Training of psychologists in occupational health work: Ten years of course development—experience and future perspectives

Abstract

Abstract This paper concerns the background and the experiences from an advanced course with a practical orientation, which has been offered for ten years to persons in Swedish occupational health services (OHS) who have specialized in the psychosocial domain. The main features of the course are described, e.g. target groups, aims, scope and assessment, forms of instruction, and content. The effectiveness of the course has been continuously tested and evaluated. On the basis of the evaluations, the paper ends with a discussion on the relationship between a course of this kind and the economic environment that may be revealed only during a time of relatively rapid change to a country's economic system. A conclusion is that the effectiveness of this form of training should be looked at carefully and reconsidered continuously, as the OHS psychologists are confronted with different psychosocial problems from time to time. The experiences gained from this course could be of value to similar attempts in other c...