Professional Psychology Education and Training (PPET) Working Group

© American Psychological Association 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Professional Psychology Education and Training (PPET) Working Group

Efforts related to imbalance have suggested a number of issues facing professional psychology education and training (PPET)

Imbalance might be a symptom of larger question that needs to be addressed

Many organizations have a “piece” but no one organization, or one community (COGDOP, APA or CCTC) “owns it” with respect to PPET

Complex issue, with no simple solution or clear direction or it would have been taken already


PPET Working Group - BackgroundCCTC approached BEA to request action be

takenBEA authorized convening of a group in

March 2010 Charge was to develop a plan – build a

vision and articulate how to get there


Who is involved?Individuals (11) were appointed by a group (BEA, CCTC,

COGDOP) based on their expertisewide range of expertise: undergraduate, master’s, doctoral,

internship, postdoctoral, CE/professional development, specialization, accreditation and credentialing – as well as program administration/management

Aim was to keep group size small/efficientOther voices need to be heardCommitted to transparency, want input


What did the group do?Face-to-face meeting December 2010Reviewed and critically evaluated data from CCTC created

2010 survey on issues in PPETReviewed key written materialsReviewed relevant data points available from the APA Center

for Workforce StudiesMet with Dr. Steve Breckler, who oversees the APA Center

for Workforce Studies about availability and limitations of relevant

data


What did the group do?Identified a broad range of issues (themes)

of concern, that were later narrowed down to major themes

Discussed mechanisms (conferences, white papers, blue ribbon panels, independent studies) to address


What did they agree on?Discussed the wide ranging use of the term “professional”

agreed scope of focus would be E&T to prepare psychologists competent to provide health care services (health service providers/psychologists – HSPs)

Does not mean there are not issues to be addressed in other areas of professional psychology – could be addressed later but issues in area of health are high profile

Core assumption is that scientific

training is core to E&T for practice


What did they agree on?The following are major themes in PPET:

Curriculum content and sequence Quality assurance Economics Context: societal needs, other professions,

intrapsychology issues Advocacy Postgraduate and lifelong learning Internship match


What did they agree on?To set aside discourse about training models as not likely

to be helpful, and could distract from important work on competency based approaches for practice as an HSP

Internship issue is an important one, CCTC/ BEA efforts laid out in the “grid” are important to support, group will request updates

Not to seek external review of professional education and training (e.g., a “Flexner-type report”), but external consultants may be useful in future activities


Next StepsSecond (last funded) meeting May 2011Need to

develop PLAN for how to address Identify mechanisms that may include others how much done by working group itself where do we want to be in 10 years what kind of continuous quality improvement mechanism does

the profession need

Consider issues of succession planning for work group members


Next StepsDisseminate information to training councils

at mid-winter meetingsEstablish mechanism for ongoing feedback

to working group through electronic means (email or web comment page)


The PPET Working Group is Seeking Your Feedback …..


What do you Think About?1. Re-examining the prerequisites for entry into a

doctoral program*

2. Advocating for change so that EPPP is offered during doctoral training

3. What data are needed to inform work

4. Endorsement of nominating group (BEA, CCTC, COGDOP) to continue to be a partner in the process

5. Name for the group to emphasize health service providing HSP training


*If the prerequisite competencies were agreed on and obtained by students prior to admission the doctoral curriculum could be modified and perhaps reduced in terms of its requirements

The intent is not to mandate an undergraduate curriculum or require students to be a psychology major, but an articulation of the necessary knowledge, skills and values for entry to HSP doctoral programs

Professional Psychology Education and Training (PPET) Working Group

Documents