DOCTORAL TRAINING IN PSYCHOLOGY: A COMPARISON OF APPROACHES IN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, AND JAPAN

This paper describes and compares the different models of doctoral training in psychology in North America, Europe and Japan. The authors have spent considerable time visiting various doctoral training programs around the world and will highlight some of the differences they have observed. Starting with the first years of university training after high school, the most common models of training in North America, Europe, and Japan differ considerably. Training models at the master's and doctoral levels also vary. First, we will describe in detail the typical training models in psychology across the 2 continents and Japan, then discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of these training models. We will discuss the variations in doctoral training within each of these 3 areas of the world, how applied and clinical training is organized in the 3 areas, and various changes in the common models of training that are developing in these different areas of the world.