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

Practicing clinical psychologists reported that 5 to 10% of their patients are adoption triad members (Sass & Henderson, 1999) and yet recent studies concluded that the majority of psychologists are not being taught about adoption-related issues in their preservice raining (Post, 1999; Sass & Henderson, 1999). This article discusses the need for training on adoption in the context of the 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 of cultural and individual diversity in psychological phenomenon as they relate to the science and practice of professional psychology (1996, p. 15), the omission of adoption from curricula, and potential ramifications of this absence.