This editorial attempts to present a special attitude, not a model, for the training and work of professionals in mental health care, with a focus on clinical psychologists and reference to allied professions, such as social workers and psychiatrists, when interdisciplinary procedures are involved. Proposals are made in the hope of addressing some of the needs arising from the rapidly expanding application of community health programs all over the world . Such programs require a new orientation to the theoretical background and work of professionals in mental health care.
Fichter and Wittchen (1980) report a study of the current situation in the training and professional status of the psychologists in relation to allied professions. They surveyed 23 countries, mainly Europe (East and West), the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The writers reported that the number of psychologists usually ranges between 15 (Poland, New Zealand) and 35 (Netherlands, U.S.A., Italy) per 100,000 inhabitants, whereas in less developed countries like Greece, it is as low as 2 psychologists per 100,000 inhabitants. They compare their results with an unpublished survey by A. R. May carried out in 1976 noting that among specialists in psychiatric services the percentage of psychologists employed per 100,000 inhabitants is much lower than social workers and psychiatrists and the latter are employed in somewhat higher percentages than social workers with the exception mainly of W. Germany (no figures are given for the News and Comments