Chris et al.: The Vail Model (the counterpart to the Boulder or
scientist-practitioner Model embraced by most clinical Ph.D. programs),
which articulated educational and training standards for Psy.D.
programs, was explicitly put forth as a scholar-professional
(scholar-practitioner) model. People coming out of Psy.D. programs need
not be expert researchers. But according to the Vail Model they need to
be able to demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate research, and
to be thoughtful and discerning consumers of the research literature.
I'd maintain that a handful of Psy.D. programs have done a good job of
living up to the laudable ideals of the Vail Model, but that the lion's
share have not (that's why I've long referred to the Vail Model as
"paradigm lost").
So Chris Green is correct that the Psy.D. is an advanced practitioner's
degree. But a Psy.D. ostensibly is more than a technician. He or she is
supposed to be a scholar first and foremost, someone who avidly reads
the research literature and keeps up with it, someone who doesn't
necessarily conduct research but who always maintains a scientific
mindset, and someone who constantly strives to apply the science of
psychology (including both basic psychological science and psychotherapy
outcome research) to clinical practice. That was certainly what Paul
Meehl, Donald Peterson, and others had in mind when they first promoted
this degree several decades ago (Peterson, as many of you know, now has
serious second and third thoughts about what he has wrought; see his
recent American Psychologist article on the topic).
I've certainly met some Psy.D.'s who exemplify or at least approximate
these lofty and worthy goals. But I'd argue that these goals are
increasingly, to paraphrase Shakespeare, more honored in the breach than
in the observance.
....Scott
Christopher Green wrote:
Perhaps the problem here is that too many of us (with Ph.Ds) are
regarding the Psy.D. as a real doctorate. It isn't, any more than the
M.D. (the obvious model for the degree's name) is a real doctorate
(which is why there are PhDs in medicine as well). It's is nothing
more than an advanced practitioner's degree. Surely no one would ever
hire someone with a Psy.D. into a position where high-quality research
was expected, would they?
Regards,
--
Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology, Room 206
Emory University
532 N. Kilgo Circle
Atlanta, Georgia 30322
(404) 727-1125 (phone)
(404) 727-0372 (FAX)
Home Page: http://www.emory.edu/PSYCH/Faculty/lilienfeld.html
The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice:
www.srmhp.org
The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and
his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and
his recreation, his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which
is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does,
leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him – he is
always doing both.
- Zen Buddhist text
(slightly modified)
---
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