The practitioner–scholar model is an advanced educational and operational model that is focused on practical application of scholarly knowledge.
It was initially developed to train
clinical psychologists
Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
but has since been adapted by other specialty programs such as business, public health, and law.
Model
Creation
In 1973, a new clinical psychology training model was proposed at the historic Vail Conference on Professional Training in Psychology in
Vail, Colorado
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...
—the practitioner-scholar model—providing yet another path of training for those primarily interested in clinical practice.
Prior to this, in 1949, a ground breaking
conference was held in
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...
, endorsing a model of study for clinicians that to this day has dominated clinical programs at most University based institutions: the
scientist–practitioner model The scientist–practitioner model, also called the Boulder Model, is a training model for graduate programs that provide applied psychologists with a foundation in research and scientific practice. It was initially developed to guide clinical psy ...
, designed to provide a rigorous grounding in research methods and a breadth of exposure to clinical psychology. Before this,
research scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophic ...
s had dominated the field of psychological work, and this second, new model, known as the 'Vail' model, called for more practitioner-oriented course work.
Features
Several features differentiate the practitioner-scholar model from the other two:
* Training in this model is more strongly focused on clinical practice than either of the other two.
* Many (but not all) of these training programs grant a
Psy.D. degree rather than a Ph.D. or Ed.D.
* Admissions criteria may place more of an emphasis on personal qualities of the applicants or clinically related work experience.
* Accepts a much larger number of students than the typical Ph.D. degree.
* These programs are typically housed in a greater variety of institutional settings than are research scientist or scientist-practitioner programs.
Like scientist-practitioner training, practitioner-scholar training is characterized by core courses in both basic and applied psychology, supervision during extensive clinical experience, and research consumption. Both require predoctoral internships that are usually full-time appointments in universities, medical centers, community mental health centers, or hospitals.
See also
*
Participant observation
*
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Practitioner-Scholar Model
Clinical psychology