Update From the Fall 2010 APAGS Committee Meeting
Monday, October 25, 2010 at 1:51PM From October 21st through October 24, the APAGS Committee met in Washington, D.C. to discuss issues affecting psychology graduate students and to develop resources to meet the needs of our diverse constituency. This meeting represented one of the largest in APAGS’ history. In addition to APAGS staff, 9 elected committee members, 5 appointed subcommittee chairs, 3 appointed liaisons, and 5 invited delegates were in attendance. Collectively, these 22 graduate student leaders represented a wide variety of psychology subfields, training programs, and geographic locations.
The APAGS Committee approved the development of several initiatives that highlight the key goals of our organization – to serve the needs of all psychology graduate students, promote diversity in psychology, nurture the professional development of graduate students, and advance the effective use of technology in psychology.
Below you can find summaries of these new initiatives.
Practice
The doctoral internship crisis remained a top priority for APAGS. Nearly 25% of practice-oriented students are unable to complete their doctoral training due to the limited number of internships available. APAGS continued its multichannel effort to end this alarming crisis.
APAGS met with representatives from the APA Board of Educational Affairs, the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology, the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology, the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs, and the Council of Chairs of Training Councils. During these meetings, APAGS advocated for the following:
- The development of new internship sites.
- Increased accountability of graduate programs.
- Increased federal funding of graduate and post-doctorate training.
Specifically, APAGS encouraged the development of non-traditional internship sites (e.g. integrated primary care, rural areas, geographic consortiums, half-time internships), called for an end to match-rate discrepancies between training program websites and publicly available data, and pledged to continue advocacy for Graduate Psychology Education funding and the inclusion of psychologists under the Medicare physicians definition (psychologists are the only doctoral level healthcare providers not included in this criteria).
APAGS also discussed the reevaluation of internship training. Doctoral internships were created in the 1950s in an era where graduate students received minimal pre-internship training. Now, students enter internship with 500-1,500 hours of clinical experience. It is clear that the sequence of training has changed and psychology must reconsider how to address the realities of 21st century graduate training.
The APAGS Committee also met with Dr. Melba Vasquez (APA President-Elect), Dr. Norman Anderson (APA CEO), and Dr. Michael Honaker (APA Deputy CEO) to discuss the internship crisis. Dr. Vasquez provided the APAGS Committee with an overview of her presidential initiative on the internship crisis and invited APAGS to collaborate with her on this effort.
Throughout meetings, APAGS stressed the importance of discussing these issues early in undergraduate training. In our dialogs with graduate students, we’ve noted that many students were never informed about the competitive nature of graduate school admission, the internship crisis, post-graduate debt, or the average income of entry level psychologists. APAGS maintains that all students must have full and complete informed consent about graduate education in psychology before beginning graduate study and encourages the wide dissemination of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology's fact sheet.
The APAGS committee also discussed current steps graduate students can take to address the internship crisis. APAGS would like to encourage you to:
- Organize students in your department to seek mentorship from your faculty throughout the internship application process.
- Apply to internships that highly match your training experiences.
- Remain as geographical flexible as possible.
- Encourage your directors of clinical training, practicum, and externship sites to form regional internship consortiums. A toolkit to develop internships is available here.
For more information on APAGS’ initiatives to end the internship crisis, click here.
In addition to the internship crisis, Shanda Wells, APAGS Member at Large Practice Focus, led a discussion on potential initiatives to increate graduate training in integrated primary healthcare. The dialog focused on building awareness of integrated primary healthcare and increasing training opportunities for students interested in this field.
Science
Thanks to the leadership of Michael Scullin (APAGS Science Subcommittee Chair) and Lyra Stein (APAGS Member at Large, Research-Focus), APAGS approved the development of a Junior Scientist Fellowship. This fellowship is a partnership between APAGS and Psi Chi, the international honor society for undergraduate psychology majors. APAGS and Psi Chi will collaborate to provide mentorship and financial support to first year doctoral students who have demonstrated a commitment to psychological science.
Additionally, APAGS continued to discuss the possibility of developing a graduate student peer-reviewed scientific journal. Discussion on this item focused on finding ways to provide graduate students with training in journal editing and to create new pipelines for graduate student authorship and publication.
Diversity
Rachel Becker, APAGS Member at Large Diversity Focus, introduced the concept of a diversity training resource center. This resource would synthesize information on diversity training, practice with diverse individuals, and cutting edge research methodologies for diverse populations. Becker aims to collaborate with APA divisions 17, 35, 44, 45, and 51 in the production of this resource.
In a response to an incident of discrimination against a GLBT student, APAGS passed a policy supporting the inclusion of a transgender option in all APA forms and data gathering efforts. This policy was developed by Mike Parent, Chair of APAGS Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns.
Professional Development
APAGS approved 5 new professional development opportunities for graduate students.
First, APAGS will implement a pilot program to fund graduate student travel to the 2011 APA Convention in Washington, D.C. Additionally, APAGS Committee members will provide awardees with leadership mentoring during convention. This initiative was developed by Ethan Mereish, APAGS Member at Large Membership Focus.
Next, the APAGS Committee voted to fund an additional social hour at the 2011 APA Convention for members of the Division Student Representative Network and approved the development of a student social hour for the 2011 National Multicultural Conference and Summit in Seattle. These social hours were developed by Dr. Cristina Cruza-Guet, APAGS Member at Large Communications Focus, and myself, APAGS Chair-Elect.
APAGS also approved resources to support the development of interviewing skills in graduate students. Specifically, these resources will guide students through the process of interviewing for doctoral internships and academic/research post-doc positions. Susan Wilson, the APAGS Chair, developed this initiative.
The APAGS Committee also voted to extend Rachel Casas' (APAGS Past-Chair) 2010 pilot program on leadership development. This past year, APAGS funded graduate students to attend APA’s Education Leadership Conference and the fall APA Consolidated Meetings (which was this meeting). Based on the enthusiastic feedback of attendees, APAGS will continue this program in 2011 and expand the program to include attendance at the 2011 APA State Leadership Conference, 2011 APA Education Leadership Conference, 2011 APA Spring Consolidated meeting, and 2011 APA Fall Consolidated Meeting.
Technology
Finally, APAGS approved the development of a new media resource guide. This guide will provide graduate students, early career psychologists, and established professions with training in the use of new media technologies, overview the ethical conflicts of new media, and describe ways in which all subfields of psychology can use new media to promote their professional goals. I will be developing and editing this resource guide.
We Need Your Feedback
APAGS is committed to developing open, collaborative, and transparent relationships with all graduate students in psychology. We welcome your feedback on these new initiatives as well as all existing programs and resources. Please take a moment to explore the APAGS website, join APAGS on Facebook and Twitter, and connect with your elected representatives. We want to hear from you and look forward to working with you to further the development of all psychology graduate students.
Reader Comments (11)
Ali,
Bravo on making this information accessible to your constituents.
As you mentioned, this was one of the largest Fall Consolidated Meetings in the history of APAGS - that's fantastic. I wonder why ADVOCACY is not mentioned in your highlights?
As future leaders of the field, I hold myself and my colleagues to a higher standard of social engagement. Out of the entire meeting in which I'm assuming a substantial amount of the APAGS budget was used to fly "9 elected committee members, 5 appointed subcommittee chairs, [and] 3 appointed liaisons" to Washington, DC - how much time was dedicated to the Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT), representing APAGS grassroots connection to psychology graduate students across the nation? How will advocacy be promoted in the coming year?
Congratulations on winning the your election to Chair-Elect and Be Well.
Greg Matos, M.A.
Hi Greg,
Thank you for taking the time to read the article and provide your feedback.
Advocacy is a top priority for APAGS. Over the past few months, APAGS organized a letter writing campaign at the San Diego APA Convention to repeal California's Proposition 8, participated in hill visits to promote the federal Graduate Psychology Education program, and supported HR 6147 which would include psychologists in the Medicare “physician” definition.
Of the 15 agenda items discussed at this meeting, 2 specifically focused on the Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT). One item discussed how technology can be used to improve communication between ACT members. The other focused on how APAGS Committee members can create more collaboration with our constituency. Significant time was dedicated to the discussion of both of these items.
Meetings such as these provide an ideal opportunity for APAGS members to advocate the needs of graduate students to the larger APA organization and key stakeholders. It is through such advocacy that APAGS has managed to increase awareness of the internship crisis and promoted resources for science focused students.
Over the next year, APAGS plans to create a culture of transparency. We want to do a better job communicating with graduate students. This blog post is a first step in that direction.
Thanks again for your feedback. We appreciate your support and everything you do for psychology.
Take care,
Ali
Ali, thanks for this great summary. You and all of the other people I have met through APAGS are amazing and I really love the work you're doing. It's clear APAGS is working very hard to have the concerns of graduate students addresssed, and in reading about some of these initiatives I feel great about where psychology is going. I look forward to continued involvement with APAGS and APA. Great job!
Thank you for addressing the internship crisis. I am concerned about location, availability, and matching with my interests. Shortening internship to a semester or a placement similar to student teaching may be a possibility.
There are several students in the PsyD program with several years of experience in the counseling field. Internship may not need to be required or the same length for these student as for students with no experience.
Greg,
I don't think it's fair to assume advocacy was left out of the meetings simply because Ali did not explicitly mention it here. In fact, I'm proud to say that advocacy was a part of the discussion in a majority of the agenda items, and as Chair of the Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT), I made sure of that. So, to answer your question, a *significant* amount of time was spent in the meeting discussing not only how APAGS can support ACT, but how ACT might support APAGS in its mission to serve graduate psychology. Not only that, but the consolidated nature of the meeting allowed for tremendous networking opportunities in which we forged connections with other committees within APA. Most are excited about this and eager to strengthen their relationship with APAGS.
I assure you, we have a fine group of individuals here who have and will continue to work incredibly hard on behalf of psychology students. THIS is advocacy at its finest! Also, please do not confuse the mission of the ACT subcommittee of APAGS, which works with APA on legislative issues related to the science and practice of psychology, with the nature of the Consolidated Meetings, which are internal to APA and focus on addressing the future of APAGS as a whole. The ACT subcommittee has its own day-long meeting in March prior to the State Leadership Conference. As Ali wrote, we discussed items directly related to ACT, and I am thrilled at the discussion both items sparked amongst the committee. I couldn't have asked for more thoughtful attention and discussion than was given.
I will personally answer any questions and address any concerns you have about ACT, so please don't hesitate to write.
Ben Campbell
APAGS-ACT Chair
Ali,
This is a wonderful summary. It's a cool way for me to keep up with you all.
Sounds like a productive meeting.
Great update. My two cents on this issue is this. The increasing number of students from what are essentially "purchase your PhD" degree programs with subpar clinical and research experience (e.g. Argosy, other Institutes of Psychology, most PsyDs) are crowding out traditional students from well-established Ph.D. programs who are well versed in clinical and empirical research. This is a sad turn of events as the steps to solidify clinical psychology as a valid field of expertise can be eaten away by poorly trained individuals who were not competitive enough to be admitted into a university based program. APA needs to step up to this issue and regulate who can be considered for internship.
@ Ali and Ben: Thank you for addressing my questions and making advocacy a priority. I look forward to hearing about ongoing legislative initiatives and grassroots empowerment.
@ Heather White: Thank you for offering your honest thoughts about the great number of clinical psychology students pursuing PsyDs and the institutions that are training them. It's good to know where you stand. I've shared your comment with as many "poorly trained individuals" as I could reach...you've just given a name and face to an unspoken sentiment that I hoped was dead. Regardless, I wish you nothing but the best of luck and a successful career.
Greg
Heather,
While I understand your point about what you are essentially referring to as all Professional Schools of Psychology, I would have to respectfully disagree with some of your statements. Many of these programs do not provide subpar clinical experience, and in fact the experience obtained through these programs is often equivalent to, if not better than, the experiences afforded to those that train at traditional university based programs. The entry requirements are not as rigorous for these schools as traditional university programs, which essentially leads to many individuals entering the field that may not have been qualified at the undergraduate level. Many of these individuals are able to go on to successful careers within the field and to practice alongside those from the most prestigious universities. You also have to understand that there are individuals that attend these programs who are non-traditional students or who were not knowledgeable of the rigors of the graduate training process.
There are subpar students that come from every program. There are extraordinary students that come from every program (including PsyD's and Professional Schools). Instead of blaming professional schools for the problem, something needs to be changed systemically. APA, state boards, and academic institutions need to address the issue of internship requirements. In addition to the abundance of students coming from professional schools that are flooding the market (mind you many of them are highly competent), there are also many individuals that are entering the internship market with no desire to become licensed in the future or who are pursuing academic jobs that do not require licensure. I don't have a clear cut answer for this problem; if I did, I would be screaming from the mountaintops. I just want to caution people on engaging in academic "elitism." Of all fields, we should be the ones that are savvy to stigma, labeling, and stereotyping.
Fantastic work.
I am very excited to see Division 51 on the list of collaborators. I spoke briefly with Heather Date back in early-September, but have not heard a follow up. So good to hear we are on the list! We are forming a student affiliate group for Div 51, The Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (SPSMM) and APAGS would be such a support system for us. We truly look forward to working together.
Warmly,
Brandon Youngblood
Division 51: SPSMM
BrandonY@bu.edu
Thank you everyone for your feedback.
I wanted to respond to the discussion of professional schools and Psy.D. programs.
APAGS does not distinguish between Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs. Our constituency and leadership are composed of individuals from all training models.
We believe that students should have informed choice when it comes to choosing a graduate program. That is why we support APA's requirement for graduate schools to post their internship match rates on their program websites. We also applaud APPIC and ASPPB's efforts to publish data on internship match rates and EPPP scores. Together, these data will help students have informed consent before selecting a graduate program.
APAGS strongly supports a data driven approach to understanding and solving the internship crisis. Given the information that is available, it is clear that some programs do have lower internship match rates. APAGS encourages the APA Commission on Accreditation to develop requirements to ensure accountability from these programs.
That being said, if you look at the literature the internship crisis (see below), this has been going on for several decades. The growth of professional schools is just one small piece of a very large puzzle. It should also be noted that the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology has been instrumental in creating several new internship sites around the country.
This is a complex problem and it's going to going to take years of work from all of those involved to fix it. APAGS believes that by working together and using a data-driven approach, we will be best positioned to develop solutions to the internship crisis.
For those of you who are interested, the following articles do a great job of describing the internship crisis, how the problem started, and potential long term solutions:
Hutchings et al.'s 2007 "A Critical Analysis of Systemic Problems With Psychology Pre-Doctoral Internship Training: Contributing Factors and Collaborative Solutions"
Keilin et al.'s 2007 "A Growing Bottleneck: The Internship Supply–Demand Imbalance in 2007 and Its Impact on Psychology Training"
Madson et al.'s 2007 "The Internship Supply and Demand Issue: Graduate Student’s Perspective"
Miville et al.'s 2007 "Counseling Psychology Perspectives on the Predoctoral Internship Supply-Demand Imbalance: Strategies for Problem Definition and Resolution"
Parent & Williamson's 2010 "Program Disparities in Unmatched Internship Applicants"
Rodolfa et al.'s 2007 "The Internship Match: Understanding the Problem–Seeking Solutions"
Rozensky et al.'s 2007 "Using Workforce Analysis to Answer Questions Related to the Internship Imbalance and Career Pipeline in Professional Psychology"
Stedman et al.'s 2009 "The Internship Supply–Demand Crisis: Time for a Solution Is Now"