Erica H. Wise

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | UNC · Department of Psychology & Neuroscience

Psychology is a popular subject to study, with thousands entering graduate school each year, but unlike med or pre-law, there is limited information available to help students learn about the field, how to successfully apply, and how to thrive while completing doctoral work. The Portable Mentor is a useful, must-have resource for all students inter...

Self-assessment and self-reflection are foundational competencies for psychologists and are integral to professional training and lifelong learning. Psychologists are expected to integrate these processes with clinical practice; identify limits to their knowledge, skills, attitudes; and demonstrate a commitment to enhancing professional competence...

Based on awareness of the challenges inherent in the practice of psychology there is a burgeoning interest in ensuring that psychologists who serve the public remain competent. These challenges include remaining current in our technical skills and maintaining sufficient personal wellness over the course of our careers. However, beyond merely mainta...

It is of great importance to the public and the profession to ensure that emerging professionals in health service psychology are competent to recognize and skillfully navigate ethical issues encountered in professional practice, and it is incumbent upon psychology training programs to accomplish this. Although postdoctoral fellowship is the final...

Newsletter contribution discussing the clinical, ethical, and legal considerations for psychologists considering granting a request to provide a letter in support of an "emotional support animal."

Since 2010, psychology leaders in education and training associated with doctoral programs in professional psychology have been monitoring court cases and state-level legislation that assert students' rights to religious freedom during professional training. Such court cases and legislative actions put at risk educators' ability to ensure the compe...

For psychologists to competently serve all members of the public now and in the future, professional psychology training programs strive to ensure that psychology trainees demonstrate acceptable levels of knowledge, skills, and awareness to work effectively with diverse individuals. Clients/patients are complex individuals who belong to diverse cul...

The importance of practicum to the sequence of training in professional psychology is now broadly recognized, and increasing attention is being focused on ensuring the quality of practicum and its integration with academic training. A critical issue is how doctoral programs prepare graduate students for their first formal practicum placement, defin...

Ethics is a foundational competency that is critical to education, training, and future professional practice. In this article we define the ethical context as the articulated enactment of ethics in the academic program preparing psychologists to become health service providers. More specifically, we provide a broad road map and strategies for expl...

A nationwide collaborative research network has been developed by the Association of Psychology Training Clinics (APTC) to carry out research with the potential to improve services provided in training clinic settings. Six APTC member clinics participated in this inaugural study. In addition to demonstrating that the APTC research network can recru...

Whether you realize it or not, if you are in a professional psychology training program, it is likely that you will be asked to be a clinical supervisor at some point in your career. In fact, based on an extensive survey of the members of the American Psychological Association (APA) division that represents clinical psychologists (Division 12; Soci...

In recent years, practicum training has become increasingly salient in professional psychology. External practica in particular play a large role in the early, formative experiences of students in training as professional psychologists. The results of this survey of coordinators of external practicum sites (N = 123) give a fresh perspective on how...

It is well-accepted that occupational hazards are endemic to the profession of psychology and that psychologists bring both strengths and vulnerabilities to their choice of career. Given the pressures faced by psychologists in contemporary society, how can we most effectively meet our ethical obligation to maintain competence throughout our profess...

For professional psychologists there is a strong link between self-care and competence. Principle A of the 2002 APA Ethics Code reminds us that "Psychologists strive to be aware of the possible effect of their own physical and mental health on their ability to help those with whom they work". This chapter provides a broad overview of our ethical re...

The role of practicum training in educating professional psychologists has come increasingly into focus following the American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives' resolution to count practicum experience for licensure in the model licensure law (APA, 2006). Effective practicum training depends on good administration to reali...

As a profession we are committed to maintaining and enhancing our competence as psychologists in order to most effectively serve the public throughout our careers. While this is a widely shared commitment among psychologists, there is considerably less consensus regarding how best to accomplish this goal. This dilemma is examined from the ethical,...

In this article, I discuss the importance of the psychotherapist's capacities and attributes that go beyond formal education and training as they relate to both readiness for clinical training and continued competence throughout one's professional life. Professional development is essential to the maintenance of professional competence as a psychot...

Informed consent is an essential aspect of the establishment of every professional relationship in which psychologists participate. When done effectively, it helps promote other individuals' autonomy, engages them in a collaborative process, and helps to reduce the likelihood of exploitation or harm, among a number of potential benefits. Yet, a num...

While mental health professionals tend to primarily focus on their professional responsibilities toward the specific members of the public whom they serve, many are also concerned about positively impacting the broader society or culture in which they live and work. This notion of social responsibility is addressed in the ethics codes of both psych...

This study investigates the extent to which cognitions mediate the relationship between negative life events and depression. College students and their same-sex parents and grandparents (N = 171) completed measures of stressful life events, automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitudes, and depression. There was an interaction between negative life e...

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate dysfunctional attitudes as a moderator variable in the relationship between negative life events and depression. On the basis of the cognitive model of depression it was predicted that, within a normal college student population, individuals who endorse highly dysfunctional attitudes would be more ad...

This study examined the relative efficacy of rational restructuring and attentional training for the cognitive treatment of test anxiety. Both treatments were presented in an identical format, which involved imaginal exposure to anxiety-provoking testing situations. In the rational restructuring condition subjects were trained to identify and modif...

Recent research has suggested that in certain contexts male terms may fail to be gender neutral (Moulton, Robinson, & Elias, 1978). Stricker (1977) has proposed that even explicitly generic terms such as adult and person may not be gender neutral. The conclusions of the highly controversial and influential Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, and...

Assessed the validity of an initial intake interview with 12 couples seeking marital therapy (dissatisfied) and 16 couples seeking marital enhancement (satisfied). Ss (mean age 26.07 yrs) were interviewed with spouses together or separated. Interview items focused on marital satisfaction and perception, demographic variables, and comfort in making...

The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (NR) and the Canadian Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology are national nonprofit credentialing organizations committed to advancing psychology as a profession and improving the delivery of health services to the public by health service psychologists. This chapter provid...