Psychology Training And The Correctional System

• Author: Clifford M. DeCato,Florence W. Kaslow
• Published date: 01 October 1974
• Date: 01 October 1974
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/003288557405400206
• Subject Matter: Articles

Psychology Training And The
Correctional System
By Florence W. Kaslow, Ph.D.* and Clifford M. DeCato, Ph.D.
1 n.troductionl
Recent trends reflected in the literature concerning clinical
psychology programs have begun to emphasize the need for training
to expand the traditional roles of the clinical psychologist as diag-
nostician and therapist. Among the recommendations issuing from the
recent Vail Conference l APA Monitor, Dec., 1973; Korman, 1973) i6
that professional training programs be endorsed at the graduate level
and the psychologists should be trained in non-traditional settings
I APA Monitor, 1973). The training program at Hahnemann Medical
College, which at the doctoral level offers a Doctor of Psychology
( Pay. D.), is an avant garde program in both of these respects. The
curriculum includes initiation to the skills and knowledge typical of
clinical psychology, that is, psychological testing and psychotherapy,
and also incorporates newer concepts and practices related to com-
munity mental health, school and community consultation, family
and group therapies. The course of studies for the Pay. D. degree
covers a thr ee-year period beyond the masters degree. During each
of these years the student is required to spend a minimum of two
days per week in a supervised internship which provides experience
with both children and adults. These internships are located in a
wide variety of settings ranging from special schools for organically
impaired and emotionally disturbed children with learning disabili-
ties, to in-patient and out-patient settings, and community mental
health centers. The flexible nature of the program is such that specific
internships can be varied from year to year in order to incorporate
new opportunities and to insure that the student acquire a thorough
grounding in the major skills and knowledge of the fields of clinical
psychology and mental health. Academic and didactic studies parallel
the supervised practica.
Commencing in September 1973, another non-traditional area
of supervised training was incorporated into the program. This spe-
cialization deals with the utilization of clinical psychology in the
criminal justice system and was designed in conjunction with the
Bureau of Correction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
remainder of this paper will discuss this aspect of the Hahnemann
program.
*
Dr. Kaslow is Clinical Associate Professor, Hahnemann Medical College. Dr.
DeCato is Assistant Professor, Hahnemann Medical College.
1. Thanks are due to the support and guidance given throughout the program
by Jules C. Abrams, Director of Graduate Education in Psychology at
Hahnemann, Stewart Werner, Commissioner, and Ellis Grayson, Director of
Training and Personnel, both of the Bureau of Correction, Pennsylvania
Department of Justice.
57

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THEORY AND STRUCTURE OF CLINICAL TRAINING IN
CORRECTIONAL PSYCHOLOGI
The present program began rather fortuitously. The doctor
of psychology program, established at the Graduate School of Hahne-
mann Medical College in 1970, reflects an underlying philosophy of
the importance of incorporating both new and traditional areas of
practice in human services. A different but parallel development was
occurring in the state correctional system sparked by some events
beginning in 1972 and 1973. Improvement and expansion of assess-
ment and treatment services for residents had been designated as a
priority of the Bureau of Correction.2 When the Deputy Commission-
er, Stewart Werner, and Dr. Kaslow. who was teaching at a medical
school, met in May 1973 at a retreat of the Pennsylvania Law and
Justice Institute, Mr. Werner asked if she might be willing to set up
a program which would link a medical school and the Bureau by
providing internships for doctoral candidates and teaching courses
in &dquo;treatment within correctional settings&dquo; for the students. Through
this affiliation it was anticipated that the Bureau goals of improving
and increasing treatment and assessment services would be further
realized by recruiting top notch professionals into the system who
had served their apprenticeship in correctional settings. Another
aspect of the position being contemplated was that the person
carrying major responsibility would also serve as staff training and
treatment specialist for the Bureau to enhance performance of
central bureau chiefs and division heads.
After meeting with representatives of two medical schools., the
decision was made to establish the program within the Section of
Psychology Education in the Department of Mental Health Sciences
at Hahnemann :Medical College and Hospital. Dr. Abrams, Director
of Graduate Education in Psychology. was both theoretically and
practically receptive and supportive toward this avant garde pro-
gram and recognized its educational potential for doctoral students.
It was believed that a Doctor of Psychology sequence, itself an
innovative program, could provide a setting in which to explore the
feasibility of providing good mental health services to those in the
correctional system. The program was inaugurated in September 1973.
Since this was the first program of its kind being contemplated in the
aate3. there were no clear precedents to follow. Initially the diliber-
ations as to curriculum possibilities and long range objectives flowed
from Commissioner Werner’s intimate knowledge of the criminal
justice system and the offender and Dr. IiasloH~’s familiarity with the
interfaces of psychotherapy and corrections. The basic thmst and
belief of both parties was that rchahilitatiori was not omlv necessary
but also possible. This wa~ part and ~rarcel of a share(] larger philo-
sophic framework, that of ultimately seeing each prison and commun-
2.
To be called simply Bureau hereafter.
3.
We later learned of one at the University of Alabama, in the APA Monitor,
Fall 1973. It is described in more detail in Brodsky’s book "Psychologists
in the Criminal Justice System ".
58

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ity treatment center as a &dquo;therapeutic community’- with all staff
members conceiving of themselves ar, part of the team united around
accomplishing two major goals: protecting society from its &dquo;danger-
ous members&dquo; and rehabilitating offenders to lead law-abiding and
more satisfying lives.
Turing from the history and philosophy underlying this endea-
vor, we would like to describe the structure of this program. As
previously indicated, the Doctor of Psychology program includes a
two or three day per week internship. The program is organized to
provide didactic academic work which parallels the major intern ship
experiences. Thus it was thought that some interns could be assigned
to a prison setting where they would receive supervision in the
utilization of clinical psychology techniques and principles with the
prison population. In addition, administrators of the psychology pro-
gram had to set up channels by which students could be brought
into contact with persons knowledgeable about correctional psycho-
logy practice, and opportunities had to be provided for the students
to explore the literature, concepts, and activities related to the crim-
inal justice system. In order to do this, a seminar was instituted as
part of the educational program. The content and approach taken
were to be the responsibility of one professor. Making a place for
the course in an already full curriculum, administrative details such
as grading, record keeping, assignment...