Enhancing Preparation Among Entry-Level Clinical Health Psychologists: Recommendations for "Best Practices" From the First Meeting of the Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs (CCHPTP)

Recent discussions in clinical health psychology regarding foundational (knowledge-based) and functional (applied) competencies have been guided by the cube model of core competencies (Rodolfa et al., 2005). Proposed competencies for doctoral-level clinical health psychologists were recently published (France et al., 2008). Based on the 2008 Council of Clinical Health Psychology Training Programs conference, we discuss how the proposed competencies might be incorporated into doctoral-level training. Because we view these competencies and training practices to be aspirational, we also address the challenges inherent in making curricular decisions pertaining to which competencies are emphasized in individual programs and within the context of American Psychological Association accreditation requirements.