文摘
The author confronts an ongoing and complicated problem in France: the professionalization of psychologists. She places this larger societal problem in the context of students who, during their training, wonder if they will obtain gainful employment. The author underlines three major obstacles to optimal professionalization for psychologists in France: the current status of psychologists, limited and sometimes inadequate training, and the lack of a governing body to protect and advance their rights. The first issue, psychologist status, involves not only the reticent public opinion towards psychologists, but also the non-coverage of private therapy by the French healthcare system. The second problem, limited training, feeds into this first problem in that French psychologists are among those worldwide who receive the most limited basic training to become a psychologist (5 years university study and one 500-hour internship). To conclude, the author suggests that a governing body of psychologists, the mission of which would be to protect their rights, guarantee optimal training, and overall advance their cause is not only missing in France but would go a long way towards palliating the first two basic problems.