Remediation and dismissal of trainees: Shifting the focus from impairment to performance

Faculty in graduate clinical, school, professional, and counseling psychology programs must evaluate student performance in the classroom and in clinical training. If that performance is deficient, faculty may consider dismissal of students from these programs. Ethical, accreditation, and legal guidelines will influence these decisions.; This study begins with a review of the psychological literature to identify professional issues for programs to consider in identifying and dismissing students whose performance in graduate psychology training programs is not adequate. Next, ethical and accreditation guidelines are examined in the context of current legal requirements. Issues to be addressed include the legal implications of the use of psychological terms such as “impairment” to describe student performance and the negative implications of mandatory counseling in remediation of poor performance. Legal requirements for due process and laws protecting individuals from discrimination on the basis of disability are reviewed as they provide guidance for appropriate program practices in evaluating and dismissing students.; Finally, accredited doctoral programs were surveyed to identify current program policies and practices. This examination concludes with a series of recommendations for programs on issues relating to academic evaluation and dismissal of poorly performing students. A remediation and dismissal checklist is provided to assist programs in documenting compliance with ethical and legal requirements.