A commentary on the observations of nixon, of sheehan, and of gillam on practices and needs in psychological training

Abstract

The commentary takes up the following issues raised in the contributions by Nixon, Sheehan, and Gillam (this issue): the balance between psychological science and applied skills in the training of psychologists; the content of a core curriculum; the relative influence of psychological scientists and practitioners in Australian affairs, and the implications of this for the training of psychologists, particularly with respect to the scientist-practitioner model; and the value of competency standards for training. The position adopted, largely at variance with the contributors, is that the training of psychologists in Australia would benefit from more recognition of practitioner skills earlier in the training process, consensus on the competencies that should serve as objectives of the training process, and a clearer recognition of the scientist-practitioner model.