CHAPTER 5

WRITTEN REPORT

Foundations and
Assumptions of
Scientist-Practitioner
Model

Reporter: Jianne Aubrey Vasquez Baylon

Foundations and Assumptions of Scientist-Practitioner Model

The Scientist-practitioner model is the preferred model for training programmers in counseling
psychology(a). It is also espoused as a preferred model for the ongoing practice and professional
development of counseling psychologists.

The model was first formalized by a conference of clinical psychologists in Boulder, Colorado, in
1949.

 The scientist-practitioner should be able to apply psychological knowledge to their therapeutic (b)
work with clients or patients, including psychological assessment (Jones & Mehr, 2007).
 Research and practice should be synthesized into an integrated way of working, which will be
expressed in practice by employing a scientific attitude (c) (Spengler et al., 1995; Jones & Mehr,
2007).
 Research should also flow out of practice, providing practice-based evidence (d) (Barkham et al.,
2010; Stricker, 2003).
 Training programmes will give equal weighting to science and practice (Vespia et al., 2006).
 The scientist-practitioner will be capable of reflecting on his practice. During practice, this
involves framing and testing hypotheses regarding the client, being open to change and re-
formulating ideas in the face of evidence (Stricker, 2003).
 Reflection involves the use of supervision, continuing professional development, a self-critical
stance(e), and openness to experience (Strawbridge & Woolfe, 2003).

The scientist-practitioner model continued to receive support from counselling psychology in

America. In other English-speaking countries, counselling psychology became more established
throughout the 1970s and 1980s, with the scientist-practitioner model becoming the most popular
model for the profession.
Definition of Terms:
a. Counseling Psychology - a field that aims to help individuals, at any stage in life, overcome
mental health challenges in order to improve the quality of living. (Chicago School of
Professional Psychology, 2022)
b. Therapeutic - branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of disease and the action of remedial
agents. (Oxford Languages)
c. Scientific attitude- the desire to know and understand, questioning to all statements, search for
data and their meaning, search for verification, and consideration of consequences (Gardner,
1975; Osborne, Simon & Collins, 2003).
d. Practice-Based Evidence - involves the use of clinical expertise, the synthesis of evidence
obtained from programs with similar (but not necessarily the same) aims and outcomes, and the
gathering of evidence during practice. (Policy Brief Issue 21, 2011)
e. Critical stance - an attitude that fashions the nature of one's contact with knowledge and one
another. It is an outlook or standpoint that both the student and teacher ought to possess and
employ within the learning environment. (Hobson, 2010)
 References:
Jones, J.L. & Mehr, S.L. (2007). Foundations and assumptions of the scientist-practitioner
model. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(6), 766–771.