An experiment in the education of the preprofessional mental health worker: The Purdue program

An educational program in mental health statistics

“…This is not a sufficient population from which to recruit trainees because many persons find it difficult to leave employment for 1 to 2 years to return to school. However, other new training programs in mental health have also seemed to encounter recruitment problems when the program was developing, for example, in the field of preprofessional mental health workers (Hadley, True, & Kepes, 1970).…”

Undergraduate Education for Counselors

“…Here again the rapid growth of such programs reflects both the societal pressures calling for manpower production far beyond the capacity of postbaccalaureate programs and the growing awareness that productive interpersonal relationships can be established and maintained by properly selected individuals who receive the benefit of undergraduate education that is relevant to the functions that students will later perform in the settings of their choice. A pioneering undergraduate program designed specifically to prepare mental health generalists was initiated at Purdue University in 1966 (Hadley, True, & Kepes, 1970). Although the program leads to the Associate in Arts degree, the work taken may be credited toward more advanced degrees.…”

A national survey of associate degree mental health programs

“…The generalist concept encourages graduates to accept or to help develop new job roles that better meet the needs of clients, rather than to function solely as an assistant within one of the traditional mental health professions. The philosophy underlying these programs has been reviewed by Hadley, True, and Kepes (1970), Simon (1971), and Vidaver (1972).…”