PhD-level Psychologists don’t just “help people”
By: Robert Avsec, FSPA Operations Chief
This one came across my LinkedIn feed from my 1st level LinkedIn connections, Dr. Deanna Drahovzal, Clinical Psychologist, Co-CEO, Training Director, Part-time Professor (I borrowed the first line of her post for use as the title of this post). Food for thought–And not in any way meant to demean the contributions that our valuable masters-level clinicians are making in helping FSPA to bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service.
From the outside, it might look like an easy task, to just simply say the words of a diagnostic label.
Psychologists take differential diagnosis and case conceptualization (including the Biopsychosocial model) seriously, and that’s exactly what makes us stand out.
We are trained as scientists who can consume the research literature and decipher evidence-based from pseudoscience.
Let’s stop making ourselves small in these conversations about training standards. Consumer protection and public safety should be top of mind!
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