Even if someone with a doctorate is not licensed as a psychologist, they are expected to keep up with their field as long as they are actively involved in their work as a psychologist. This means not only reading current literature but also attending conferences in their area of specialization and meeting with colleagues in a variety of settings. While professional psychology can be an isolating occupation (services conducted in private offices and reports prepared confidentially for a client/patient), it is also an occupation that requires active engagement in a world of ever-changing evidence, insights, and clarifying models and theories. There is little tolerance for the psychologist with a doctorate who is living on an intellectual island without access to the work of others in their field.
Those with doctorates in psychology are not alone when it comes to lifelong learning expectations. There are often continuing education requirements for those human service providers without a doctorate who wish to retain their license. Typically, at least 20 hours of continuing education must be completed every year (or 40 hours over two years). As in the case of continuing education for those serving as licensed psychologists, this continuing education must be clinically related (usually with some coursework related to ethics).
Supervision
While continuing education responsibilities concern sporadic lifelong learning regarding general and enduring issues in psychological practice, there is also the matter of what is now often called “just-in-time” learning. This means important learning that can occur when one meets with a supervisor once a week or “on-call”. New learning and new insights can occur in a supervisory session regarding specific psychological issues that are of immediate concern for the psychologist being supervised or are brought up by the supervisor to challenge the existing perspectives and practices of the supervisee.
Supervision is usually only required of the newly minted psychologist—especially one who is earning hours of practice required to obtain licensing. This requirement is usually confined to those doing work as a psychotherapist or school counsellor, though training in clinical assessments will inevitably come with supervision and guidance. The supervision can be quite extensive in the case of many upper-tier psychotherapeutic (and especially psychoanalytic) training programs. The trainee must themselves often receive psychotherapy (as a way not only to personally experience the therapeutic process but also to address their own psychological barriers in preparation for being an effective therapist).
This requirement of supervision makes perfect sense regarding the preparation of competent therapists. However, there is an ongoing controversy concerning the value of supervision for all psychologists at all stages of their professional career. Should supervision be required after one is licensed, and even after several years of successful practice? Should this form of “just-in-time” learning at least be encouraged? Is this a matter of ethics? Should the title “Doctor” come with a commitment to being open to assistance from other professionals?
Some form of supervision is required for virtually all newly minted mental health workers. It is typically not required for those starting their work as an organizational consultant, though psychologists who are new to the field of organizational consultation will often first serve on a consulting team rather than going it alone. It is rare for those doing work as an organizational consultant to seek out supervision during their career. They might offer a case presentation at a regional or national conference and receive some feedback on this matter; however, the best approach is to work in a team. This is the one advantage of organizational consulting (when contrasted with psychotherapy): teams are acceptable (even desirable) in organizational work while the clinician is supposed to go it alone–unless engaged in couples therapy or family therapy, where it is acceptable for co-therapists to participate in this often-complex therapeutic process.
