The Dissertation as a Component in the Training of Clinical Psychologists

Abstract

The dissertation, a significant component of graduate clinical psychology training, is hardly ever completed within the stipulated two years, with the result that students graduate much later than they should. Against this background, the present investigation surveyed clinical psychologists who graduated between 5 and 10 years ago for feedback on their experiences of the dissertation. One hundred and thirty-seven subjects responded. The average time taken to complete the dissertation was almost three years, with a range between 6 months and 14 years. Almost 70 per cent of the subjects took longer than the stipulated time, and almost 30 per cent took more than one year longer. About one-third of the subjects had a negative or indifferent attitude prior to starting the work, and similar percentages of the sample felt they did not have sufficient grounding to start the dissertation or enough supervision while working on it. Almost three-quarters of the subjects felt the dissertation had minimally influenced their practice as clinical psychologists. The results are discussed within the context of the ‘scientist-practitioner’ model of training, and training issues in low-income countries.