Internship and postdoctoral training in pediatric and clinical child psychology: a survey

A survey was designed to obtain data from pediatric psychology,clinical child psychology, and combined training centers. Sixtyprogram directors provided identifying characteristics aboutthe facility, application information for internship and postdoctoraltraining, information on clientele and case load of trainees,and specific training information. In addition, respondentsprovided definitions of the two areas and suggested differentiatingfeatures. It was concluded that the similarities are more numerousthan are the differences in training. Definitions suggest that(a) clinical child psychology has broader application than pediatricpsychology despite the latter's broader principles of application,and (b) pediatric psychologists rely heavily on the traditionalskills and techniques of clinical child psychology. The onlydifferentiating features identified were in terms of medicallyrelated populations of children served, collaboration with healthcare disciplines, and a specialized focus of viewing psychologicaldifficulties within the medical culture by pediatric psychologists.