Theory as the Critical Ingredient of Clinical Practice
Psychology Today | 24.06.2026 00:14
For nearly every professional continuing education workshop and graduate class in psychology, someone will be overheard evaluating the quality of the educational experience by whether the information contained is practical or theoretical. Practical is good, clear, and useful. Theoretical is esoteric and not useful. This strikes me as exactly the wrong framing. Certainly, there is the Lewin quote that "there is nothing so practical as a good theory." Beyond that, eschewing theory in professional development or even pre-practice professional preparation leads to an approach to clinical practice that is bad for service delivery, bad for clients and patients, and bad for professional credibility. Theory is not something to be suffered through in graduate school. Theory is the critical ingredient in quality clinical practice and requires renewed emphasis at all levels of training.
