The legal exosystem: Risk management in addressing student competence problems in professional psychology training.

Abstract

This article provides a lawyer's perspective on the issues raised when a training program decides that a trainee is not doing competent work and action must be taken. It serves as a companion piece to Forrest, Elman, Miller (2008) and Wester, Fowell, Fouad, Santiago-Rivera (2008). Potential legal claims of disappointed trainees and best practices to reduce legal risk are reviewed. Risk management advice is generally congruent with other exosystems affecting training programs, such as the accreditation and ethics standards applicable to training in professional psychology, as well as model policies adopted by the Council of Chairs of Training Councils. These recommended practices serve to minimize legal risk, but also promote fairness and program integrity.

Differentiating amongst characteristics associated with problems of professional competence: Perceptions of graduate student peers.

“…However, this decision was purposeful because we attempted to move beyond simply identifying students who are not meeting expected levels of performance to determining the etiology of these deficits. Although there are possible negative consequences of focusing on etiology, including discrimination claims Gilfoyle, 2008), we argue that the context of the difficulties is worth exploring. Students with character deficits may have more longstanding problems and not respond as well to initial remediation efforts and are thus more of a gatekeeping concem than individuals who may be operating at a similar diminished competency level but can, with help, achieve a professional level of functioning.…”

Trainees with professional competency problems: Preparing trainers for difficult but necessary conversations.

“…For a full discussion of these legal aspects, see the following reviews: Elman and Forrest, 2007;Falendar, Collins, and Shafranske, 2009;Forrest and Elman, 2005;and Gilfoyle, 2008. Training Setting Issues and System Barriers Training setting factors and program culture both influence the willingness and ability of trainers to engage in difficult conversations regarding trainees with PPC. Here, we discuss several systemic issues and barriers.…”

Problems of Professional Competence Among Counselor Trainees: Programmatic Issues and Guidelines

“…Cottone (2012) stated that all such processing and decision making occur in a socially constructed relational context and, therefore, such deliberations should be done by the faculty as a whole and not by an individual. In addition, faculty should keep in mind that legal precedent has upheld a program's right to establish professional development and social‐emotional functioning criteria in determining a student's status in a program as long as due process is followed (Gilfoyle, 2008; Jacobs et al, 2011).…”

“…Another issue that programs must consider is trainees’ disability status. Trainees with physical, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities are protected under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Gilfoyle, 2008). When students make known that they have a specific disability, programs and training sites must make reasonably adequate accommodations.…”