Training in Clinical Psychology in the United States: Practitioner Model

Abstract

The practitioner model of training in clinical psychology prepares students to be professional psychologists who may work with individuals, couples, families, or groups in various settings including mental health centers, hospitals, and clinics. Almost since its inception there has been a concern in clinical psychology to ensure that the science of psychology and its practice are tightly linked. However, the balance of training in science versus practice has varied; practitioner model programs lean more heavily toward teaching application of knowledge than the generation of new research, whereas the scientist model programs include more background in scientific method and skills. In the 1990s there has been considerable growth in programs for educating psychologists primarily for professional practice. Among the skills that are the focus of such training are the assessment and management of individual behavior, interpersonal relationships, interactions in groups, and the regulation of psychobiological factors in human functioning. Many practitioners specialize in a particular area such as working with children, adolescents, the elderly, people with addiction problems, or developmental disorders. It is important that practitioners be knowledgeable about the research base for their work and be familiar with the empirical basis for their assessment and treatment methods.