CONTENTS Contributors . vii Preface . ix Introduction . 3 Elizabeth M. Altmaier Chapter 1. Accreditation in Psychology and Public Accountability . 7 Paul D. Nelson and Laura C. Messenger Chapter 2. The History of Accreditation of Doctoral Programs in Psychology . 39 Elizabeth M. Altmaier Chapter 3. The History of Accreditation of Internship Programs and Postdoctoral Residencies . 61 Cynthia D. Belar and Nadine Kaslow Chapter 4. The Impact of Accreditation on the Practice of Professional Psychology . 91 Tommy T. Stigall Chapter 5. The Future of Accreditation . 113 Deborah C. Beidel, Susan D. Phillips, and Susan Zlotlow Introduction to the Appendixes . 135 Jason Kanz v Appendix A: Excerpt From Loyal Crane’s Plea for the Training of Psychologists, 1925 . 139 Appendix B: Excerpt From “Graduate Internship Training in Psychology,” 1945 . 141 Appendix C: Excerpt From “Recommended Graduate Training Program in Clinical Psychology,” 1947 . 147 Appendix D: Excerpt From “Criteria for Evaluating Progress in Clinical or in Counseling Psychology,” 1958 . 149 Appendix E: Letters From Donald Marquis to Directors of Graduate Study at the Office of Psychological Personnel, 1945; David Wolfle to Robert Sears, 1946; and Robert Sears to the Committee on Graduate and Professional Training, 1946 . 151 Appendix F: Excerpt From V. C. Raimy’s “Accreditation of Training Universities” in Training in Clinical Psychology, 1950 . 159 Appendix G: Accrediting Procedures of the American Psychological Association, 1970 . 167 Appendix H: Report of the Joint Council on Professional Education in Psychology, 1990 . 169 Appendix I: Listed Members of the Committee on Accreditation, Past and Present . 173 Appendix J: List of Conferences on Accreditation . 177 Appendix K: James McKeen Cattell’s “Retrospect: Psychology as a Profession,” 1937 . 181 Index . 185 About the Editor . 191 vi CONTENTS CONTRIBUTORS Kenneth M. Adams, PhD, Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Health System, Ann Arbor, MI Elizabeth M. Altmaier, PhD, Division of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, University of Iowa, Iowa City Deborah C. Beidel, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park Cynthia D. Belar, PhD, Education Directorate, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC Kathleen R. Boggs, PhD, Counseling Center, and Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri— Columbia Annette M. Brodsky, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA Martha Dennis Christiansen, PhD, Counseling and Consultation, Arizona State University, Tempe Clyde A. Crego, PhD, Counseling and Psychological Service, California State University, Long Beach, and University of Southern California, Los Angeles Ronald E. Fox, PhD, The Consulting Group, A Division of Human Resources Consultants, Chapel Hill, NC Dorothy E. Holmes, PhD, Department of Clinical Psychology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Baltimore– Washington Institute for Psychoanalysis Jason Kanz, MA, College of Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City Nadine Kaslow, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA M. Marlyne Kilbey, PhD, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI vii James H. Kleiger, PsyD, Private Practice, Bethesda, MD Arthur L. Kovacs, PhD, California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, Los Angeles Douglas H. Lamb, PhD, Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal Laura C. Messenger, MA, University of Maryland, College Park Stanley Moldawsky, PhD, Private Practice, Chatham, NJ, and Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy of New Jersey, South Orange Paul D. Nelson, PhD, Education Directorate, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC Virginia E. O’Leary, PhD, Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL Sidney A. Orgel, PhD, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse Susan D. Phillips, PhD, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, State University of New York, Albany David H. Reilly, EdD, Office of Graduate Studies, The Citadel, Charleston, SC Helen J. Roehlke, EdD, Counseling Center, University of Missouri— Colombia Edward P. Sheridan, PhD, Division of Academic Affairs, University of Houston, Houston, TX Tommy T. Stigall, PhD, The Psychological Corporation, Baton Rouge, LA Susan Zlotlow, PhD, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC viii CONTRIBUTORS PREFACE This book describes psychology’s 50-year history of accreditation, a com- plex system of self-regulation and quality enhancement in doctoral and postdoctoral education and training maintained by peer evaluation. As is outlined in the chapters that follow, psychology’s “experiment” with accredi- tation has undergone many iterations, some changes coming in response to early outcomes of the experiment, some in response to influences outside of psychology within higher education, and some in response to factors in soci- ety at large. These influences have not disappeared; indeed, some loom larger on the horizon now than at any time in the history of specialized accredita- tion within psychology. Thus, although this book provides a look back and brief glimpses of what may lie ahead, it cannot conclude with any degree of confidence whether this experiment has succeeded or will succeed. The American Heritage Dictionary includes the following definitions of to serve: to be of use, to be worthy of reliance or trust, to discharge a duty or function, to furnish something desired or needed, to answer the needs of.1 The members of the Committee on Accreditation (CoA) over the years have truly served psychology and the psychological community. Although opin- ions may vary on the effectiveness of their efforts, or even the accuracy of their judgments, there should not be any disagreement on the difficulty of their task or the effort that they devoted toward its completion. All of the members of the CoA (and its predecessor committees in the American Psy- chological Association) during these 50 years are listed in Appendix I. To them, and to the public members of the CoA in particular, we are indebted. This book brings together a number of people who authored chapters and who wrote “boxes.” The latter are meant to add personal voices to the 1Morris, W. (Ed.). (1998). The American Heritage dictionary of the English language. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ix details of history, a richness that can be overwhelmed in a recitation of dates and events. The history of accreditation is actually a history of people’s inter- actions with ideas and ideals, with the complications of personal context, and with systems both large and small, and thus the box authors’ own expe- riences supplement the historical record. I wish to thank my colleagues on the CoA during my tenure as member and chair for their obvious commitment to excellence, their sense of humor in stressful times, and their manifestations of both humility and pride. I also thank Paul Nelson for the idea of this book, a project generated through his love of history, his memory, and his voluminous archives. As members of the CoA can attest, Paul’s guiding hand and clear thought are evident in most of the achievements within accreditation. I also thank Gwen Le and Patricia Martin of my university department who supported this project to comple- tion. The title of this book denotes my belief that excellence aspired to by programs in their training, by practitioners and researchers in their work, and by those serving the profession in their varied roles, is achieved only through an intense and personal commitment of people to each other and to the task at hand. That is my challenge to current and future members of the CoA, whatever their composition and reporting structure, so that the next 50 years will be characterized by as much progress as we have attained so far. x PREFACE INTRODUCTION ELIZABETH M. ALTMAIER What activities are involved in this process called accreditation in psy- chology, and why are they always so controversial? These are questions that I believe will be answered for readers after they finish this book. Psychology has experienced 50 years, and a bit more, of specialized accreditation. Most knowledgeable people would define accreditation as a voluntary process of peer review with the goal of improving the quality of one’s work. For psy- chology, accreditation is the voluntary review of doctoral programs, intern- ships, and postdoctoral residencies by peers with the goals of monitoring the degree to which the unit achieves its own self-set objectives and outcomes and of improving its quality. It is hard to see why reasonable people would disagree with this activity, yet disagree they have and continue to do. The chapter authors in this book are all people who have been inti- mately involved during the past 50 years with the sets of events that have shaped our current system of accreditation. Thus, readers are hearing from true experts who were “there” and have relayed their experiences as well as commented on them in the context of hindsight. Further, each chapter con- tains boxed text that features personal reflections of specific aspects of ac- creditation history. The box authors were chosen to represent a wide range of perspectives on accreditation and were given great latitude in that they were asked simply to “write about your personal views and experiences re- 3 lated to accreditation.” Last,