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Evidence-based (clinical) practice is the integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture and preferences. Similarly, the therapist factor is beginning to show its decisive influence on the outcome of psychological treatments. This paper emphasizes the therapist factor in the context of the PIR training program of clinical psychology specialists within the Spanish National Health System. Expertise and therapist effects are reviewed, and deliberate practice is presented as a training system that can help clinical psychologists to improve their outcomes and treatments. Specific recommendations are made to improve the supervision model during PIR training, and the implications and limitations of the topic are discussed.

There is a passionate dialectic between outcome-based and process-based psychotherapeutic approaches in the field of psychotherapy research. Evidence-based practice integrates both positions with patient characteristics and clinical expertise. Thus, process factors have had increased visibility over the past decade. This paper examines one of them: routine outcome monitoring and collecting patient feedback. The topic is presented in our context and it is illustrated by exposing five clinical cases. We review the empirical status on the topic and the main strengths and barriers for its generalization in clinical practice are discussed.

The heterogeneity of national regulations in clinical psychology and psychological treatment across Europe requires a detailed description of every regulation to start a shared discussion. In the current paper, we describe the history, legal regulations, a specialized training program, the current status and some future challenges for clinical psychology in Spain. The evolution of clinical psychology in the Spanish National Health System (NHS) towards a health specialty regulated by law, exemplifies a balanced process of expansion, social recognition and professional settlement. Overall, the growth of clinical psychology in Spain may depend on access to leadership and management positions in the NHS that would allow a better organization of care resources to improve citizens’ access to psychological treatment. Spanish regulation of clinical psychology is mediated by socio-cultural and political changes that occurred in the late 70's and 80’s in the country. Recognition as a licensed clinical psychologist is obtained through a 4-year training system as an intern resident psychologist (PIR). PIR is a training system of supervised internships, with increasing autonomy in various healthcare departments in the National Health System (NHS). Achieving independent Clinical Psychology Services within the NHS in order to organize, implement and deliver evidence-based practices is currently one of our biggest challenges in the near future. Spanish regulation of clinical psychology is mediated by socio-cultural and political changes that occurred in the late 70's and 80’s in the country. Recognition as a licensed clinical psychologist is obtained through a 4-year training system as an intern resident psychologist (PIR). PIR is a training system of supervised internships, with increasing autonomy in various healthcare departments in the National Health System (NHS). Achieving independent Clinical Psychology Services within the NHS in order to organize, implement and deliver evidence-based practices is currently one of our biggest challenges in the near future.

The presence of social deficits in schizophrenia has been widely described in the literature as well as the negative impact of these deficits on psychosocial functioning. As a result, social skills training (SST) has emerged as a well-validated intervention that is recommended in several treatment guidelines for schizophrenia. However, various studies have found that the effects and generalizability of current SST programmes are limited with regards to the potential benefits on the daily psychosocial functioning of these patients. This paper aims to describe a newly developed intervention model that integrates metacognitive remediation into SST for patients affected by schizophrenia: metacognition-oriented social skills training (MOSST). The theoretical model of MOSST is based on recent findings suggesting the central role of metacognitive deficits in successful psychosocial functioning with schizophrenia. Therefore, MOSST focuses not only on training interpersonal skills but also on improving the understanding of one’s own mental states and those of others as well as the connection between mental states and effective social behaviour. In order to facilitate the treatment description, a case report is presented of an adult diagnosed with schizophrenia who successfully completed the programme. Finally, the clinical implications and limitations of the available evidence on MOSST are discussed, and future research directions with this programme are suggested.

The process of convergence with the European Higher Education Area led to the publication of the White Paper of the title of the Degree in Psychology (ANECA, 2005) in which an extensive analysis was carried out of the situation of the university studies in psychology in Spain and guidelines were produced to adapt the degree to the European requirements. Ten years later, the present paper aims to analyze the implementation rate of the guidelines included in the White Paper, as well as to develop prognostic models based on the observed trends through time series analyses. The results show a constant and progressive increase of the training programs offered, the number of new faculties, and other closely associated indicators in relation to these growth indicators. Different explanations and reasons for these results are discussed. We also reflect on the impact on job insecurity amongst psychologists, high unemployment rates, and the negative consequences for a sustainable model of professional development.