Adoption in Clinical Psychology: A Review of the Absence,Ramifications, and Recommendations for Change

Practicing clinical psychologists reported that 5 to 10% oftheir patients are adoption triad members (Sass & Henderson, 1999) andyet recent studies concluded that the majority of psychologists are not being taught about adoption-related issues in their preservice training (Post, 1999; Sass & Henderson, 1999). This article discusses the needfor training on adoption in the context ofthe APA Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology; Domain D, which states that programs must “provide students with relative knowledge and experiences about the role ofcultural andindividual diversity in psychologicalphenomenon as they relate to the science and practice of professional psychology“ (1996, p. 15), the omission ofadoption from curricula, and potential ramifications of this absence.