Psychology and generalist training concepts

Abstract

Generalist training represents a consensus in Psychology graduation debates, however, the term reveals different meanings according to the period of the history of Psychology and the curricular reforms. Thus, the present study investigates different conceptions regarding generalist training in three higher education Psychology courses in the city of Natal-RN. The Pedagogical Projects of three courses were evaluated and interviews were conducted with the coordinators and a professor, in each course, who participated in the implementation of each Pedagogical Project. As result, three main conceptions of generalism present in all courses were systematized: a) to involve the theoretical and methodological diversity and also the professional fields of psychology, in an integrated way, by training for research and the interdisciplinary debate for the understanding of reality; b) Another conception also related to this is the preparation for general activities that lead to broad competencies, which are applied to the different areas and offer the future psychologists the best adaptation to the professional market opportunities; c) Another conception evaluated was the one on which the generalist training must avoid an early formation in a specific field of Psychology. In spite of such conceptions, the courses face low investment in research, superficiality in the philosophical and epistemological teaching and predominance of clinical Psychology. Thus, the current formation, still centralized in the preparation for the market, intercepts the generalist training and the diversification of the curriculum.