Monitor on Psychology - December 2011 - (Page 47)

education speakIng oF Reflecting on a vision By Dr. CyNThIa BElar • aPa ExECuTIVE DIrECTOr FOr EDuCaTION Having passed my 10th anniversary at APA, I have been reflecting on the vision for my own work and how it has evolved over the past 35 years. I began my career as a clinical psychologist working in what we then called medical psychology, having previously benefited from years working as a medical secretary. I was convinced that psychological research and practice had more to contribute to health care, so I spent years developing clinical health psychology programs at doctoral, internship and postdoctoral levels in a university academic health center. As chief psychologist at the Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, I learned about health-care delivery systems and the promise of integrated care. Those experiences convinced me the biopsychosocial model was as relevant to the preparation of traditional mental health providers as it was to health psychologists. So what is my current vision? I see psychology as a hub science for the pursuit of knowledge across scientific disciplines. Psychology practitioners apply knowledge from psychological science to address societal needs in a wide variety of arenas, such as education, industry and the environment. Health is also an important area of psychological research and practice. Health-service psychologists are trained in doctoral programs that are accredited by the profession and have clearly defined learning outcomes. Psychologists’ distinctive contributions to health care are recognized and respected by other health professions, policymakers and the public. They have parity with other doctoral health professions. Regulators of practice have confidence in the profession to be self-regulating through rigorous quality-assurance mechanisms: The government provides support for training as a public good. Also in my vision, psychology graduates who provide healthcare services have demonstrated competence in evidencebased practice. Their services are patient centered, culturally sensitive, effective and informed by population-based data. They are skilled in collaboration with other health professionals and are committed to lifelong learning. They are grounded in psychological science and able to integrate knowledge from areas such as biology, genetics and sociology as needed. They stay current with psychological research, and are also able to conduct it, especially practice-based outcomes research DeceMber 2011 • Monitor on psychology and program evaluation. They are informed about health research and the context of health delivery services. They are especially skilled in measurement, and demonstrate capacity for leadership within health-care systems and on health-care teams. I also have a specific vision for psychologists’ education and training. It should provide a seamless transition from undergraduate through postdoctoral, and offer a wealth of opportunities for professional development. With sufficient funding, graduate students could engage in full-time intensive study and be ready to enter practice within five years. Students would have to complete prerequisites and meet high standards to be accepted into graduate programs since not everyone who wants a psychology degree can benefit from doctoral study. Those who meet the standards could begin their work at an advanced level. I also envision that psychology will have put aside its conflicts over professional education and training models to focus on specifying competencies to be achieved, applying our own science in the teaching and learning process and promoting excellence, rather than defining minimum standards. Psychology will coalesce around defining core competencies for those prepared to provide health-care services, and there will be a seamless transition from education and training through licensure and credentialing. Psychology’s workforce analysis capacity will also inform us about supply and demand in various areas of practice, and will anticipate societal needs. Graduate education would remain market sensitive, but not market driven, as the integration of science and practice in academia creates new markets for practice. Of course, there is more work to do for my vision to come true, yet I know others who share parts of it. A working group of members from APA, the Council of Chairs of Graduate Departments of Psychology and the Council of Chairs of Training Councils is developing a blueprint for our future. I look forward to their report in 2012. n 47

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - December 2011

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Willpower Pioneer Wins $100,000 Grawemeyer Prize
Single-Sex Schooling Called Into Question by Prominent Researchers
Maternal Depression Stunts Childhood Growth, Research Suggests
For Boys, Sharing May Seem Like a Waste of Time
Good News for Postdoc Applicants
In Brief
Treatment Guideline Development Now Under Way
Government Relations Update
Psychologist Named Va Mental Health Chief
The Limits of Eyewitness Testimony
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Deconstructing Suicide
Questionnaire
A Focus on Interdisciplinarity
A Time of ‘Enormous Change’
The Science Behind Team Science
Good Science Requires Good Conflict
A New Paradigm of Care
Speaking of Education
Science Directions
New Labels, New Attitudes?
Psychologist Profile
Early Career Psychology
Unintended Consequences
Better Options for Troubled Teens
Saving Lives, One Organ at a Time
New Journal Editors
APA News
Division Spotlight
Guidelines for the Conduct of President-Elect Nominations and Elections
American Psychological Foundation
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011

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