Article archive / April 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 4. Source pages: 7.
In February the American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives approved a major change from its current training standards moving to a new model for “Health Service Psychology.” While a final vote is still to come, sources note that the change is assured. The new guidelines will restructure the training of clinical psychologists toward a new primary-care and prevention health model.
The revision, “Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology,” notes “… ‘health service psychology’ is defined as the integration of psychological science and practice in order to facilitate human development and functioning. Health service psychology includes the generation and provision of knowledge and practices that encompass a wide range of professional activities relevant to health promotion, prevention, consultation, assessment, and treatment for psychological and other health-related disorders.”
The new model is to be used for APA accreditation, and replace the previous standards. Proposed regulations will open to public comment during late spring and summer 2015, according to a report from APA.
Authors of the new standards write, “Health service psychology includes several practice areas in which an accredited program may focus, including the areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, combinations of these areas, and other developed practice areas.” The program recognizes the importance of cultural and individual differences and diversity in the training of psychologists.
Discipline-‐Specific Knowledge and Profession-‐Wide Competencies include research, ethical and legal standards, individual and cultural diversity, professional values, attitudes, and behaviors; communication and interpersonal skills; assessment; intervention; and supervision. Accredited programs with a site visit scheduled in 2016 will be reviewed under the older guidelines and program with a site visit in 2017 will be reviewed under the new Standards of Accreditation.
The authors note that the change is “…providing greater clarity to the public and enhanced opportunities for innovation in health service psychology education and training.”
Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology will serve as a guiding document for health service psychology training programs seeking initial or continued accreditation, notes APA. The document is available on the APA website at http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/about/policies/standard s-of-accreditation.pdf
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