The Event:
In summer 1949, 73 individuals from psychology and related fields came together for the first a national meeting to consider standards for doctoral training at conference at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The conference produced a model known as the ‘Boulder model’ or ‘scientist-practitioner’ model, arguing the possibility and reliability of training clinical psychologists as competent practitioners as well as scientists (Freedheim & Weiner, 2003).
Background to Event
Clinical psychology changed dramatically because of the two world wars. With Psychiatry being unable to handle the overwhelming caseload of soldiers being affected both physical and mentally, Psychology was turned to for help (Baker, 2016).
Shortly after World War 2 ended, the US government launched programs to enhance the training of clinical psychologists. The increase of these opportunities for clinical psychologists led to a realisation that no standardised training program existed (Baker, 2016).
In 1941, David Shakow drafted a report with his training recommendations. He was then the chief psychologist at Worcester State Hospital in Massachusetts and regarded as an authority in the study of schizophrenic disorders Shakow was also the major psychology consultant to the NIMH, giving his ideas enormous influence both with the NIMH as well as the APA, the conference sponsor (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010).
The Boulder conference was held under Shakow’s leadership, producing a training model still relevant today (Baker, 2016) and referred to as the Boulder model. The model was developed from the earlier template laid out by Shakow and then expanded by the Committee on Training in Clinical Psychology. It emphasised the importance of training clinical psychologists to be scientists first, practitioners second (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010).
Clinicians trained according to this model would complete a research-based Ph.D. dissertation in a graduate school environment, while they were also becoming experts at the diagnosis of mental illness and its treatment (Baker, 2016).
Contributions to psychology:
The Boulder conference endorsed the model that allowed for more universities to establish clinical psychology training programs (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). It solidified clinical psychology’s identity as separate from psychiatry (Woody & Viney, 2017).
By the early 1960s, clinical psychologists identifying primarily as practitioners argued that the model did not adequately prepare clinical psychologists for the actual practice which included assessment, diagnosis, and psychotherapy. They argued it was overly medicalised, ignoring the role of social structural elements (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010).
A second approach was proposed, leading to another conference in Vail, Colorado in 1973. The Vail model, also called the practitioner-scientist model’ included research training but placed a heavy emphasis on practice. This training led to a PSy.D. instead of a Ph.D. (Baker, 2016). Baker & Benjamin (as cited in Baker, 2016, p. 589) stated that today, the APA today credits both programs, but the Boulder program out numbers the Vail program by about three to one.
Baker & Benjamin (as cited in Baker, 2016, p. 361) also state that the Boulder conference produced more than the Boulder model, it gave national policy makers the assurance that professional applied psychology could meet the mental health needs of the nation. The conference also allowed for ethical guidelines for practicing therapists, with the APA adapting a Code of Ethical Standards of Psychologists. Several journals such as the Journal of Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Counselling Psychology also emerged (Woody & Viney, 2017).
References
Baker, D.B. (2016). Oxford Handbook of the History of Psychology: Global Perspectives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Freedheim, D.K. & Weiner, I.B. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of Psychology: History of Psychology. New Jersey, NJ. John Wiley & Sons.
Pickren, W. & Rutherford, A. (2010). A History of Modern Psychology in Context: Incorporating Social, Political, and Economic Factors into the Story. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Woody, W. D. & Viney, W. (2017). A History of Psychology: The Emergence of Science and Applications. (6th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Every mind and day 