Four programs for master's level training in community psychology at George Peabody Colle e for Teachers are described to exem$lify four different roles in community psychofogy: (a) direct service provider, (b) systems consultant, (c) agency administrator, and (d) liaison worker.
Master's level training in psychology has been a matter of contention since the Boulder Conference (Raimey, 1949) when the doctoral degree was accepted as the terminal level of training for professionals in psychology. Since that time, however, master's level psychologists have continued to be the model training level in school psychology. In community mental health centers, the treatment staff generally has bachelor's or master's training, and the State Directors of Mental Health in the Southeast have gone on record as supporting the notion that this continue. It was their view that doctoral level staff would be far too expensive (SREB, Note 1).
At the Austin Conference in May 1975 (Iscoe, Bloom, & Spielberger, 1978), I had some concern that the issue of the master's level was not explicit. Since there was agreement with others on the Division 27 Executive Committee, the Education and Training Committee, Division 27, APA, developed a Task Force on Master's Level Training. This task force developed a statement, published in the Division 27 newsletter, which took the position that master's level training is legitimate in psychology, and especially in community psychology.
I wrote a position paper for the Vail Conference, and came to see the difference between the master's level and the doctoral level as one of number of specialities, rather that one of depth of skill (Newbrough, 1973). Many of the master's level people I know are very skillful, but often not in such a wide range of areas. Graduate training is specifically geared to ensure competency over a wider range. Thus, one ought to be able, in a two to four semester program, to teach professional skills to a journeyperson level.
Peabody College has taken that belief seriously and provided for master's training in four community psychology related areas: (a) General Master's Program, (b) Child Development Specialist Program, (c) Human Development Counseling Program, and (d) Human Development Liaison Specialist Program, General Masters Program. This is a 30-semester-hour program which can be very flexibly designed for professionally oriented persons. I have helped two young women to become agency administrators through this program. In addition to the usual content courses, there was a practicum in counseling and one in administration and grant writing. Currently, our program has been contacted for persons trained at this level to conduct program evaluations in human service agencies. We have had none. Child Development Specialist. This is an NIMH-funded program, which was designed to train some persons as consultants and organization development specialists *This paper is an abridged version of one presented at a symposium, Training in Community Psychology: Problems and coping strategies, at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association,