NCSPP "Model" and Standards for Education
in Professional Psychology
Roger L. Peterson, Ph. D., Antioch New England Graduate School
Over the past 15 years, the National Council
of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) has devoted itself
to the systematic, intentional, and reflective examination of standards for
the education and training of professional psychologists, via a series of
conferences. The conference on "Standards for Education in Professional Psychology
1: Reflection and Integration" (Cancun, Mexico, January 1994) integrated
this work and brought together the common elements of the NCSPP vision and
model. 
This summary is a condensed version of a longer
paper by myself, D. R. Peterson, and J. C. Abrams that both distills and
includes the integrated resolutions and will be a chapter of a book being
prepared. I am hopeful that the work of NCSPP, presented in this very abbreviated
form, not be seen as oversimplified or off the mark either by those who were
part of the careful and systematic intellectual work or by others who have
had no contact with the rest of the material.
As a scholarly note, the majority of the quotations
refer to the as yet unpublished Standards. Because of space limitations,
many of the explicit references have been eliminated with the exception of
the NCSPP books, conference summary papers, and quoted materials.
The Conferences of NCSPP
Here are the NCSPP conferences from which
the Standards are drawn, along with the volumes that arose from each of them:
- "Quality in Professional Psychology Training," First La Jolla, 1981 (Callan,
1994): Quality in Professional Psychology Training: A National Conference
and Self-Study (Callan et al., 1986) Click
here for more information about this book.
- "Standards and Evaluation in the Education and Training of Professional
Psychologists," Mission Bay Conference, 1986 (Bourg et al., 1989): Standards
and Evaluation in the Education and Training of Professional Psychologists:
Knowledge. Attitudes, and Skills (Bourg et al., 1987)
- "Ethnic Diversification in Psychology Education and Training," Puerto
Rico Conference, (Davis-Russell, 1994): Toward Ethnic Diversification in
Psychology Education and Training (Stricker et al., 1990). Click
here for more information about this book.
- "The Core Curriculum in Professional Psychology," San Antonio, 1990 (R.
L. Peterson et al., 1994): The Core Curriculum in Professional Psychology
(R. L. Peterson et al., 1992). Click
here for more information about this book.
- "Women's Issues in Professional Psychology," Tucson Conference, 1991
(Magidson et al., 1994).
- "Evaluation in Professional Psychology," Bahamas Conference, 1992 (Grip,
1994).
- "Clinical Training in Professional Psychology," Second La Jolla Conference,
1993 (Forbes et al., 1994).
NCSPP's Vision of Professional Psychology Education
Purpose and Values of Educational for Professional Psychology
"The primary purpose of education for professional
psychology is preparation for the delivery of human services in a manner that
is effective and responsive to individual and societal needs, which recognizes
and values human diversity" (Standards, in press). This NCSPP statement is an
unambiguous and unambivalent endorsement of education for practice.
Professional Core Competency Areas
NCSPP has identified six core professional
competency areas: relationship, assessment, intervention, research and
evaluation, consultation and education, and management and supervision (Bourg
et al., 1987; Bourg et al., 1989; R. L. Peterson et al., 1992; R. L. Peterson
et al., 1994). Historically, the core curriculum reflected
the discipline and the traditional areas of university psychological science;
that content also appears in programs based on this professional model. This
professional core was derived from and organized around an analysis of the social
circumstances, and the needs and demands of psychological practice - what professional
psychologists actually do.
Diversity and Gender
Concerns of diversity including gender, physical
status, spirituality/religion, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, ability/disability, and age are fundamental elements of human experience
and should be integrated throughout the education and training of professional
psychologists, the science itself, and the organizations in which the education
and training occurs. The issues relevant to ethnic and racial diversity (Stricker
et al., 1990; Davis-Russell, 1994) and to women (Magidson et al., 1994) demand
systematic focus, attention, and the responsible use of and education about power,
oppression, authority, and sociopolitical structures. The conferences on ethnic
diversification and on women indelibly changed NCSPP as an organization by bringing
ethnic and gender diversity into the somewhat larger program delegations and
to the Executive Committee. For more information about the Diversity Competency,
please click here.
Social Nature of Professional Psychology
Professional psychology is fundamentally social
as apparent in the socially situated role of psychologists, the relationship
competency, historical social influences on the curriculum in professional psychology,
the development of the competency areas, the attention to diversity, explicitly
directed attention to the organizational contexts and cultures in which education
occurs, the interpersonal nature of reflective education, and a broad-based definition
of social responsibility. Education must be socially responsive and responsible.
Multiple Ways of Knowing
"Psychological science is a systematic mode of
inquiry involving problem identification and the acquisition, organization, and
interpretation of informa- tion pertaining to psychological phenomena. It strives
to make that information consensually verifiable, replicable, and universally
communicable. In this context, science is defined by its broad-based array of
continually developing methods, not its content" (Standards, in press) and by
scholarly, disciplined, reflective thought. Study of the philosophical foundations
of inquiry (including, for example, epistemological and theoretical assumptions
and implicit values) is therefore important in the education of professional
psychologists. The areas of knowledge seen as relevant to professional psychology
are greatly expanded. There is a strong movement away from narrow and doctrinaire
conceptualizations of psychological science.
The Practitioner as "Local Clinical Scientist"
Speaking to the relationship of psychological science
and practice, the Standards characterize the ways in which the professional continues
to be a scientist. Professional psychologists systematically acquire and organize
information about psychological phenomena, and often engage in the general practice
of science. This requires selection, modification, and construction of the most
rigorous attainable methods for investigating the local conditions with which
each inquiry is concerned. Nonetheless, it is recognized that, because of the
particular conditions that frequently limit inquiry in the local contexts of
professional psychological practice (e. g., nonrepeatability of phenomena in
time, privacy, etc.), the scientific goals of consensual verifiability, replicability,
and universal communicability are attainable more in principle than in practice
(Standards, in press). By adopting Trierweiler and Stricker's (1992) vision of
the "local clinical scientist," NCSPP see professional psychologists as "critical
investigators of local (as opposed to universal) realities... " (p. 104). Research
training is viewed as essential for developing and enhancing critical thinking
in students. In this context, the view that professional psychologists narrowly
apply the findings of their experimental colleagues from mainline universities
seems oversimplified, antique, and in several important ways inaccurate.
Multiple and Expanding Roles
"The primary task of education in professional
psychology is preparation for effective functioning in the multiple roles graduates
will fill during the course of their careers" (Standards, in press). Conceptually,
a broad understanding of the idea of competencies is closely related to the idea
of professional roles. Professional training programs need to greatly enhance
education for the final two competencies, consultation and education, and management
and supervision. Education, training, and credentialing should be sufficiently
flexible to prepare for, permit, and promote new roles and an expanding scope
of practice in new settings so as to be responsive to emerging social issues.
The Self of the Professional Psychologist and Reflective Practice
"Preparation in professional psychology involves
education of the personal and professional selves of students" (Standards, in
press) so as to develop the habits of reflective practice, self and interpersonal
awareness, and life-long learning. The creation and nurturance of respectful,
collegial, and empowering relationships with students are of central importance.
Professional socialization experiences should help students to examine how their
personal and professional selves affect and are affected by their professional
relationships, their profession, their training, the culture of their programs,
and their clinical work. The knowledge of how inequalities of power and authority
determine the nature of relationships, and the promotion of responsible use of
power and authority, are critical elements of this experience
Practicum and Internship Training
A diversity of practicum training models within
professional psychology was strongly supported along with the desirability of
integrative service, inquiry, and teaching. Licensure should require a supervised
postdoctoral year, but not a formal, accredited postdoctoral residency, because
the number of years of education necessary to obtain full professional status
should not be increased. Conferees stated that professional "psychology programs
should continue to require an organized predoctoral internship, within the bounds
of the programs and maintained as a component of their integrated sequences of
training, as a requirement for graduation... " (Standards, in press), and reaffirmed
independent internships as well as those employing a variety of models, time
frames, and settings.
Systematic Evaluation
There was general affirmation of the need for systematic
evaluation of our students, programs (including faculty and supervisors), and
traditional and alternative services. Critical to an institution's ability to
vouch for the quality of its graduates, NCSPP endorses a competency-based examination
to assess competence relevant to professional practice. In addition to attending
to academic progress, professional psychology programs are responsible for evaluating
students with regard to personal and interpersonal fitness. NCSPP has made a
strong commitment to the systematic self-study of its member programs.
References
Bourg, E. F., Bent, R. J., Callan, J. E.,
Jones, N. F., McHolland, J. D., and Stricker, G. (Eds.) (1987). Standards
and evaluation in the education and training of professional psychologists:
Knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Norman, OK: Transcript Press.
Bourg, E. F., Bent, R. J., McHolland, J. D.,
and Stricker, G. (1989). Standards and evaluation in the education and training
of professional psychologists: The National Council of Schools of Professional
Psychology Mission Bay Conference. American Psychologist, 44, 66-72.
Callan, J. E. (1994, January). Quality
in professional psychology training: A national conference and self study.
The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology
La Jolla Conference, 1981. Paper presented at the National Council
of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology Midwinter Conference
on "Standards for Education in Professional Psychology: Reflection and
Integration," Cancun, Mexico.
Callan, J. E., Peterson, D. R., and Stricker,
G. (Eds.) (1986). Quality in professional psychology training: A national
conference and self-study. Norman, OK: Transcript Press. Click
here for more information about this book.
Davis-Russell, E. (1994, January). Ethnic
diversification in psychology education and training: The Naional Council
of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology Puerto Rico Conference,
1989. Paper presented at the National Council of Schools and Programs
of Professional Psychology Midwinter Conference on "Standards for Education
in Professional Psychology: Reflection and Integration," Cancun, Mexico. Click
here for more information about this book.
Forbes, W., Dutton, M. A., Farber, P. D.,
Polite, K., and Tan, S. Y. (1994, January). Clinical training in professional
psychology: The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional
Psychology second La Jolla Conference, 1993. Paper presented at the National
Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology Midwinter Conference
on "Standards for Education in Professional Psychology: Reflection and Integration," Cancun,
Mexico.
Grip, J. C. (1994, January). Evaluation
in professional psychology: The National Council of Schools and Programs
of Professional Psychology Bahamas Conference, 1992. Reflections on
the midwinter conference. Paper presented at the National Council of Schools
and Programs of Professional Psychology Midwinter Conference on "Standards
for Education in Professional Psychology: Reflection and Integration," Cancun,
Mexico.
Magidson, E., Edwall, G. E., Kenkel, M. B.,
and Jackson, J. (1994, January). Women's issues in professional psychology:
The National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology Tucson
Conference, 1991. Paper presented at the National Council of Schools
and Programs of Professional Psychology Midwinter Conference on "Standards
for Education in Professional Psychology: Reflection and Integration," Cancun,
Mexico.
Peterson, R. L., McHolland, J. D., Bent, R.
J., Davis-Russell, E., Edwall, G. E., Magidson, E., Polite, K., Singer, D.
L., and Stricker, G. (Eds.) (1992). The core curriculum in professional
psychology. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association and
National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology. Click
here for more information about this book.
Peterson, R. L., McHolland,J. D., Bent, R.
J., Davis-Russell, E., Edwall, G. E., Polite, K., Singer, D. L., and Stricker,
G. (1994, January). The core curriculum in professional psychology: The
National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology San Antonio
Conference, 1990. Paper presented at the National Council of Schools
and Programs of Profesional Psychology Midwinter Conference on "Standards
for Education in Professional Psychology: Reflection and Integration," Cancun,
Mexico.
Stricker, G., Davis-Russell, E., Bourg, E.,
Duran, E., Hammond, W. R., McHolland. J., Polite, K., and Vaughn, B. E. (Eds.)
(1990). Toward ethnic diversification in psychology education and training. Washington,
D. C.: American Psychological Association.
Trierweiler, S. J., and Stricker, G. (1992). Research
and evaluation competency: Training the local clinical scientist. In
R. L. Peterson, J. McHolland, R. J. Bent, E. Davis-Russell, G. E. Edwall,
E. Magidson, K. Polite, D. L. Singer, and G. Stricker (Eds.) The core curriculum
in professional psychology (pp. 103-113). Washington, D. C.: American Psychological
Association and National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology.
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