Clinical psychology students' perceptions of an academic climate for caring.

There is a general consensus that caring is an important personal attribute of helping professionals. One way for educational institutions to develop a caring attitude in students is to provide an academic climate for caring. A total of 45 doctoral students in a clinical psychology program were asked to list specific faculty-student and student-student interactions which they believed reflected a caring attitude towards others. Components of this student-perceived climate for caring include mutual respect and support, personal interest, and informal socialization.