American Board of Professional
Psychology (ABPP):
Board Certification Culture in
Academic and Training Settings
Nadine J. Kaslow, PhD, ABPP
Past-President, ABPP
nkaslow@emory.edu
Greg Lee, PhD, ABPP
President, ABPP
glee@georgiahealth.edu
???
If your primary care doc said “You need to
see a Cardiologist,” would you want to see a
Board Certified Cardiologist or a Non-Board
Certified Cardiologist?
Answer:
X Board Certified Cardiologist
____ Non-Board Certified Cardiologist
???
If your primary care doc said “You need to
see a Psychologist,” would you want to
see a Board Certified Psychologist or a
Non-Board Certified Psychologist?
Answer:
X Board Certified Psychologist
____ Non-Board Certified Psychologist
The Credentialing Continuum
Accredited
Doctoral
Program
Accredited
Internship
Postdoctoral
Residency
(optional)
Licensed by
State or
Province
Identified
as Health
Service
Provider
?
Board
Certified in
Area of
Specialty
Practice
Specialty Certification in Psychology


A specialty is a defined area in the practice of
psychology that connotes specialty competency
acquired through an organized sequence of formal
education, training, and experience
The practice activities in any specialty seldom are
exclusive to the specialty and most practice
activities are shared with the general practice of
professional psychology
Specialty Certification in Psychology

The pattern of practice activities, including limiting
the scope of practice, and focusing upon more
complex or unique problems or technologies is
more relevant in defining a specialty together with
advanced education, training, and experience
Why is Certification Necessary and
Essential in Psychology?



The exponential growth of psychological knowledge
leaves no alternative but specialization
Our work environments impel us to specialize
Our professional context reinforces the need for
specialization
Why is Certification Necessary and
Essential in Psychology?


The generic nature of psychology licensing in North
America presumes additional professional selfregulation of specialty practice
Most important, protecting the public from charlatans
and the ill-prepared requires personal and
professional self-regulation
What is ABPP
•
•
•
•
A non-profit, unitary
•
governing body
Coordinates 14 affiliated
psychology specialty
examining boards
•
Certifies psychologists
competent to deliver
high quality services in
specialty areas of
psychology
Recognizes new
•
specialties and
subspecialties
Requires self-study and
comprehensive periodic
site review of its member
boards
Conducts exams and
certifies specialists in
accordance with
established professional
standards, policies, and
procedures
Lists and verifies board
certified specialists in its
public directory
ABPP Mission Statement
•
The mission of ABPP is to increase consumer
protection through the examination and certification
of psychologists who demonstrate competence in
approved specialty areas in professional psychology
Value of ABPP


Board Certification by ABPP provides peer and
public recognition of demonstrated competence in
an approved specialty area in professional
psychology
In addition, ABPP board certification provides the
professional with increased opportunities for
career growth, including employability, mobility,
and financial compensation
Recognized Specialties in ABPP 2012
• Clinical Child and
Adolescent
• Clinical
• Clinical Health
• Clinical
Neuropsychology
• Cognitive and
Behavioral
• Counseling
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Couples and Family
Forensic
Group
Organization and
Business
Police and Public
Safety
Psychoanalysis
Rehabilitation
School
Benefits of Board Certification
• What’s in it for you as a psychologist?
Benefits of Board Certification
• Practitioner
 Increase pay potential
– Enhance job satisfaction
– Distinguish you from other psychologists in the
job market
– Improve job security and employability
– Renew emphasis on life-long learning and
professional development
– Affirm your professional identity
Benefits of Board Certification
 Practitioner
– Increase interaction with outstanding and
distinguished psychologists
– Experience greater credibility in eye of colleagues
and referral sources
– Gain more prestige in the profession
– Strengthen potential for meaningful contributions
to the profession
Benefits of Board Certification
• Practitioner
– Streamline credentialing process at state
licensing boards, insurance companies,
professional practice networks, and medical staff
– Facilitate inter-jurisdictional license and practice
mobility
Benefits of Board Certification
 Profession
– Set standards for competence
– Guide uniform training models for competence
– Increase breadth and depth of knowledge base,
skills, and attitudes of practitioners
– Ensure intra-professional regulation
– Allow for public recognition of a brand name
Benefits of Board Certification
 Public
 Protect consumers
 Assure quality
 Reduce confusion
 Increase likelihood of being viewed by
consumers, professionals, employers, insurers,
credentialing organizations, legal systems, and
licensing boards as the most competent
10 Reasons to Specialize in the
Current Healthcare Climate
 Consumers want it
 Healthcare systems expect it
 Policy calls for it
 Quality improvement programs demand it
 Pay is linked to quality
10 Reasons to Specialize in the
Current Healthcare Climate
 The workforce needs us
 Integrated health care teams respect us
 Health care homes have a place for us
 Parity is in our favor
 Access for all in need for all of services
Competency-Based Approach
 The competencies are
categorized into foundational
and functional competencies
that are applicable to ALL
specialties and specialty
practice
Competency-Based Approach
 The foundational and functional competencies
constructs are applicable to all specialties and
specialty practice
 They run throughout the ABPP board certification
process
ABPP Specialty Certification
Which Board Do I Get Certified In?
 What is your primary self-identification
 How do you want others to see you
Application Process
 Generic application
 Specialty application
 CV, Professional Statement
 Work Sample
 Written Exam (Forensics, Clinical Neuropsychology)
 Oral Exam
Senior Psychologist Option
 Many, but not all, of the specialty boards have a
senior option for individuals who have met the
degree, internship, and postdoctoral criterion, AND
have 15 years or more of postdoctoral experience
following licensure
 Senior option typically does not require the work
sample, but requires all other elements of the
application process
Early Entry Program
 ABPP Early Entry Option Value Statement
 In addition to saving $100 on the application fee, participation
in the Early Entry Program demonstrates an early
commitment to lifelong professional development and
identification with a specialized area of practice in
professional psychology
 Graduate students, interns, and residents are eligible
to start the board certification process through the
ABPP Early Entry Program
Early Entry Program
 Here’s how it works




Complete an application and submit the $25 fee
Option about whether or not to identify a specialty
Access mentoring early on to facilitate progress
Submit credentials as complete each phase of training
 Training programs can pay the application fee for
their students
 Recommend seminars on
board certification that include
individuals who are board
certified
Quote From a Recent Candidate
“I can unequivocally state that it was a very
enriching process...The process provides you
with a sense of validation by your peers and
helps the public clearly identify who has met the
requirements of certification...When I finished I
did not feel like I had passed one test—I felt I had
completed a comprehensive process designed to
assess my competence. There were anxieties
along the way– “what if I fail”—but then I decided
I would just take what I learned and build on it to
improve myself. I highly suggest going for the
boards.”
... Dominic A. Carone, Ph.D, ABPP
(recent ABCN board-certified specialist)
“Take-Home Message
The “Take Home” Message
 As specialization becomes more defined and as the
field continues to expand, board certification may
not only be necessary but may be imperative as a
way to defined advanced qualifications and
standards of excellence
 Board Certification is important to protect the
public and promote the profession of psychology
 In this evolving health care climate, specialization
has considerable value and may increasingly
become an expectation
The “Take Home” Message
 ABPP is a gold standard for board certification in
psychology
 ABPP will continue to be at the forefront of
specialty competency board certification in
professional psychology
The “Take Home” Message
 ABPP is a large umbrella for psychology specialty
 ABPP subspecialties offer exciting new
opportunities for current ABPP Boards
The Expected…not the Exceptional
It is not the exceptional specialist who should be
board certified, but the specialist who is not board
certified who should be the exception
Russ Bent, PhD, ABPP
ABPP Resources
• American Board of Professional Psychology
– www.abpp.org
– Nezu, Finch, and Simon (Eds.) (2009), Becoming
board certified by the American Board of
Professional Psychology. New York: Oxford.
– Nezu and Nezu Oxford book series
Closing

Contact:
Nadine Kaslow, Ph.D., ABPP
(nkaslow@emory.edu) with questions

Good luck and enjoy the process!!!
American Board of Professional Psychology
600 Market Street
Suite 300
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 537-8031 Voice
(919) 537-8034 Fax