Training and Supervision of Clinical Psychologists

Abstract

Doctoral (Ph.D.) programs in clinical psychology are designed to train professionals who are capable of functioning in applied clinical and/or research settings. This chapter focuses on the clinical skills portion of becoming a clinical psychologist and outlines the structure and process of providing student training and supervision. Described is an approach to clinical training and supervision that is intended to prepare individuals to function as independent practitioners of psychology.

The authors’ approach draws on cognitive-behavioral principles that can be applied to the treatment of patients and to the training and supervision of students. Supervision is not therapy—and in the authors’ opinion should not be used as such. However, similar principles apply in therapy and supervision. These include (1) education (e.g., didactic presentations); (2) guided discovery via Socratic dialogue (e.g., to help the patient or student think through issues); (3) training in problem-solving strategies to identify and overcome obstacles; and (4) providing feedback and, when indicated, support and reinforcement or praise (e.g., to motivate patients to pursue important goals, or to appropriately bolster the student’s confidence). The chapter includes a detailed description of these methods and discusses how they are important in clinical psychology training.