The Experience of Clinical Psychologists to Be in Practice after Graduating from Graduate School: A Phenomenological Inquiry

• Main Authors: LIN, TING-YU, 林亭妤
• Other Authors: LEE, GIN-HONG
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/suxsc3

碩士 === 輔仁大學 === 臨床心理學系碩士班 === 106 === Background：The development of Taiwan’s clinical psychology is stemmed from USA, and the base of USA’s current clinical psychology is scientist-practitioner model. The model advocates that practice must be based on science and integrate both of them into a whole. However, evidence-based practice in psychology faces challenges from practical community. In addition, the practice-oriented scholars propose scholar-practitioner model and advocate that practice should lead science. The above-mentioned phenomenon hasn’t had relative empirical studies to research and discuss in Taiwan. Therefore, the present research intends to investigate by means of clinical psychologists’ practical experience obtained in practice after graduating. We expect this research could give reflection for the training in the graduate school of clinical psychology. Methods：Researcher finds five clinical psychologists who have graduated for less than five years in social network. Every participant accepted semi-structured interviews one or two times. The total time spent for interviewing is 1 hour and 47 minutes to 2 hours and 50 minutes. All the interviews are recorded and transcribed. Full verbatim texts are analyzed through phenomenological method suggested by Li and Lai (2009) including data collection, empathic immersement, meaning units, constituent themes, situated structure, and general structure. Results：This research investigates clinical psychologists’ experience about how to learn practical action and obtains thirty situated structures and three general structures. When reviewing lessons of the graduate school, participants want that the practice and learning materials are more relative to the clinical field. This hope indicates that “lesson situation” is different from “ clinical situation”. In other words, lessons don’t have patients to make the space for the profession. Teachers can design practical activities to imitate the real situation at the most. Participants enter the clinical field to do professional work in person and imitate teachers’ “preprogrammed maneuver” for practice. Under the condition that they have not completely connected theories yet, they gradually obtain intermediary support. Even when reviewing theoretical contents, they fully agree with them. Furthermore, participants also connect every kind of experience by means of their own strengths and abilities and present unique learning processes. They not only apply theories in their daily life and the clinical field and review their perception to connect themselves with theories, but also acquire knowledge from doing experiments in daily life to construct their own “preprogrammed maneuver”. Discussions：According to the results of phenomenological analysis, we submit our proposals as follows. (1) The clinical psychologists’ learning processes of practical action in this research act in coordination with Li’s (2011) discourse about “situated actionconceptual knowledge”. After entering the clinical field and participating in practical work, they gradually grasp the connection between things and themselves and can respond patients by practical action. (2) No matter what teaching method is used, it should match situated learning. Furthermore, situated learning had better be similar to the clinical field as much as possible. (3) Practical training of clinical psychology in the graduate school should refer to clinical psychologists’ practical experience to adjust the sequence of contents of training so as to product essential innovation. (4) Clinical psychologists’ qualification is master degree in Taiwan, and it makes scientist-practitioner model be limited. Even evidence-based practice in psychology also involves the process of “situated actionconceptual knowledge”. Therefore, we should think continuously about the model which is coincident with the local contexts. (5) When encountering patients by face to face, clinical psychologists should put aside theories to stand in patients’ shoes without any assumptions. Therefore, the practical training of clinical psychology should focus on the training of clinical psychologists.