Psychology : Psychology And Psychology

This paper will examine the professionalization of psychology in North American, specifically focusing on clinical psychology. First off, I will with a broad history of clinical psychology and its development over time. Secondly, I will focus on the development of professional psychology training programs. It is important to keep in mind the impact of sociopolitical factors on the professionalization of psychology. One major influence on the professionalization was the Second World War (WWII): it helped bring applied fields out of the dark and called for training in mental testing and psychotherapy. Then, I will discuss the emergence of organizations such as the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) and their influence on psychological training programs in academia. The battle between psychology as a science and psychology as a profession will be examined. Lastly, Acadia University’s history in psychology will be explored while connecting it to significant changes occurring in the boarder sphere of psychology during a 40-year period, 1935-1975. Acadia has a very rich history and strong ties with the CPA which lead to the establishment of a clinical program well before the time of its professionalization and creation of a code of ethics. Additionally, the maritime provinces were the first to have a provincial association of professional psychologist thanks to W. H. D. Vernon, an Acadia University professor.

ANTECEDENTS OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN NORTH AMERICA

The practice of psychology existed long before the science of psychology, for instance, giving assistance to someone who is grieving. Additionally, persons in past decades suffered from similar issues to those of today. B...

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...ology in Canada during that time include fourteen articles in the 1946 issue of The CPA Bulletin (Conway, 2010). Although psychology as a professional had made advancements it faced some backlash by academia. Scepticism surrounding the professionalization of psychology was still present in the 1950s. At some universities, psychology was still struggling to maintain its identity as a department. The production of a code of ethics can be viewed as a core facet of professionalization for an occupation. A code of ethics is a set of regulatory practices which protects the public from unethical treatment. In 1948, the CPA established the Canadian Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology (CBEPP). However, at that time the Association was not have the resources to establish national standards and began certifying Canadian psychologists through the APA (Dunbar, 1998).