On psychological identity and training: Boulder is better for rehabilitation psychology

This article addresses issues of training in applied psychology, generally, and rehabilitation psychology, specifically. The long-term success and growth of rehabilitation psychology will depend, in part, on how the field answers the following questions: How do rehabilitation psychologists define their area of competence? How is this competence to be achieved? A review of recent literature suggests that rehabilitation psychology has yet to resolve fully the fundamental issues of a young subspecialty: identity, training, and long-term direction. We maintain that the scientist- practitioner model should continue to be the framework for training future rehabilitation psychologists. Furthermore, subspecialty and cross-discipline training should be completed following core training in an appropriate specialty of psychology (i.e., counseling or clinical).