Beyond consensus: a summary of the special series and future of the Combined-Integrated model.

The articles that comprise this Special Series offer a comprehensive examination of the results and implications of the Consensus Conference and Combined-Integrated (C-I) model of doctoral training in professional psychology (see Shealy, Cobb, Crowley, Nelson, & Peterson, 2004). Given the scope of this effort, it may be helpful to provide a summary of the 12 preceding articles. Such a presentation should illustrate the complementarity of the diverse perspectives presented in this series, the essential coherence of this innovative and compelling model of education and training, and its timely relevance for the future of professional psychology. Following a summary of these articles, eight "future topics for discussion" also are presented.

Overlap among clinical, counseling, and school psychology: implications for the profession and Combined-Integrated training.

Health care providers within psychology currently fall into three dominant practice areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology. This article reviews data from four different sources-archival descriptions, training curricula, internship and employment outcomes, and professional activities-to examine the overlap among the three practice areas. Archival descriptions revealed substantial similarities, with smaller but interesting differences. A comparison of actual curricula from 10 programs accredited in each of the three practice areas yielded similar findings: Programs across the three practice areas were much more similar than different. Within-practice area variations among programs were nearly as large as across-practice area differences. We briefly review the professional activities of clinical, counseling, and school psychologists, again demonstrating considerable similarity. We conclude by explaining implications for doctoral training programs, internships settings, and professional credentialing.

Back to our future? The Consensus Conference and Combined-Integrated model of doctoral training in professional psychology.

Is it possible and advisable for the profession of psychology to articulate and endorse a common, generalist, and integrative framework for the education and training of its students? At the Consensus Conference on Combined and Integrated Doctoral Training in Psychology, held at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA (USA), May 2 to 4, 2003, participants from across the spectrum of education and training in professional psychology ultimately answered "yes." This article, the first in this special series on the Consensus Conference and Combined-Integrated (C-I) model of doctoral training in professional psychology, essentially provides an overview of the conference rationale, participants, goals, proceedings, and results. Because the other 12 articles in this series all reference the Consensus Conference and C-I model, this overview provides a good starting point for understanding what occurred at the conference, what it means to educate and train from a C-I perspective, and what the potential implications of such a model might be for the profession of psychology.