Description

Tuesday, September 17, 2026 / 9:30-11:30 Central

2.0 E Hours.

Training the next generation of psychology professionals is a rewarding, yet complex, endeavor that hinges in part on good communication among trainers and a full embrace of our ethical responsibilities to ensure that new professionals meet minimum competency standards. From ethical, legal, and practical perspectives, this presentation explores current best practices related to “gatekeeping” for graduate students and doctoral interns, with a particular focus on trainees with competence problems or other needs for additional support. Importantly, the presentation is rooted in sociocultural and historical context, with attention to the critical importance of multicultural competence, social justice, and cultural humility in training throughout.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of psychology trainers in preparing graduate students and pre-doctoral interns for progression through the professional pipeline.
2. Explain the challenges with traditional / historical views of training and competence as they relate to “gatekeeping.”
3. Identify barriers to effective communication among trainers and potential solutions.
4. Describe at least one possible next step in improving processes related to communication and / or gatekeeping at your training site

*This training session is part of Clover’s 2026 CE Extravaganza for Psychology Training Programs. Please refer to our Upcoming Events page for information on the full event. 

Presented by Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, Ph.D.

Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, Ph.D., is nationally recognized for her contributions to scholarship in the areas of ethics and training in professional psychology. She is a licensed psychologist and an associate professor at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), where she trains and supervises doctoral students in ethics, research, and clinical practice. Her research on professional practice focuses on ethics and competency in psychologists, with a particular focus on working with trainees with competence problems. Dr. Schwartz-Mette is a member of the APA’s Board of Educational Affairs’ Workgroup on Trainees with Problems of Professional Competence, past co-chair of the APA Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance (ACCA), and a past chair of the APA Ethics Committee. She regularly provides consultation and training on the topic of trainees with competence problems.