Student Experiences of Remediation in Their Graduate Psychology Programs

Student competence problems, i.e., behaviors that cause a student or supervisee to fail to meet essential professional standards (Elman & Forrest, 2007), impact many graduate students in applied psychology programs. Students with competence problems are often placed on remediation plans to rectify these problems and facilitate their ability to complete their training successfully. While research has been conducted on other students' experiences and perspectives of having peers with competence problems, no research to date has investigated the experiences of the students remediated for competence problems. The current study filled the gap in the literature by investigating the lived experiences of 12 graduate students in American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited doctoral-level clinical and counseling psychology programs who were remediated for competence problems. We used a phenomenological approach to glean information on the relationship between remediation and a student's professional development and development of competence. Results of the study demonstrated 4 themes, with subsumed subthemes: remediation plan details and specifics, experiences with remediators, problem in context, and impact of remediation on trainee. Results indicated some consistency with, as well as unique findings pursuant to, the existing literature base on remediation. In addition, implications of the findings provide the impetus for suggestions for how trainers can implement remediation, including considerations of locus of control and competence, as well as parallels between remediation and therapy process and outcome literature. Recommendations for trainers and additional research implications are offered.