Factors in the consideration of a career in clinical psychology by undergraduates and graduates with disabilities: a Q methodological study

The recent enforcement of disability discrimination legislation (DDA, 1995)
has put the recruitment of trainees with disabilities into Clinical Psychology on
the agenda. This has lead to the publication of 'Clinical Training and Disability:
Good Practice Guidelines' from the BPS (2006). However, in comparison to
minority ethnic and gender there has been very little research in this area and
no research on the viewpoint of applicants with disabilities.
This Q methodological study explored the factors that psychology
undergraduates and graduates with disabilities consider when applying for a
career in clinical psychology. N=32 participants were recruited from diverse
sources, and each completed the study's Q-sort procedure. Factors from the
statistical analysis of the data were represented as 'exemplar1 sorts, and the Q
sort items closely examined. The present study identified several narratives
regarding the understandings and beliefs that individuals with disabilities hold
about a career in clinical psychology. These accounts highlighted a number of
benefits to entering the profession for the participants, such as, the
opportunity to use the expertise and knowledge gained from personal
experience of living with a disability in their work as a clinical psychologist.
However, significant barriers were also identified including selection and
applications procedures, the physical environment, organisational structure,
and the negative attitudes of members of the profession towards individuals
with disabilities. The implications of these findings for the recruitment of
applicants with disabilities are discussed.

This thesis supplied via ROAR to UEL-registered users is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, and duplication of any part of the material is not permitted, except for your personal use for the purposes of non-commercial research and private study in electronic or print form. You must obtain permission from the copyright-holder for any other use. Electronic or print copies may not be offered, for sale or otherwise, to anyone. No quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement.