Abstracts Psychology

A Context Evaluation of the OISE Psychology Clinic Adult Psychotherapy Service

by Daniel Pauly

Program evaluation is considered an important activity for psychology training clinics to conduct on an ongoing basis (American Psychological Association [APA] Education and Training Board, 1967; Stevenson & Norcross, 1987). Program evaluation can provide psychology training clinics with valuable information about the demographics of their stakeholders, the needs of those stakeholders, clinic activities and operations, and the effectiveness of those activities and operations as they relate to clinic goals (e.g., training and service delivery). To date there has not been an attempt to internally evaluate the OISE Psychology Clinic Adult Psychotherapy Service, which oversees the clinic’s training of graduate students in the treatment of adult clients. As a result, the OISE Psychology Clinic Adult Psychotherapy Service could benefit from greater program understanding and the addition of evaluation as an ongoing clinic activity. A context evaluation approach (Fitzpatrick, 2012; Greene, 2005; Stufflebeam, 1968) is used to provide programmatic knowledge and boost evaluation activity. This report uses the first stage of Stufflebeam’s (1968) Context, Input, Process, Product evaluation model to provide the service with detailed information about its stakeholders, activities, and various contextual environments (e.g., its physical environment, social and interpersonal environment, technological environment, etc.), as well the strengths and challenges of those elements. This information is intended to provide the service with greater program knowledge, and, in so doing, strengthen the service. Additionally, the use of the Context, Input, Process, Product model, which can be be iteratively implemented, is intended to provide the Adult Psychotherapy Service with the means for continuing the evaluation process and integrating evaluation into the service’s ongoing activities.