and others, and decided then to switch my major to
clinical psychology.
Describe what activities you are involved in as a
clinical psychologist.
My primary activity within clinical psychology is con-
ducting and supervising research. I am fortunate to be
assisted by many bright, motivated, and talented
graduate students. Most of my studies are in collabo-
ration with them. We meet regularly to discuss and
generate new ideas for research, as well as to work out
the nuts and bolts of ongoing projects. In my opinion,
most (if not all) of the controversies and disputes
within clinical psychology can be meaningfully
informed, if not ultimately resolved, by empirical
research, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to design
and implement informative projects.
I also teach a number of graduate and under-
graduate courses, including Abnormal Psychology, Psy-
chopathology, History of Clinical Psychology, Ethical
Issues in Clinical Psychology, and Personality. I try to
emphasize current issues and controversies. Some of
my more successful studies were generated in part
through class discussions.
I am also an investigator for Kentucky’s State
Board of Psychology. Clinical psychologists within the
state of Kentucky must be licensed by the State Board,
and this board receives complaints regarding fraudu-
lent and unethical practices. I am usually investigating
two or three psychologists at any particular point in
time. This is difficult and time-consuming work and
always unpleasant (if not demoralizing), as there are
no winners.
I also have a small private practice, confined to just
one or two persons, usually undergraduate or graduate
students enrolled within other departments of the uni-
versity. I also supervise the psychotherapy provided by
two or three graduate students within the Psychological
Services Center, a small clinic operated by the University
of Kentucky Department of Psychology. My own partic-
ular approach to psychotherapy is eclectic, although
I emphasize in particular the cognitive-behavioral and
psychodynamic (object-relational) perspective.
Outside of this, I garden, gamble, and wait for the
college basketball season to begin.
What are your particular areas of expertise or interest?
My primary areas of interest are diagnosis, assess-
ment, and classification, particularly dimensional ver-
sus categorical models of classification, gender
differences and biases, and personality disorders.
There are indeed specific etiologies and pathologies,
but I believe that most instances of mental disorder
are the result of a complexinteraction over time of a
number of biogenetic dispositions and environmental
experiences. A demarcation between normal and
abnormal functioning is meaningful but in many
respects arbitrary. I do not consider persons with
mental disorders to be qualitatively different from us
(“I’m OK and you’re not”).Ihavenevermetaperson
who I believe is without mental illness. This is perhaps
a provocative remark, but perhaps it shouldn’tbe.We
have no problem acknowledging that we have suf-
fered from many physical disorders throughout our
lives and are probably currently suffering from a
number of them. However, due in large part to the
stigmatization of a mental disorder (the fear that we
are not in fact“masters of our domain”), we some-
how believe that we have never suffered from or
never will suffer from a mental disorder (“I’mOKand
you’re OK”). Life can be extremely difficult, and our
genetic dispositions and familial/social/cultural
experiences will inevitably leave us with flaws, con-
flicts, dysregulations, irrationalities, and limitations
that will significantly impair our ability to live a fully
satisfying, meaningful, and enjoyable existence. Per-
haps none of us is entirely psychologically healthy
(“I’m not OK and neither are you”).
What are the future trends you see for clinical
psychology?
The future of clinical psychology is a good question.
We appear to be in a significant time period for the
profession. It may be very different 50 years from now,
which is perhaps not surprising given that it was very
different 50 years ago. My younger colleagues some-
times have the impression that this is an established
profession that will successfully resist economic pres-
sures to dissolve. In fact, however, it is itself a young
profession that came into existence largely in response
to economic pressures.
What are the advantages of structured interviews, and
what future developments do you see in this area of
assessment?
Criticism is perhaps the lifeblood of scientific progress.
The scientific documentation of the efficacy of psy-
chotherapy developed in large part to address the
charge that psychotherapy had no real or meaningful
benefits. A comparable trend is occurring with respect
to clinical assessment, including unstructured clinical
interviews. Clinicians are having to defend the validity
and credibility of their diagnoses and assessments to
judges, lawyers, review boards, insurance companies,
and so forth. Some of the attacks will have a self-
serving (perhaps even unethical) motivation, but they
must still be addressed.
(Continued)THE ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW 179