Why psychology? An investigation of the training in psychological literacy in nursing, medicine, social work, counselling psychology, and clinical psychology.

Abstract

Psychology is the science of human behavior. Thus, service providers in the area of mental health should have a foundational knowledge of psychological science; but do they? To investigate this question university calendars and websites were systematically reviewed to ascertain how many psychology courses and related training is required by entry level degrees for nursing, social work, medicine, counselling psychology, and clinical psychology. Results clearly show that clinical psychology graduates take more courses in psychology and related training than any other group, followed by counselling psychology. It is possible to graduate without any exposure to psychology or mental health issues in some of the other professions including medicine, yet many people's first choice for many mental health issues is a family physician. The discussion focuses on the significant implications for an increasingly interprofessional field with the emergence of primary care networks and other forms of interprofessional collaboration.

Psychological literacy: proceed with caution, construction ahead

“…As a discipline and a profession, we need to answer the question: What makes psychology unique? 12 What unique knowledge and skills distinguishes our students from other graduates? 21 One problem is that psychology overlaps with many other disciplines and professions.…”

“…There are also numerous examples where a lack of psychological literacy is problematic. There are concerns that some professionals who provide mental health services lack sufficient psychological literacy, including family doctors, 11 – 13 nurses, 12 , 14 and social workers. 12 , 15 Doctors also lack knowledge regarding behavioral medicine.…”

“…There are concerns that some professionals who provide mental health services lack sufficient psychological literacy, including family doctors, 11 – 13 nurses, 12 , 14 and social workers. 12 , 15 Doctors also lack knowledge regarding behavioral medicine. 16 Just as there has been concern with politicians’ lack of scientific literacy, 17 concern has been expressed regarding their lack of psychological literacy.…”

Psychological Literacy Weakly Differentiates Students by Discipline and Year of Enrolment

“…Differences between disciplines in terms of what students are taught about psychological literacy have been identified. Murdoch et al (2014) argue that there are three characteristics that set graduates of psychology apart from other health professionals. These are (1) knowledge and use of the scientific method of enquiry, (2) psychological literacy, and (3) the combined skills and knowledge of case formulation and diagnosis.…”

“…These are (1) knowledge and use of the scientific method of enquiry, (2) psychological literacy, and (3) the combined skills and knowledge of case formulation and diagnosis. Murdoch et al (2014) reviewed the amount and type of mental health training provided to students of psychology, nursing, social work, and medicine across universities in Canada. The data showed that psychology students received more instruction in psychological literacy in comparison to nursing, social work, and medical students, with the latter disciplines receiving approximately the same amount of instruction in psychological literacy as each other.…”