Attitudes concerning professional issues impacting psychotherapy practice among members of the American Board of Professional Psychology

A national survey of 400 (return rate 56%) Clinical Diplomates of the Ameri can Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), concerning attitudes regarding a variety of current professional issues impacting psychotherapy practice, was conducted during the winter of 1997. Results indicate that ABPPs are d ispleased with managed healthcare, master's-level psychology professionals practicing independently, and free-standing professional schools of psychol ogy. They are only moderately supportive of the use and development of empi rically validated treatments. They tend to be strongly Sor or against presc ription privileges for psychologists. Survey results from open-ended questi ons indicate that ABPPs report that serving others and intellectual stimula tion are the primary advantages to being a psychologist, while, they expres sed concerns about the control of managed healthcare along with the influx of lesser-trained practitioners entering into the field. Findings further s uggest that attitudes concerning these issues differ based on the primary w ork area of the professional (i.e., practice versus research).