Overview of the Scientist-Practitioner Model

The program philosophy and mission of the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Central Florida are grounded within a training approach designed to produce “scientist-practitioners.” The scientist-practitioner model has been the preeminent approach to education and training in applied psychology since its articulation for clinical psychology at the Boulder Conference in 1949. It represents an integrative approach to science and practice wherein trained psychologists embrace a research orientation in their practice and seek to maintain a clinical relevance in their research (i.e., science informs practice and practice informs science). Thus, scientist-practitioners are exemplified by their use of an integrated approach to science and practice rather than a particular role or job title, and develop interlocking skills that promote a process of psychological investigation, assessment and intervention throughout their careers.

All didactic and experiential components of the clinical Ph.D. training program are consistent with the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists. Sensitivity to issues related to cross-cultural, multiethnic, and other individual differences is reflected at all levels of training. The desired result of a scientist-practitioner training model is “a psychologist who is uniquely educated and trained to generate and integrate scientific and professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills so as to further psychological science, the professional practice of psychology, and human welfare. The graduate of this training model is capable of functioning as an investigator and as a practitioner, and may function as either or both, consistent with the highest standards in psychology. The scientist-practitioner model is ideal for psychologists who utilize scientific methods in the conduct of professional practice” (Proceedings of the National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Psychology, January 16-20, 1990, Gainesville, Florida).

Specialty Training Emphasis

The advent of managed care has resulted in significant changes in the mental health care delivery system and the role of psychologists in that system. It is clear that doctoral level psychologists will no longer be utilized primarily for the delivery of psychotherapy. Rather, it appears that psychologists will be required to perform additional programmatic duties such as the development of innovative treatments, program evaluation, administration, and supervision. Thus, there is a need to modify the training for the professional role of the Clinical Psychologist of the 21st century. The University of Central Florida Psychology Department has responded with an innovative Ph.D. program in clinical psychology that is responsive to these needs. In addition to traditional training in accord with the scientist-practitioner training model (e.g., research methods, psychological assessment, and psychotherapy), the program targets several critical skills that are anticipated to represent additional key job functions of doctoral level clinical psychologists over the next 25 years, as required by managed care. In doing so, UCF positions itself among the leaders in the training of clinical psychologists.

The clinical Ph.D. program takes advantage of and builds upon a multitude of community partnerships consistent with the mission of UCF as a major urban university. An example of this effort to keep partnerships with community agencies is a “clinic without walls.” This concept utilizes existing public and private health service delivery resources in the Central Florida area as advanced clinical training sites. The Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program also involves partnerships with other UCF units such as the University Counseling and Testing Center and Health Services Programs (e.g., Social Work, Public Health, Counselor Education) as well as the community-based mental health agencies. Recognition of the competence and potential contributions of others is a significant component of this program. There is also an infusion of diversity throughout the program that accurately reflects the surrounding society and can proactively respond to meet the needs of traditionally underserved populations. The program emphasizes cultural diversity by actively recruiting quality faculty and talented students with varied cultural backgrounds, as well as by offering courses that emphasize cross-cultural perspectives and considerations.

Program Goals

Consistent with the Department’s Mission Statement, the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology’s overall goals are to:

• Train and educate leaders in Psychology at the doctoral level within the scientist-practitioner tradition.
• Facilitate the exploration and understanding of the complexity of human behavior while expanding our collective knowledge base through multiple avenues (e.g., publications in scientific journals, conference presentations, teaching).
• Strive to improve the health and quality of life of individuals through excellence in education, research, and delivery of clinical service (including consultation, program evaluation, supervision, and administration).
• Produce psychologists who understand the ethics, principles and practice of psychology and who respect the individuality of the recipients of professional practice.

The overall philosophy that drives these goals is embodied in the policy statement that emerged from the National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Psychology held in Gainesville, Florida on January 16-20th, 1990. The Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology training model reflects our efforts to teach students to advance psychological knowledge through research and scholarship, and to evaluate the impact of clinical services using empirically derived methods and procedures. The model also strives to help students learn how to think critically and scientifically about clinical problems and how to provide clinical services with expertise while invoking the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct. The overall philosophy of the training program is consistent with that of the Mission Statement of the Department, the College of Arts and Science, the Graduate Division, and the University.

Curriculum Goals

The Doctoral Program curriculum plan for Clinical Psychology

• Provides extensive coverage of and a strong grounding in the substantive core areas of psychology.
• Develops a foundation of knowledge relevant to critical thinking, scientific methods, and data analysis.
• Develops general and specific clinical competencies through an orderly and sequential progression of didactic instruction, faculty supervised practicum experiences in clinical intake procedures, assessment, diagnosis, testing, case formulation/conceptualization, treatment, measurement of outcomes, and psychological consultation.
• Provides multiple opportunities for students to develop the necessary skills and ambition to generate new knowledge through on-going research and scholarly activities.
• Develops a foundation of knowledge and requisite skills in career-relevant domains such as mental health administration, teaching, supervision and program evaluation/consultation through participation in advanced seminar classes and practicum learning experiences.
• Provides clinical and research training in defined specialty areas through participation in faculty research clinics/laboratories, and community-based mental health facilities.

The integration of science and practice is achieved in several ways. The program requires continuous enrollment in both clinical practicum and research activities coinciding with students’ first clinical practicum in the second year of training. Students are actively engaged in on-going activities related to research such as literature reviews, the design and implementation of empirical investigations, data collection and analysis, psychometric design and evaluation of instruments and outcome measures, program evaluation, and review of outcome research in both core and advanced practicum training experiences. Students are encouraged to write-up interesting and/or unusual clinical cases and submit them to appropriate clinical case journals for consideration and to actively participate in self and/or faculty sponsored research throughout their training in addition to traditional (thesis, dissertation) research requirements. The program requires students to interact with a variety of faculty members in their clinical practica and research clinics/laboratories. These experiences provide faculty with an opportunity to evaluate students’ ability to apply and integrate scientific principles and relevant knowledge to the conceptualization of clinical cases and analysis of clinically relevant problems. Finally, clinical faculty members have developed their own research laboratories or research focus centers wherein student research teams are exposed to on-going discussions and projects that blend didactic, scientific, and clinical aspects of their education while supporting the overall mission of the department and university.

Expectations of Doctoral Students

Graduates of the program are expected to demonstrate specific competencies in research and clinical practice that prepare them to function independently in a variety of roles and settings relevant to the practice of clinical psychology. Graduates are expected to independently generate new knowledge and contribute to extant knowledge in the psychology field through publication and presentation of original research. They are also expected to be erudite consumers of psychological and psychologically related research findings, and to have the ability to utilize this knowledge and future research findings when practicing psychology as a professional. Graduates of the program are expected to be skilled in the delivery of a broad range of diagnostic, assessment, treatment, consultative, and instructional practices that enable them to design, initiate, evaluate, and modify these practices to meet the needs of consumers. They are also expected to provide psychological services and to conduct research in a manner that reflects a thorough understanding of and is consistent with relevant ethical, professional practice, and legal standards. Graduates are expected to be knowledgeable of issues and sources of individual, group, and cultural diversity and variation as they relate to the practice of psychology, and how such diversity may impact the delivery of services and responsiveness to interventions in the practice of psychology.

Development of Competencies

The Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology develops competencies behaviorally by requiring students to:

• Complete a comprehensive, pre-established curriculum of core and specialty courses
• Engage in a progression of supervised practica under the mentorship of a broad base of faculty beginning in their second year of training
• Participate in on-going research activities throughout their training under the guidance and mentorship of clinical faculty
• Complete professional activities in three of four competency domains to fulfill comprehensive examination requirements (see competency model for more details):
  • Research [required], and two of the following:
  • Teaching
  • Clinical practice/consultation
  • Grant writing

Core instruction in research and experimental design provides students with general and advanced knowledge, and requires them to demonstrate this knowledge by critically evaluating existing research, designing and conducting new research, and communicating their findings to others (professional conferences, journals, supervised classroom instruction). Students are required to perform assessments, initiate and monitor treatments, and provide consultations across the entire age span through their participation in core and advanced practicum placements. Students may also elect to fulfill one of their elective comprehensive examination competency domains by completing a detailed case study. Diversity in caseloads and experiences are closely monitored through the use of clinical activity logs and annual review of practicum placements by clinical faculty.

Appreciation of ethical, practice, and legal standards is achieved through didactic course work, supervision of clinical practica, and modeling by clinical faculty. The ability to contribute to knowledge is cultivated through numerous activities that include weekly participation with one or more clinical faculty in the context of a specialized clinic/laboratory, writing thesis and dissertation proposals in publication style, completion of the required comprehensive examination competency domain in research, and departmental and university monetary support for participation at professional conferences. 100% of our graduate students belong to one or more professional societies or organizations; 96% have presented a paper/poster at a professional conference since beginning their graduate studies at UCF (mean = 5.75 presentations per student); and 63% of 2nd through 5th year students have authored or co-authored at least one journal article or book chapter (mean = 1.18 per student).