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Congruency is Key:
A Model for Professional Development
in Clinical Psychology
George M. Slavich
University of Oregon
The Clinical
Psychologist
After clinical internship interviews,
people always want to know what they asked. The answer, I found out,
depends greatly upon where you interview. At one site, I met with three
interviewers, and the focus was largely on clinical experience and
competence. At another site, I met with four interviewers and received
only one question about clinical experience; the remainder revolved around
research interests and experience.
Many of the questions interviewers asked
seemed similar to what one might find in an internship interview
preparation book. The rest, however, were completely unpredictable. The
most difficult question I received was of this latter sort. It came from
an unexpected source (an administrative assistant) at an unexpected time
(while eating lunch). After biting into an apple, she asked, with a slight
grin, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That question seemed easy
enough to field, but the follow-ups were not. Getting more serious, she
continued with, “How would you say your past training relates to your
professional goals?” And then, “How will being here help you achieve those
goals?”
Sometime later, I learned that the
assistant had a substantial say about how interviewees were ranked by the
program, which explains her evaluative line of questioning. Still, though,
I could not help but be impressed with her assessment strategy. It
required me to describe and substantiate my professional identity, and it
made me ask myself questions that are relevant, I believe, for all budding
psychologists. How are our past experiences, present training needs, and
future goals related to one another? And what is the underlying principle
that guides our decision to pursue some training opportunities and not
others?
With the rest of this column, I would like
to discuss the model I have used to answer these questions. It is called
the “Congruency Model of Professional Development,” and it begins with a
simple question: What is your target image? Do you plan to become a
forensic psychologist who works in the government sector, a
scientist-practitioner who works in a private practice, or a clinical
scientist who works in a psychology department? The more specific the
target image, the better (e.g., a clinical scientist, interested in the
etiology of eating disorders, who works in a psychology department).
Once you have established a target image,
the ongoing task becomes one of prioritizing. We engage in a variety of
activities, and these may be categorized into at least four domains:
research, teaching, clinical work, and professional activities. In the
Congruency Model, the goal is to prioritize training opportunities that
have the highest degree of congruency with your target image. Let’s look
briefly at each of these major domains to see how the Congruency Model
works, assuming that the target image centers on wanting to become a
clinical scientist.
Research
Conducting research is critical for developing clinical scientists, but
opportunities are ubiquitous. Deciding which opportunities to pursue is
easy within the context of the Congruency Model, where the first task is
to develop a “burning question” or a set of related “burning questions.”
These are questions that you need to answer; that keep you awake at night.
If you already have the knowledge and skills necessary to answer your
burning question(s), then you are doing great; if not, then consider
prioritizing research endeavors that meet this need.
Teaching
Competent teaching, I believe, is the second most important skill budding
clinical scientists can develop. Within the Congruency Model, ideal
opportunities are those that are both highly congruent with your target
image and synergistically related to your research. Instructing your own
course is the most intense way to gain teaching experience, but other
opportunities exist, including paid and unpaid teaching assistant
positions and lectureships. If these positions are not officially
available in your department, consider approaching a professor and ask to
unofficially assist with a course.
Clinical Work
The third component of the Congruency Model is clinical work experience,
and opportunities in this area should be prioritized based upon the extent
to which they broaden your clinical competence while simultaneously
informing your research and teaching. Accruing clinical hours is often the
goal, but clinical hours are not necessarily a game of “more is better.”
Good supervisors, for example, will remind you not to overlook the quality
of those hours. Quality in this sense can be assessed by evaluating how
much supervision is provided, whether the opportunity is congruent with
your target image, and to what extent the opportunity informs your
teaching and research.
Professional Activities
Professional activities are the final component of the Congruency Model
and these can take many different forms, including: positions on
departmental committees, leadership roles in psychological associations,
and positions as a journal or grant reviewer. Engagement in such
activities demonstrates dedication to the development of clinical
psychology and exhibits a commitment to public service in the interest of
the profession. As with all other opportunities, the more congruent the
professional activity is with your target image, the better!
Concluding Comments
That assistant was on to something when she asked me what I want to be,
and I think a good answer to this question has never been more necessary.
The prevailing trend in the internship match process explains why: in
2002, 15% of applicants failed to match on “match day,” and the percentage
has increased from there, to 18% in 2003, 20% in 2004, 21% in 2005, and
23% in 2006. The beginning of each academic year brings with it an
opportunity to reprioritize the various activities in which we engage, and
with statistics like these, informed prioritizing is becoming increasingly
necessary.
My thesis in the present discussion has
been that when considering how to prioritize, congruency is key. For
optimal advancement, your target image should be congruent with your
future goals, and the specific activities you pursue should be congruent
with your target image. The product of such congruency is a sensible story
that you can tell to anyone in order to convey and substantiate your
professional identity.
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Citation |
| Slavich,
G. M. (2006). Congruency is key: A model for
professional development in clinical psychology. The Clinical
Psychologist, 59(3), 18-19. |
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