4.1 The breadth of psychology

Psychology is a pivotal science because it touches every aspect of human endeavour. Psychology is related to all facets of people's behaviour, i.e. their interaction with the physical environment, thinking and the invention of new ideas, and social interaction. It deals with general questions about what causes people's activity, as well as with problems of individuals, groups and social systems. At the same time it is relevant to issues of everyday life - school, work, leisure time, athletics, creativity and self-development. That is, psychology is concerned with the rich variety of thinking processes, personality and activity that characterizes human functioning and development in society, including problem behaviour.

4.2 Psychology answers questions

Psychology seeks to find answers and solutions to many questions of concern to individuals, groups, systems and society, for example: How can drug addiction or smoking or obesity be dealt with? How can children learn to be more creative? How can people with psychic problems be helped? How can Olympic athletes learn to maximize their physical skills through psychological techniques? What are the personality traits and values involved in consumer behaviour? How can racial, religious or other forms of prejudice, and intergroup conflict be reduced? On what basis do individuals invest in the stock market? What are the effects on children of watching aggression on television? How to prevent workload and stress? How can the instruments in airplane cockpits be designed so as to reduce human error? How can the behaviour of people toward the use of prophylactics be changed so as to reduce the risk of HIV infection? How can work organisations be improved in terms of effectiveness, occupational and systems safety and productivity?

4.3 A definition of psychology

There are many definitions of psychology, representing different ways of understanding human behaviour and interaction, and different scientific traditions. For the purpose of this report, the following definition is used:

"Psychology is a discipline concerned with the processes of the mind and their behavioural manifestations."

With the phrase, "processes of the mind", we can refer to a wide variety of psychological phenomena. Cognitive psychology, for example, studies processes such as sensing, perceiving, and thinking. Neuropsychology is concerned with the biological aspects of psychological processes. Personality theory is concerned with the individual's traits, characteristic forms of behaviour and interactions with others. The study of motivation attempts to answer the question of "why" people behave as they do. Social psychology studies the influence of social factors on people's attitudes and how people behave in groups. Psychopathology studies the thinking processes, personality, and behaviour of people with psychological problems. Development psychology studies the development of the above psychological processes throughout the life span. Work psychology deals with goal-directed behaviour displayed when people perform work tasks. These are just some of the basic phenomena that characterise psychological study.

4.4 Psychological programmes at universities

Psychology programmes teach all these basic areas of psychology to students. Students are taught the general theories, the empirical evidence, and how knowledge from these areas may be applied in understanding the behaviour of individuals, groups, systems and society. They are also taught theories on people's behaviour in connection with particular roles and settings, for example, education, work or economics. In addition, they are instructed in the use of methods and techniques for diagnosis and interventions which can be of use in solving behavioural problems. Students are also taught how to carry out their own research and how to evaluate the research of others.

5.1 Professional psychologists

Professional psychologists apply psychology to everyday-life questions in practice in order to enhance the well-being of individuals, groups and systems.

5.2 Areas of applied psychology

In addition to being exposed to all areas of psychological knowledge, students usually choose an area of applied psychology in which they receive specialized theoretical and practical training. At the present time, the most common areas of specialization in applied psychology are clinical psychology and community psychology, counselling psychology, school and educational psychology, organizational and work psychology, economic psychology, psychological assessment and evaluation, environmental psychology, applied gerontology, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, sport psychology, health psychology, applied cognitive psychology, traffic and transportation psychology, political psychology. In addition, psychologists are increasingly becoming involved in other areas such as disaster, crisis and trauma, and consumer behaviour, as well as the phenomena associated with growing cultural and ethnic diversity.

5.3 Collaboration with other professionals

Psychologists work closely with professionals in other fields, often in multi-disciplinary teams. The issues and problems that psychologists deal with are also of concern to other professionals, for example teachers, lawyers, doctors, managers, and so on. The particular contribution psychologists can make to these situations is a result of the training and background in focusing upon psychological aspects of problems and situations. This perspective is grounded in scientific psychology on the one hand, and scientific method and commitment to evidence-based practice and scientific research methods on the other hand. The psychologist adds a distinct perspective, asks particular types of questions which complement those of other professionals, and uses empirically validated interventions and tools.

5.4 Key role

The key role of the professional psychologist has been defined as being able to develop and apply psychological principles, knowledge, models and methods in an ethical and scientific way in order to promote the development, well-being and effectiveness of individuals, groups, organisations and society

6.1 Two ways to define competence requirements

How do we know how much training and development is needed to ensure that someone is competent to practice as an independent professional psychologist? Competence requirements can be defined in two complementary ways. First, analysis of existing practice can draw on the extensive knowledge and past experience of those who have been involved in the training and development of psychologists. Second we can consider the outcome of empirical work (functional analysis) carried out to define the competences professional psychologists need to have if they are to practice safely and effectively.

6.2 Analysis of existing practice

Over the past fifty years, during which the profession of psychologist has substantially developed, a wealth of experience has been accumulated about methods of teaching and training, about the types of supervised experience necessary to develop skills and confidence, and about the time needed for people to consolidate their knowledge and skills to the point where they are competent to practice on their own, without supervision.

Psychologists in different countries and in different areas of specialisation have defined a wide variety of routes to competence. Many of these have been reviewed in this project, where a number of differences in approach have been noted between European countries. More impressive is the agreement on the general time course of development and the level of education and training needed. In addition, there is broad agreement on the nature and range of supervised experiences needed for developing practitioner competence.

If one takes a common base of entry into the University (matriculation) as a starting point, 6 years of education and training is the minimum necessary for achieving competence as an independent practitioner. Through this period of time, there is also consensus, in broad terms, on how the pattern of inputs change through this period of time: from the development of theoretical knowledge and academic skills in the early years, to a growing emphasis on practitioner skills, training and supervised practice in the later years (see Figure 1 below).

In Section 8 of this report we present a generic framework and schema that outlines the structure and content of these inputs. From the research carried out during the project we believe that the methods used to train and develop psychologists in most European countries will be able to map readily onto this structure.

6.3 Functional analysis of the competence of practitioner psychologists

Work has been carried out in a number of countries to define the competence required for professional practice in psychology. For example, in Canada the focus has been on defining core competences for professional psychology in order to facilitate mobility of individuals between the areas of the country covered by different provincial regulatory boards.

A study carried out in the UK by the British Psychological Society produced a specification of occupational standards in terms of six key roles.

1. Develop, implement and maintain personal and professional standards and ethical practice
2. Apply psychological and related methods, concepts, models, theories and knowledge derived from reproducible research findings
3. Research and develop new and existing psychological methods, concepts, models, theories and instruments in psychology
4. Communicate psychological knowledge, principles, methods, needs and policy requirement
5. Develop and train the application of psychological skills, knowledge, practices and procedures
6. Manage the provision of psychological systems, services and resources

These are each defined in far more detailed performance terms in the standards. Of these, the first four were considered to apply to all professional psychologists, while the latter two were more specialised roles and more likely to apply once individuals have become independent practitioners rather than being a requirement for practice.

These standards were derived from a series of workshops and consultations that involved applied psychologists from all the professional divisions and discipline areas. The outputs from these meetings were analysed to provide a detailed description of the functions that applied (professional) psychologists are required to perform once they have attained the competence necessary to operate as independent practitioners.

For the present report, this work is of interest for two reasons.

1. It showed that psychologists drawn from across the spectrum of specialisation areas could agree on the key purpose of the profession and the roles and functions they perform. In other words, there is something about being a professional psychologist that is distinctive and different from being a professional in some other discipline. This common knowledge base and its associated person-focused scientist practitioner approach was common to all the psychologists who took part in the UK project.
2. From subsequent wider discussions, it would appear that, at the higher levels of description, the functional analysis captured the nature of psychological competence in a way that would be readily recognised in other countries.

6.4 Convergence of the two approaches

While recognising the longer-term value of working towards European agreement on a common definition of professional competence, for the present, the focus of the current project has been on reviewing curricula and input requirements, with the intention of producing a common framework to assess the equivalence of inputs. Input models are valuable for assessing the equivalence of provision at the organisational and institutional levels. Where the output model becomes important is for assessing the equivalence of competence at the individual level.

If we were able to specify professional competence with sufficient clarity and were also able to assess it with high levels of validity and reliability, then we could adopt a model that let each individual pursue their development, with guidance, until they reached a point at which they were assessed to be competent. The notion of self-paced and self-managed development is one that may become more common in the future. However, its focus on assessing outcomes (competence) is rather far from current practice (which focuses on defining inputs, examining knowledge and skills, and time-serving notions of practice). While we should draw on the results of projects such as those mentioned above to help clarify the nature of the outcomes sought, for the present we will focus on the more traditional approach of defining a path through a curriculum, with certain key milestones that have to be achieved along that path, and with time constraints built into the rate at which individuals can progress.

6.5 The level of professional competence required

People differ in the rate at which they develop competence, both because of differences in their initial capabilities and because of differences in the quality, timing and quantity of the inputs they experience during their training and development. If we adopt the view that there is a distribution of time taken to achieve competence, then the adoption of any time requirements should be based on a risk analysis of (a) the danger of setting too short a time limit and (b) the cost of setting one that is over long.

We need to know, for practical reasons, how much time is needed for training and education to ensure that most people who have the necessary capabilities will be competent by the end of the programme. While changing the duration of a programme of development may act to increase or reduce the percentage of people who will pass, in practice a point is reached at which increasing the percentage of successful outcomes is likely to require longer and longer durations of time. Adding equal increments of time is not likely to add equal increments to the number of successful outcomes.

The above approaches enable us to define a model of the process by which professional competence is developed. This will provide us with the basis on which to build a common European framework for the recognition of qualifications.

There are a number of key variables to consider:

• The capabilities of the individuals seeking to become psychologists
• The educational inputs of academic knowledge: in terms of knowing 'what', knowing' how' and knowing 'why'.
• The training inputs needed to develop the specific practice-based skills.
• The climate within which to develop an understanding of ethical and professional approaches to practice.
• The nature of the field in which the psychologist wishes to practise.

The intention here is to define the minimum requirements for entry into a definable field of practice. It is both understood and expected that from the time they commence independent practice, psychologists will continue to develop not only their competence in their particularchosen field, but also to expand the boundaries of that field of expertise.

Experience has shown the amount of time needed to provide good success rates while keeping the total duration of a training programme as short as possible. From the research carried out for this project, it seems that this minimum is six years for any kind of professional practice (this includes university level academic inputs, training of skills, and at least one year of supervised professional experience). This is quite apart from the need to undergo continuing professional development to maintain professional competence and to obtain further specialised education/training for specialised tasks.

Differences between countries and between areas of practice in the length of time needed to achieve independence can be accounted for in terms of the above variables - differences in the range and breadth of competence required for initial certification or registration; differences in the provision of opportunity for supervised practice in the field and so on. However, given that psychologists often work with vulnerable and needy clients, at least one year working with real people in real settings is required in order to develop the requisite inter-personal and professional skills to minimise risks and to protect clients, to develop an ethical practice and to demonstrate the ability to take responsibility for the well-being of clients. This is also in accord with earlier recommendations made by the European Federation of Professional Psychologists Associations (EFPPA 1990).

6.5 Professional development

The model embodies the notion that professional development is an ongoing process that continues through a practitioner's working life. However, at some point in the early stages of that development we pass from a state in which we would judge that it was unsafe for the person to practise without supervision to one where we judge they are now safe (within the limits of the competence defined by their education and training up to that point). In focusing on trying to define the basis on which that initial level of independent practitioner competence is developed, we must not lose sight of the fact that competence continues to develop beyond that point. Further, additional specialist education and training is required for more specialised practice.

7.1 Three propositions

The Framework for the structure and content of a European education and training in professional psychology and the corresponding standards is based on the following propositions:

• the requirement for a minimum of a five year academic programme and a one-year period of supervised practice, which is in line with most university curricula for professional psychologists' training and professional regulations in Europe.
• the completion of the academic programme of 5 years is considered necessary to qualify for initial practice in a setting that provides supervision by qualified psychologists. The qualification for independent professional practice as a psychologist can only be obtained after a period of at least one year of supervised practice. Following such qualification it is expected that individuals will pursue further professional training as well as continuing professional development within their chosen area or areas of practice.
• in line with the Bologna declaration of European ministers of education (see section 2, above) the Framework is based on a structure of university education in psychology that follows a first phase or cycle of education and of a second phase or cycle. In addition there is a requirement for at least one year of supervised practice in order to qualify for independent practice. This could occur either outside of the university education or as part of it, depending on national regulations on higher education

7.2 Three perspectives

The Framework is organised according to three basic perspectives which deal with psychological education with reference to:

• Individuals, e.g. differential psychology, general functions (physiological, cognitive, neurological);
• Groups, e.g. individuals in interaction, group dynamics;
• Systems, e.g. interaction of individuals and groups with organizational structures and systems, institutions, technological systems, physical and social environment.

7.3 Preparation for independent practice

The Framework focuses only on the education of psychologists in preparation for independent practice or PhD studies in psychology, and does not address psychological training for other professional groups (e.g. social workers, engineers etc.), nor the training for psychological assistants.

7.4 A general framework

The Framework is couched in general terms rather than specific ones in order to accommodate a degree of diversity in individual university curricula provided that they guarantee an equivalent quality of competence in psychology. In this way changes in the discipline of psychology itself are more easily accommodated.

7.5 Generic or specialised qualification

The Framework accommodates both a curriculum that leads to a degree with more general or generic professional qualification and a curriculum with variable degrees of differentiation (specialization). Comparison of university programmes shows that some countries provide a generic education and training with later specialisation or differentiation, while other countries provide programmes with early specialisation and differentiation into the different areas of professional psychology.

7.6 Core standards

The Framework proposes global core standards that should guarantee equivalence of requisite psychological competence. These standards define a template for evaluating current curricula in psychology. As such they offer relative freedom to tailor university curricula to local conditions. Such diversity is not considered to be detrimental to the overall objectives of the Framework, because in-depth studies in one area may compensate for broader academic education elsewhere and the framework allows further evolution in psychology to be taken into account.

Individuals who complete phase 1 of the proposed framework will obtain a Bachelors degree (or national equivalent). Many of these will not go on to complete phase 2 and the subsequent year of supervised practice. The Phase 1 does not provide any occupational qualification. Yet, it offers a valuable input to work in a wide variety of settings in the public and private sector and will provide individuals with well-developed core transferable skills in the areas of communication, numeracy, problem solving and technology. Phase 1 qualifications may also provide a valuable input to non-psychology postgraduate training programs.

7.7 Problem Based Learning

A number of universities have developed Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approaches to the education and training of psychologists, where integrated blocks of theory-method-application cycles are organised from the start of the programme. The model assumes that students graduating from these programmes have gained equivalent knowledge, skills and competence, and innovative approaches are a welcome feature of professional formation.

7.8 The role of Professional Associations in Curriculum Design

Historical developments and differential institutional settings in European countries have resulted in a great variety of positions and roles of national professional and scientific psychological associations. Their influence in determining curriculum content and structure of university education in psychology varies accordingly. General recommendations are, therefore, difficult to formulate, outside this forum. However, in many European countries the professional body has a role in defining the requirements for the licence to practice, which may consist of a certain level of university education, a prescribed amount of supervised practice, and other requirements determined by national laws where relevant. It is suggested that a dialogue between the different stakeholders will take place which will eventually lead to a viable consensus.

7.9 PhD Programs and further specialisation

The project team briefly considered the need for training for PhD students and for specialisation training . Any quality university education and qualification as described by the current project is considered to lead to requisite qualifications for PhD study and further specialisation. A number of countries are developing post-qualification specialisation training. There is already greater mobility and equivalence of qualification at the level of doctoral and post-doctoral study. Both PhD and further specialisation training have been considered to be outside the remit of the present report.

8.1 The first phase

The first phase is first devoted to the orientation of the students in the different sub-specialities in psychology, but can also be opened to related disciplines. It offers a basic education in all the psychology specialities, and in the major theories and techniques in psychology. It gives a first approach to psychologists' skills, and to research in psychology. It does not lead to any occupational qualification and does not provide the necessary competence for independent practice in psychology.

Table 1 First Phase

8.2 The Second Phase

The programme of the second phase prepares the student for independent professional practice as a psychologist . This part of the curriculum can either be undifferentiated and prepare for further PhD training or employment as a 'general practitioner' in psychology or be differentiated and prepare for practice within a particular professional area of psychology, such as work & organisational psychology, educational psychology or clinical psychology. In the first case the student will acquire additional knowledge on topics that were already treated during the first phase, such as cognitive architecture theory, specific theories of emotions, advanced personality theory. In the second case the student will acquire specialist knowledge on e.g. theories of work performance, theories of leadership, or statistical models of personnel selection. Since all of the knowledge and skills acquired are based on the discipline of psychology, either type of curriculum content is acceptable in the framework of the second phase. As part of the second phase the student has to demonstrate the capacity to acquire skills in research.

The implication of the above is that both national educational systems with an undifferentiated curriculum and systems with a differentiated system can meet the EuroPsycT requirements. It should be noted that the postgraduate degree is considered to provide the basic qualification needed for entering the practice of psychology and needs to be followed by supervised practice before an individual would be regarded as competent as an independent practitioner. Specialised professional practice in any area of psychology will generally require post-academic training in areas such as e.g. health psychology, clinical psychology, work & organisational psychology, psychology of work and health, educational psychology, child psychology etc.

Table 2 2^nd PHASE

8.3 Internship ("stage")

The aim of the internship (referred to as "stage" in some European countries) is to provide an introductory professional field training in order to enable students to:

• integrate theoretical and practical knowledge
• learn procedures related to psychological knowledge
• start practicing under supervision
• be able to reflect upon and discuss own and other people's activities
• begin working in a setting with professional colleagues

This training usually occurs during the second half of the university curriculum, but it may start earlier and/or extend beyond the curriculum. In the latter case, there should be joint responsibility of the university and/or the national professional psychological association and/or the relevant bodies for the accreditation of the training. The duration would normally be at least 6 months (or 30 ECTS), according to the specific area of interest.

The type of practice during the internship varies and may include:

• observation of actual situations in which psychological procedures are used
• use of basic procedures under supervision
• taking part in projects with a specified role
• analysis and discussion of 'cases'.

The location where internships take place will normally be an institution or 'certified' private firm which:

• provides services which are congruent with the trainee's educational background
• is able to guarantee that the majority part of the supervision will be provided by
• professional psychologists
• is recognised by the national Psychological Association and/or an accredited university.

8.4 The year of supervised practice

The third phase in the education of psychologists consists of supervised practice within a particular area of professional psychology. It can be considered as continued professional field training in order to:

• prepare for independent practice as a licensed (or equivalent) psychologist
• develop working roles as a professional psychologist based on one's unique training and personality
• consolidate the integration of theoretical and practical knowledge

This training usually occurs after completion of the second phase, and after leaving the university. However, it can also be part of the university training as a third cycle. Its duration is 12 months (60 ECTS).

The type of practice consists of semi-independent work as a psychologist under supervision in a professional collegial setting. This form of training is held to be essential for obtaining the professional qualification of psychologist. Since the application of the knowledge and skills acquired during the 1^st and 2^nd phase in a professional setting is a prerequisite for the development of the psychologists' competences, graduates who have completed the 1^st and 2^nd phase without a period of supervised practice cannot be considered qualified for independent work as a psychologist.

Supervised practice will normally take place at institutions and 'certified' private firms which:

• provide services that are congruent with the trainee's educational background
• are able to guarantee that the major part of the supervision will be provided by a professional psychologist
• are accredited by the national body regulating entry into the profession

Total length of the education and training

The university curriculum should have a duration of at least 5 years (300 ECTS), divided over 180 units for the 1st phase and 120 units for the 2nd phase. The duration for supervised practice should be at least 1 year.

Composition of the curriculum

The academic curriculum must cover all curriculum components outlined Tables 1 and 2. However, there may be differences in emphasis on fields of study and/or types of educational objectives. Table 3 expresses the limits within which the composition of the curriculum may vary. They provide a flexible definition of the 'common core' of European psychology in operational terms.

The requirements should be understood as follows:

1. The largest part of the 1st phase should be devoted to theoretical courses and skills training; however some part should be reserved for methodology and non-psychological theory (e.g. philosophy or sociology) that is relevant for the study of psychology. It is suggested that the part spent on theoretical courses and skills training, plus orientation and academic skills should be between 125 and 135 units (over 2 years). Within the theoretical courses and skills training the largest part should be devoted to individual behaviour. The behaviour of people in groups and society should receive a minimal coverage of 20 units each.
2. Methodology should have a coverage of at least 30 units; non-psychological theory between 15 and 25 units. Taken together, these curriculum components should account for 45 to 55 units.
3. Within the 2nd phase a approximately 60 units (1 year) should be spent on theoretical courses, seminars, assignments etc. To ensure that sufficient attention is being paid to individuals in the context of systems and/or society the number of unites to be devoted to this should be at least 30.
4. Minimally 30 units should devoted to an internship ("stage") and a research project or thesis. These two activities should cover at least 60 units (1 year).
5. Minimally 60 units (1 year) should be spent on supervised practice.
6. A paper or a dissertation or thesis is not deemed necessary for the first phase, because the Bachelor's Degree is not considered to lead to a qualification for independent practice. However, a dissertation is required for the second phase.

Use of the minimum standards

These standards can be used for various purposes. Their main functions are to serve as:

Table 3 EUROPSYCH FRAMEWORK: CORE STANDARDS (in ECTS)

References

• EFPPA (1990) Optimal Standards for Training of Professional Psychologists. Brussels: EFPPA
• ENOP (1995) Reference Model for a European Curriculum in W & O Psychology. Paris: Maison des Sciences de l'Homme
• Green A., Wolf A., Leney T. (1999) Convergence and Divergence in European Education and Training Systems. London: Institute of Education