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance (Board of Professional Affairs) and the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. Her research focuses on psychologists and trainees with professional competence problems. LINDA FORREST, Professor and Associate Director for Faculty Outreach at the University of Oregon Center on Diversity and Community, received her PhD from the University of Washington in Educational Psychology. Her research interests focus on problems of professional competence, and other professional education and training issues (competency, ethics, international). REBECCA SCHWARTZ-METTE (MA Clinical Psychology) is a doctoral candidate in Clinical and Developmental psychology at the University of Missouri. Her research interests focus on the interpersonal context of adolescent internalizing symptoms and on ethical and training issues in psychology. DAVID S. SHEN-MILLER is an assistant professor of counseling psychology at Tennessee State University. He received his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Oregon in 2008. His research interests include professional competence issues in training, the psychology of men and masculinity, ecological approaches to supervision and training, and qualitative research methods. KRISTI S. VAN SICKLE received her PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Florida Institute of Technology in 2006, and is currently an Assistant Professor in Florida Institute of Technology’s School of Psychology. Her primary research interests include professional competence, community health, and integrated primary care.; NADINE J. KASLOW, Professor, Vice Chair, and Chief Psychologist (Grady) at Emory School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Houston. Her research is on suicide and mood disorders; family violence; couples and family psychology; and competency-based psychology education, training, and credentialing. AS AUTHORS OF THIS ARTICLE, we are all members of the Trainees With Competence Problems Workgroup under the auspices of the American Psychological Association’s Education Directorate. Except for first, second, third, and last author, authorship order is alphabetical. CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed to Sue C. Jacobs, PhD, Oklahoma State University, School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology, 425 Willard, Stillwater, OK 74078-4024. E-mail: sue.c.jacobs@okstate.edu Training and Education in Professional Psychology © 2011 American Psychological Association 2011, Vol. 5, No. 3, 175–184 1931-3918/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0024656

Clinical psychology has undergone rapid evolution during its relatively brief history. Since World War II, clinical psychology has greatly expanded in several major dimensions, including academia, science, research, professional issues, and concerns for the public interest (Barron, 1986). New psychology doctorates in the health-service-provider subfields of clinical, counseling, and school psychology constitute the majority (53.2%) of new psychology doctorates (Howard et al., 1986). Clinical psychology accounts for 40% of all psychology doctorates awarded annually (Strickland, 1985), and the Division of Clinical Psychology has become the largest division within the American Psychological Association (APA, 1989).

Specialty designation in psychology: Developing a Canadian model.

This article promotes the development of clinical consumer psychology; the study of how dysfunctional and maladaptive cognitive and behavioral processes interact with individuals’ consumer experience and behaviors. The article is organized around three primary discussion points: (a) A definition of clinical consumer psychology, supported by illustrative examples of recent research. (b) The delineation of 10 broad priorities for future work that can be used to generate specific research possibilities. (c) How the field will benefit if researchers work within the clinical consumer psychology paradigm, and the bi-directional relationship whereby research in this vein would benefit both fields in which judgment and decision processes are focal (e.g., consumer psychology, marketing, and social cognition) as well as clinical psychology.

The emergence of health psychology offers great opportunities for collaboration between social and clinical psychology. The nature of health and disease requires a multidisciplinary perspective that spans many specialties in psychology as well as other disciplines. This paper develops a general schema that makes clear that sociological, psychological, and life style concepts must be linked in understanding both healthy behavior and illness behavior. Within this general framework, a niche for a clinical social psychology is defined that includes implications for both research and professional practice. Primary prevention is suggested as one important role. Other examples include the doctor-patient relationship, training of physicians, and research in the larger health care system. Service delivery in such areas as obesity and addictions is noted. Social and clinical psychology must collaborate as equal partners in order for the two disciplines to have important roles in the development of health psychology.

BackgroundClinical and health psychologists are often exposed to occupational hazards, such as burnout and compassion fatigue, which originate from emotional demands at work. Mindful Self‐Compassion (MSC) training has been demonstrated to be useful in increasing well‐being and enhancing mental health. Although the use of the MSC programme in educational contexts has been suggested, an evaluation of its efficacy as a method to improve the competencies of trainees in clinical psychology has yet to be performed.MethodsOur study used a sample of 61 adults (88.5% women) attending postgraduate courses in clinical and health psychology who participated in an 8‐week MSC programme. Their levels of self‐compassion, mindfulness, well‐being, anxiety and depression symptoms were assessed before and after the intervention. Based on the participants' adherence to the MSC programme, two groups were created, that is, high (n = 30) versus low (n = 31) adherence.ResultsThe participants in the high‐adherence group benefitted from the MSC programme because they increased their self‐compassion, mindfulness and psychological well‐being scores. The extent to which the participants reported to have been committed to the MSC practice was associated with changes in self‐compassion, mindfulness and psychological well‐being. Furthermore, the changes in self‐compassion were significantly correlated with changes in mindfulness and psychological well‐being.ConclusionThe MSC programme offers a promising way to develop professional competencies and enhance the well‐being of trainees in clinical psychology.

Distressing and intrusive reexperiencing of the trauma is a hallmark symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). However, unwanted memories of trauma are not a sign of pathology per se. In the initial weeks after a traumatic experience, intrusive memories are common. For most trauma survivors, intrusions become less frequent and distressing over time. A central question for understanding and treating patients with PTSD is therefore what maintains distressing intrusive reexperiencing in these people. Three factors appear to be important: (1) memory processes responsible for the easy triggering of intrusive memories, (2) the individuals’ interpretations of their trauma memories, and (3) their cognitive and behavioral responses to trauma memories.

Evolving Perspectives on the History of Psychology

Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by difficulties in social communication and interaction, repetitive patterns of behaviour and focused interests and activities. Medical social workers and Clinical psychologists play vital roles in identifying and supporting autistic children with their families. They may help with therapy, rehabilitation, crisis interventions and outreach services. Adequate knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) among Medical social workers and Clinical psychologists may enhance early recognition, diagnosis, appropriate referral and interventions that are known to improve prognosis in autistic children. This study determined Medical social workers’ and Clinical psychologists’ understanding of ASD. Materials and methods: Socio-demographic and Knowledge About Childhood Autism among Health Workers (KCAHW) questionnaires were administered to consenting 63 Medical social workers and 35 Clinical psychologists. Results: Sixty-three Medical Social workers and 35 Clinical psychologists participated in the study. The mean age of Medical social workers was 42.1 ± 8.6 years and 41.0 ± 8.9 years for Clinical psychologists (P = 0.525). Clinical psychologists who were males were 42.9% and 41.3% were male Medical social workers (P = 0.879). Medical social workers who have ever managed a child with autism in the course of their career were 42.9% while Clinical psychologists were 40.0% (P = 0.784). The mean knowledge score for variables in domain 1 for Clinical psychologists was 6.34 ± 1.78 while Medical social workers scored 5.40 ± 2.30 (P = 0.038). The score in domain 2 for Clinical psychologists was 0.91 ± 0.28 while Medical social workers scored 0.71 ± 0.46 (P = 0.009). The mean total score for Clinical psychologists was13.00 ± 2.86 whereas Medical social workers scored 11.51 ± 3.43 (P = 0.031). Conclusion: Clinical psychologists significantly scored higher than Medical social workers in knowledge mean scores in domains 1 and 2 and total mean scores. The scores of Clinical Psychologists though higher than scores by Medical social workers are still considered inadequate. It is recommended that the training curriculum of Medical social workers and Clinical psychologists should involve more tutorials, teachings and clinical rotations that would expose them to different aspects of ASD.