Nine days before my first internship application was due, I learned that an ex-patient of mine, Theodore (name changed for confidentiality), died by suicide. I know receiving this kind of news can never come at a good time, but this was a particularly vulnerable time for me. I was feeling insecure, questioning myself, scared about […]
My name is Erin, and I am working towards my doctorate degree in counseling psychology. I was drawn to this field because of my interest in the complex identities that shape the human experience. Each identity we hold creates a unique perspective through which we view the world. In some aspects, our identities are easily […]
Psychology predoctoral interns face many challenges, as difficult roles and competing expectations may lead to burnout. Edelwich (1980) defined burnout as “a progressive loss of idealism, energy, and purpose by people in the helping professions as a result of the conditions of their work” (p. 14). Common factors contributing to burnout include difficult cases, feeling […]
In 2012, the American Psychological Association (APA) endorsed as policy, The Education and Training Guidelines: A Taxonomy for Education and Training in Professional Psychology Health Service Specialties, hereafter referred to as “the Taxonomy.” This Taxonomy was developed in response to confusing inconsistencies across education and training in professional psychology training programs that would describe offerings […]
There have been several articles published in English describing the development of clinical and counseling psychology in China (e.g., Chang, 2005; Hou, 2007; Qian & Chen, 1998; Qian, Smith, Chen, & Xia, 2001). The authors consistently argue that one of the greatest needs in further developing the discipline is increasing graduate education for practitioners. Although […]
In an era when many in our field are preoccupied with defining the nature of empirically supported psychotherapies (e.g., American Psychological Association, 2006) and empirically supported therapy relationships (e.g., Norcross, 2011), it was only a matter of time until those responsible for training therapists began to ask whether there are yet any empirically supported methods […]
The ethical issues involved in writing about clients are complex and were the topic of a recent special section of Psychotherapy, Division 29’s Journal (Samstag, 2012). The five papers in the series (Barnett, 2012; Blechner, 2012; Fischer, 2012; Sieck, 2012; and Woodhouse, 2012) identified a number of implications of a) obtaining consent from a client […]
Despite ongoing efforts to conceptualize and envision possible solutions to resolve the internship imbalance, the problem has continued to escalate (e.g., Baker, McCutcheon, & Keilin, 2007; Grus, McCutcheon, & Berry, 2011; Keilin, Baker, McCutcheon, & Peranson, 2007; McCutcheon, 2011; Rodolfa, Bell, Bieschke, Davis, & Peterson, 2007). The number of students entering the Association of Psychology […]
Internship match is a topic of pressing national interest to the training community (Keilin, Baker, McCutcheon, & Peranson, 2007). As such, over the last 18 months the Division’s Training and Education Committee developed a series of six articles on this topic. The first article examined how internship is a scare resource that can create a […]