The guidelines on criteria necessary for promotion to senior registrar grade in psychiatry may be found in The Handbook for Inceptors and Trainees 1987. The criteria are essentially those in the 1980 edition, namely the need for possession of MRCPsych status and completion of at least three years general professional training approved by the College. Yet it is undeniable that in recent years eligible candidates have experienced much more difficulty in achieving appointment as a senior registrar. Indeed Holden (1988) comments that “dedicated clinical service and the qualification of MRCPsych is insufficient to guarantee a registrar success in his or her application for a senior registrar post”. In the increasingly competitive job market research experience, possession of publications, and management training have become valuable assets for prospective candidates. Our concern at the lack of pertinent career guidance for trainee psychiatrists prompted us to look at trainees' perceptions of requirements and at the provisions which exist in their training to enhance their career prospects.

ASSTRACTIn the class-room, the teacher has two roles, to teach academic content and to teach therapeutically. It is not a question of whether or not the teacher should engage in psychotherapy. He cannot avoid some relationship with it. Aspects of the relationship are documented. L.imitations upon this aspect of the teacher's role are considered. His advantages include the availability of certain knowledge and techniques from various therapeutic approaches, and certain diagnostic and treatment factors. The teacher is seen in a unique position where, with adequate training, he can make valuable contributions to psychotherapy and mental health in the community.

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1.-A theoretical analysis of the concept of the Self shows it to be a learned structure, growing mainly from comments made by other people and from inferences drawn by children out of their experience in home, school and other social groups. Amongst the people likely to be most influential in determining the Self-picture are teachers. Two hypotheses were formulated : that i t is possible to distinguish reliably between teachers in normal class-rooms in respect of the frequency and kind of comments they make with reference to the Self ; and that it is possible to teach so that, while aiming a t the normal results of teaching, specific changes can be made in the Self-picture.2.-The results of the investigation indicated that : (a) The first hypothesis was supported. Marked differences occurred between teachers in the frequency of Self-reference in their comments, particularly in their positive or negative comments on the child's performance, status and Self-confidence or potency.The second hypothesis was also supported. One teacher studied the Self-ratings of his class and tried to teach so that certain Self-ratings were changed. A small number of changes occurred in Self-traits, b u t statistically significant changes were found in two dimensions of the Self, certainty and differentiation. Both changes were interpreted as indicating greater psychological security.A control class taught by a teacher regarded as typically ' sound ' and having no awareness of the Self-picture as an outcome of education showed significant decreases in certainty about the Self and in differentiation. The uncertainty spread throughout the Self and was significantly greater than that of the experimental group. Both changes were interpreted as leading to a marked psychological insecurity. These changes, usually indicative of poor adjustment, were the unsought and unnoticed concomitant outcomes of normal methods aimed at securing the usual academic results.( d ) Standardised tests showed that both classes made about the same gains in some aspects of English and Arithmetic over the experimental period.(e) The analysis of the Self into categories and dimensions and the use of a Self-rating scale appear t o provide a useful method of discriminating between teachers according to the Self-reference of their words and of their methods of managing situations in the class-room. ~.-INTRODUCTION : THE EMPIRICAL AND THEORECTICAL IMPORTANCE OF THETHE importance of the Self in psychological thinking has both empirical and theoretical foundations. Self-reference is frequent in the conversation of adults, and class-room data show that this is also true of children. Clinical records stress the importance of the Self-picture and of Self-acceptance and rejection. From such evidence it appears that the Self is empirically a matter of prime SELF-PICTURE.

Recent studies have suggested that the dimension of levelling-sharpening is related to learning. An investigation is described in which groups of levellers and sharpeners were compared for differences in attainment in 8 academic subjects of their secondary school curriculum. Attainment was measured by scores in routine half-yearly examinations, mostly of objective or short-answer type. Levellers and sharpeners were defined as those whose ranking accuracy scores on a modified Holman Schematising Test placed them in the bottom and top 27 per cent of the distribution. The data showed that the test scores, while not significantly related to measured intelligence, were able to predict success in some academic subjects. Levelling-sharpening and memorymental study of the cognitive control organisation. J. abnorm. soc.