Foundations of the profession
Recent history: from the Second World War to today
How post-war demand, the Boulder and Vail conferences, new therapies, medication and the biopsychosocial model reshaped the profession.
What this module draws on:
- Textbook concept Post-war developments, training conferences and the rise of alternative approaches (Ch. 3).
- Contemporary update Brief note on what changed after 2005.
- Original elaboration Comparison table of training models and the sorting activity.
Learning objectives
After this module you should be able to:
- Explain why the Second World War and the US Veterans Administration expanded clinical psychology.
- Compare the scientist-practitioner (Boulder) and scholar-practitioner (Vail) training models.
- Describe the rise of behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, humanistic and family systems approaches.
- Explain the influence of psychotropic medication, community mental health and the biopsychosocial model.
Introduction
After 1945 clinical psychology grew rapidly from a testing profession into one that also delivered psychotherapy, conducted research and trained its own practitioners. Two training conferences — Boulder (1949) and Vail (1973) — defined debates about professional identity that continue today.
War, veterans and growth Textbook concept
The Second World War again required mass assessment, and afterwards many veterans needed psychiatric care. The textbook reports that more than 40,000 veterans were hospitalised for psychiatric reasons and that the Veterans Administration requested thousands of clinical psychologists. Federal funding supported training, and psychologists increasingly provided therapy as well as testing.
Two training models Textbook concept
The 1949 Boulder conference endorsed training clinical psychologists as both scientists and practitioners. The 1973 Vail conference endorsed an additional model emphasising professional practice, the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree, and training in free-standing professional schools.
| Feature | Scientist-practitioner (Boulder, 1949) | Scholar- or practitioner-scholar (Vail, 1973) |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Equal grounding in research and practice | Primary emphasis on delivering professional services |
| Typical degree | PhD | PsyD |
| Research training | Extensive; independent research expected | Reduced; emphasis on consuming research |
| Typical setting | University psychology departments | Universities and free-standing professional schools |
New ways of understanding and treating problems Textbook concept
From the 1950s onward, alternatives to the dominant psychodynamic approach emerged:
- Behavioural approaches applied learning principles and measurable outcomes.
- Cognitive-behavioural approaches added thoughts, beliefs and appraisals.
- Humanistic approaches emphasised growth, self-actualisation and the therapeutic relationship.
- Family systems approaches treated problems as properties of relationships rather than individuals.
- Psychotropic medication transformed psychiatric care from the 1950s.
- The community mental health movement of the 1960s moved care from institutions into communities.
- Integrative approaches and, from 1977, George Engel's biopsychosocial model encouraged combining perspectives.
After 2005 Contemporary update
Since the textbook's publication, evidence-based practice has become a formal policy of the American Psychological Association (2006), DSM-5 (2013) and DSM-5-TR (2022) replaced DSM-IV-TR, ICD-11 came into effect in 2022, and telehealth expanded rapidly. In India, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 reframed mental health care around rights, and training routes for clinical psychology have been revised by the RCI — check current notices.
Worked example: Choosing a training model Original, fictional
Two fictional students compare programmes. Meher wants to run treatment trials and become a professor; she gravitates to a research-intensive programme in the scientist-practitioner tradition. Arjun wants to work full time in a community clinic; a practice-focused programme appeals to him. Both models produce clinicians who use research — they differ in whether the graduate is expected to produce it.
Interactive activity
Match the development to its contribution
Match each post-war development with what it added to clinical psychology.
Show the answer key
- Boulder conference (1949) → Scientist-practitioner training model
- Vail conference (1973) → PsyD and practice-focused training
- Engel (1977) → Biopsychosocial model
- Community mental health movement → Care moved from institutions to local communities
- Family systems approaches → Problems understood within relationship patterns
Knowledge check
5 questions. Every option has an explanation. Your answers are not sent anywhere when JavaScript is available; without it, they are checked by the server and immediately discarded.
Summary
- Post-war demand, especially from veterans, transformed clinical psychology into a profession that also delivers therapy.
- Boulder (1949) endorsed the scientist-practitioner model; Vail (1973) endorsed the PsyD and a practice emphasis.
- Behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, humanistic and family systems approaches challenged psychodynamic dominance.
- Medication, community mental health and the biopsychosocial model broadened the field.
- Many changes since 2005 — in classification, policy and Indian law — require contemporary updating.
Questions for reflection
- Should every clinical psychologist be trained to produce research, or is being a skilled research consumer enough?
Key terms
Further reading
- Textbook Plante, T. G. (2005). Contemporary clinical psychology (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
- Cited in textbook Raimy, V. C. (Ed.). (1950). Training in clinical psychology. Prentice-Hall.
- Cited in textbook Korman, M. (Ed.). (1976). Levels and patterns of professional training in psychology. American Psychological Association.
- Cited in textbook Engel, G. L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196, 129–136.
- Contemporary Government of India. (2017). The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (Act No. 10 of 2017).