Preparing Interns and Post Docs for Licensure and Advanced Certification

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Preparing Interns and Post Docs for Licensure
and Advanced Certification

• APPIC 2009 Membership Conference
• Carol Webb, PhD and Emil Rodolfa, PhD

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What Training Directors Need to Know about
Licensure

• General Sequence
• Examinations
• EPPP Content Areas, Study Methods, Myths
• Jurisprudence
• Oral
• Supervised Professional Experience
• Mobility

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What is ASPPB?

• Association of State and Provincial Psychology
  Boards www.asppb.net
• State/provincial/territorial psychology
  regulatory boards/colleges in the United States
  and Canada
• 64 member jurisdictions
• Services to licensing boards, applicants for
  licensure/registration, licensed psychologists
• The international source of information and
  resources for the regulation and
  licensure/registration of psychologists

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The Sequence of Steps Leading to Licensure

• Apply through your state/provincial/territorial
  psychology licensing board
• Doctoral coursework in most jurisdictions,
  including practicum
• Internship
• Supervised postdoctoral experience--required in
  vast majority of jurisdictions
• Examinations (EPPP, Jurisprudence, Oral)
• Pay Fees

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Doctoral Program Requirements

• Regional accreditation or government charter
• ASPPB/National Register Joint Designation or
  equivalent
• Accreditation by American Psychological
  Association or Canadian Psychological Association
  or equivalent
• Equivalent for foreign degrees

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Possible Doctoral Program Requirements (cont.)

• Coursework, as specified by doctoral program and
  jurisdiction
• Residency, as specified by doctoral program and
  jurisdiction
• Hours of practicum/internship, as specified by
  doctoral program and jurisdiction

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Examinations

• EPPP Examination for Professional Practice of
  Psychology
• Jurisprudence/ethics exam
• Possible oral exam, competency exam, interview

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What is the EPPP?

• Required by licensing boards in U.S. Canada
• Intended to measure broad, general, foundational
  knowledge for all psychologists
• Content validity supported by periodic Practice
  Analyses

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8 Content Areas of EPPP

• Biological bases of behavior (11)
• Cognitive-affective bases of behavior (13)
• Social multi-cultural bases of behavior (12)
• Growth life-span development (13)
• Assessment diagnosis (14)
• Treatment, intervention, prevention (15)
• Research methods statistics (7)
• Ethical, legal, professional issues (15)

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Detailed Resources for EPPP Info

• ASPPB Information for Candidates (printed booklet
  or downloadable on website)
• ASPPB Psychology Exam Scores by Doctoral Program
  (downloadable on website)
• ASPPB Guide for Students and Faculty Entry
  Requirements for the Professional Practice of
  Psychology (printed brochure or downloadable on
  website)

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EPPP Practice Exams

• PEPPPO (Practice Examination for Professional
  Practice in Psychology Online)
• May be taken on any computer that can connect to
  the Internet using the Microsoft Internet
  Explorer browser
• Fee for PEPPPO 55.00
• PEPPP (Practice Examination for Professional
  Practice in Psychology)
• Taken under real-world testing conditions at a
  Prometric Testing Center
• Fee for PEPPP 50 50 100.00

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Items from Previous Exams

• 250 items used on past exams
• Currently 37.50 while new version being
  developed
• www.asppb.net

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Research on EPPP

• Numerous studies have supported reliability
  content validity of EPPP
• Data suggest preparation beyond 200 hours yields
  diminishing returns
• Data suggest best to take EPPP within 3 years of
  graduation

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Study Materials

• Many commercial companies offer study materials
• ASPPB has NO CONNECTION TO THESE COMPANIES
• ASPPB does NOT sanction any of them nor provide
  them with test items

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Study Methods

• Textbooks
• Course materials
• Study groups
• Test specification materials from ASPPB

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Common Myths About the EPPPAll Untrue

• There are easy and hard versions
• The items are not related to what psychologists
  do
• The pretest questions are clumped at the
  beginning
• The majority of candidates fail
• See Myth vs. Reality of the EPPP brochure at
  www.asppb.net

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Jurisprudence Exam

• Most jurisdictions (states, provinces, or
  territories) require some type of jurisdictional
  law and regulations examination
• This exam may be written or oral

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Oral Exam Possibilities, if required

• Case vignette
• Diagnostics
• Case conceptualization
• Awareness of own professional limits
• Ability to handle crisis
• Diversity
• Ethics law

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Oral Exam Assesses

• Professional maturity
• Professional identity
• Self-awareness
• Ability to apply knowledge theory
• Ability to exercise professional judgment on the
  spot
• Ability to individualize treatment plan
• Ability to handle crisis situation

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Grounds for Failing an Oral Exam

• Inability to function independently
• Lack of own theoretical orientation
• Being too dependent
• Inability to assess follow-up with treatment
  plan
• Unaware of self as factor in treatment
• Lack of knowledge/ability to apply laws
• Not recognizing limits of own competency

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How to Prepare for Oral Exams

• Read vignettes
• Practice diagnostic formulations
• Practice treatment planning
• Consider possible crisis events relevant
  ethical legal issues

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Becoming Informed about Jurisdictional
Requirements

• www.asppb.net contains
• Specific Licensure Requirements by
  State/Province/Territory (Handbook)
• Licensing Board Contact Information by
  jurisdiction (state, province, or territory)

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Supervised Professional Experience I

• Too many stories of candidates who did not follow
  the regulations
• Recommend understanding jurisdictional
  requirements early in training
• Requirements vary among jurisdictions
• Requirements vary among practicum, internship,
  and postdoc experiences

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Supervised Professional Experience II Variables
to Consider

• Total hours of experience
• Total hours of supervision
• Hours of supervision per week
• Total hours of service-related activities
• Qualifications of supervisor(s)

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Predoc Supervised Experience Hours Requirements

• Hours Number of Jurisdictions
• 2000 11
• 1900 2
• 1800 6
• 1750 5
• 1600 1
• 1500 14
• Many require 1 year (undefined)

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Postdoc Supervised Experience Hours Requirements

• Hours Number of Jurisdictions
• 3000-4000 1
• 2000 10
• 1900 2
• 1800 5
• 1750 4
• 1600 3
• 1500 16
• 1000 1
• 1 year 6
• None 4

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Preparing for Your Future

• CVP Credentials Verification Program Banking
  your credentials for (licensure/jobs) entire
  career
• CPQ Certificate of Professional Qualification
  Licensure mobility across jurisdictional
  boundaries
• IPC Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate
  Short-term practice across jurisdictional
  boundaries

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Why Bank Verify?

• Highly mobile society
• Widely differing requirements for licensure
  across jurisdictions
• Progressive difficulty obtaining training
  documentation over time (agencies close,
  supervisors leave)
• Career plans change
• Disasters happen
• Low fees for students can be credited toward
  later CPQ application fees
• More information www.asppb.net

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CPQ

• Accepted in 38 jurisdictions
• In process in 8 jurisdictions waives some
  requirements in 9 jurisdictions in the U.S. and
  Canada
• Requires meeting various criteria, including 5
  years of licensure, no discipline
• Check www.asppb.net for specific requirements

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Jurisdictions Currently Accepting CPQ for
Licensure (38)

• Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia,
  California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,
  District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
  Kentucky, Louisiana, Manitoba, Michigan,
  Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Nebraska, New
  Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Nova
  Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon,
  Pennsylvania, Quebec, Rhode Island, South
  Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia,
  Wisconsin, Wyoming

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Other Jurisdictions

• 8 in process of accepting CPQ Alaska, Maine,
  Minnesota, New Brunswick, North Dakota, Prince
  Edward Island, Saskatchewan, South Dakota
• 9 may waive at least one requirement Iowa,
  Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Newfoundland
  Labrador, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Washington

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Some Uses for IPC

• Consultation
• Courtroom testimony
• Short term therapy after a move, in some
  jurisdictions
• Disaster relief
• I/O job and management analyses

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Recommended for Further Reading

• Psychology Licensure and Certification What
  Students Need to Know
• Edited by Thomas J. Vaughn, Ph.D.
• Published by American Psychological Association,
  2006.

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For Further Information

• Association of State and Provincial Psychology
  Boards
• P.O. Box 241245
• Montgomery, AL 36124-1245
• Phone [phone] or [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• General E-mail asppb_at_asppb.org
• Website www.asppb.net

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• We wish you the best as you help
• your trainees on their journey
• to become licensed