Reimagining health service psychology training: A process-oriented competency framework to enhance accreditation standards.
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Accreditation systems play a central role in assuring the quality of education and training in health service psychology.This article examines how the recently proposed process-oriented competency framework (POCF; Wright et al., 2025) can inform and extend existing accreditation standards.The POCF shifts the focus of competency training from what psychologists should know or do to how they engage in their work through four interrelated processes: integrating psychological science; applying psychological theory; incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion principles; and implementing ethical and social justice principles.Using the accreditation systems of the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System as illustrative examples, we show that these frameworks already include elements consistent with the POCF yet remain largely domain-based rather than process-oriented.We then propose ways the POCF could unify professional identity, foster flexibility and innovation, and explicitly center equity, diversity, and inclusion and social justice as core to health service psychology.Finally, we discuss implementation challenges and outline future directions for research, policy, and accreditation reform. Public Significance StatementThis article discusses a new process-oriented framework to strengthen accreditation and training in health service psychology.By emphasizing how psychologists integrate science, theory, ethics, and social justice in their work, the model provides a unified and flexible foundation for professional education.Adopting this approach could simplify accreditation, promote innovation, and better prepare psychologists to respond ethically and effectively to the complex needs of diverse communities.
DOI: 10.1037/tep0000553
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7223202097