The
Bologna Process
The Bologna
Process is a series of agreements between European countries designed to ensure
comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications.
It is named after the place it was proposed, the University of Bologna,
celebrating the 900th anniversary, with the signing of the Bologna declaration
by Education Ministers from 29 European countries in 1999, forming a part of
European integration.
The Bologna
Process currently has 47 participating countries. The basic framework adopted
is of three cycles of higher education qualifications. These are statements of
what students know and can do on completion of their degrees.
1st cycle: a
bachelor's degree.
2nd cycle: a
master's degree.
3rd cycle: a
doctoral degree.
In most
cases, these will take 3–4 years for a bachelor's degree, 1–2 years for a
master's degree, and 3–4 years for a doctoral degree, respectively to complete.
The Bologna Process was a major reform created with the goal of providing responses
to issues such as the public responsibility for higher education and research
with the most demanding qualification needs.
With the
Bologna Process implementation, higher education systems in European countries
are to be organized in such a way that:
it is easy to move from one country to the other (within the European Higher Education Area) – for the purpose of further study or employment; the attractiveness of European higher education has increased, so that many people from non-European countries also come to study and/or work in Europe; the European Higher Education Area provides Europe with a broad, high quality advanced knowledge base, and ensures the further development of Europe as a stable, peaceful and tolerant community.
it is easy to move from one country to the other (within the European Higher Education Area) – for the purpose of further study or employment; the attractiveness of European higher education has increased, so that many people from non-European countries also come to study and/or work in Europe; the European Higher Education Area provides Europe with a broad, high quality advanced knowledge base, and ensures the further development of Europe as a stable, peaceful and tolerant community.
The Russian higher education framework was
basically incompatible with the Process: the general degree in all universities
since Soviet era is the Specialist which can be obtained after completing 5–6
years of studies. Since the mid-90s, many universities have introduced limited
educational programmes allowing students to graduate with a bachelor's degree
(4 years) and then earn a master's degree (another 1–2 years) while preserving
the old 5–6 year scheme. In October 2007 Russia enacted a move to two-tier
education in line with Bologna Process model. The universities inserted a BSc
diploma in the middle of their standard specialist programs; transition to real
MS qualification has not been completed yet
Training and
Certification of Clinical Psychologists
in the USA and the UK
The University of Pennsylvania was the first to offer formal education in clinical psychology. Since that
time three main educational models have developed in the USA - the Ph.D.
Clinical Science model (heavily focused on research), the Ph.D. science-practitioner model (integrating research and practice), and the Psy.D. practitioner-scholar model (focusing on clinical practice).
Graduate
education in psychology began adding psychotherapy to the science and research
focus based on the 1947 scientist-practitioner model for Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology. By the 1960s, psychotherapy had
become embedded within clinical psychology, but for many the Ph.D. educational
model did not offer the necessary training for those interested in practice
rather than research. The concept of a practice-oriented degree was debated in
1965 and narrowly gained approval for a pilot program at the University of Illinois starting in
1968.
Several
other similar programs were instituted soon after, and in 1973, at the Vail
Conference on Professional Training in Psychology, the practitioner–scholar model of clinical psychology resulting in the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree was
recognized. Although training would continue to include research skills and a
scientific understanding of psychology, the intent would be to produce highly
trained professionals, similar to programs in medicine, dentistry, and law. The
first program explicitly based on the Psy.D. model was instituted at Rutgers University. Today, about half of all American graduate students in clinical psychology
are enrolled in Psy.D. programs.
Clinical
psychologists study a generalist program in psychology plus postgraduate
training and/or clinical placement and supervision. The length of training
differs across the world, ranging from four years plus post-Bachelors
supervised practice to a doctorate of three to six years which combines
clinical placement. In the USA, about half of all clinical psychology graduate
students are being trained in Ph.D. programs - a model that
emphasizes research - with the other half in Psy.D. programs,
which has more focus on practice (similar to professional degrees for medicine
and law). Both models are accredited by the American Psychological Association and many other English-speaking psychological societies. A smaller number
of schools offer accredited programs in clinical psychology resulting in a Masters
degree, which usually take two to three years post-Bachelors.
In the U.K.,
clinical psychologists undertake a Doctor of Clinical Psychology
(D.Clin.Psych.), which is a practitioner doctorate with both clinical and research components. This is a three-year full-time
salaried program sponsored by the National Health Service (NHS) and
based in universities and the NHS. Entry into these programs is highly
competitive, and requires at least a three-year undergraduate degree in
psychology plus some form of experience, usually in either the NHS as an
Assistant Psychologist or in academia as a Research Assistant. It is not
unusual for applicants to apply several times before being accepted onto a
training course as only about one-fifth of applicants are accepted each year.
These clinical psychology doctoral degrees are accredited by the British Psychological Society and the Health Professions Council (HPC). The HPC is the statutory regulator
for practitioner psychologists in the UK. Those who successfully complete
clinical psychology doctoral degrees are eligible to apply for registration
with the HPC as a clinical psychologist.
The practice
of clinical psychology requires a license in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, and many other countries. Although each of the U.S. states is
somewhat different in terms of requirements and licenses, there are three
common elements:
1.
Graduation from an accredited
school with the appropriate degree
2.
Completion of supervised
clinical experience or internship
3.
Passing a written examination
and, in some states, an oral examination
All U.S.
state and Canadian province licensing boards are members of the Association of
State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) which created and maintains the
Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). Many states require
other examinations in addition to the EPPP, such as a jurisprudence (i.e.
mental health law) examination and/or an oral examination. Most states also
require a certain number of continuing education credits per year in order to
renew a license, which can be obtained through various means, such as taking
audited classes and attending approved workshops. Clinical psychologists
require the Psychologist license to practice, although licenses can be obtained
with a masters-level degree, such as Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA).
In the U.K.
registration as a clinical psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HPC) is necessary. The HPC is the statutory regulator
for practitioner psychologists in the U.K. In the U.K. the following titles are
restricted by law "registered psychologist" and "practitioner
psychologist"; in addition the specialist title "clinical psychologist"
is also restricted by law
