PhD/PsyD Do you put "LP" after your degree when sending emails and signing documents?

[TexasPsychologistPsyD]

Hello all,

I was wondering whether or not those who are licensed psychologists put "LP" after their name to identify themselves as a licensed psychologist? This would look like "Jane Doe, PsyD, LP." Being a psychologist myself, I have not done so, but have noticed that several of my colleagues do. I asked one, who stated that he "wanted to distinguish [himself] from other PhD's...like those in physics and english." He continued, adding that "it is important for people to know that you have doctorate in psychology, and the LP does just that." One colleague told me that in Minnesota, it was "a requirement" (assumedly by the Minnesota licensing board) to put the "LP" in their name for the same reason that the aforementioned individual stated. I asked several lay individuals, and they had no clue what the LP meant, but knew what PsyD and PhD were.

What are your thoughts? Is this an important distinction that psychologists should be putting as a part of their credentials? If so, why was this not discussed in graduate school (at least not in mine)? Should it not be more uniformed across the country/world to decrease any type of confusion for those seeking services?

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to your response!

Respectfully,

Dr. C.

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[WisNeuro]

Varies. I did it when I lived in a state that required it. I don't do it in my current state. I'm not a big fan of a bunch of acronyms following my name. In my experience, the more random letters that a person has after their name, the more incompetent they are. Generally because it's usually a bunch of credentials that the individual has purchased from online vanity boards that do not actually confer any competence.

I prefer to keep it as concise as possible. Although, I am looking forward to adding ABPP in the near future to the end of my signature line.

 

[erg923]

I would think its obviously assumed that your licensed if you are working in a clinical role and are more than a couple years out of school.

 

[ClinicalABA]

I've never seen seen it used. I'll occasionally see an "HSP" designation ("health service provider), but that's rare. On the flip side, if you are doing anything remotely resembling psychology, have a doctorate in some sort of applied psych, and list your doctoral credential in representing yourself to the public, yo u better make sure you're licensed at the doctoral level or you might be guilty of practicing psychology without a license, subject to fines and censure from the board (at least in my state). The exception would be if you are a supervised intern or fellow, in which case you should be identifying yourself as such.

 

[bmedclinic]

my facility, not my state, requires that i sign as Bmed Clinic, PhD, LCP.

imo stupid to do it unless you really really just care that much. I do it so the clinical records people leave me alone.

 

[PsychScience]

Hello all,

I was wondering whether or not those who are licensed psychologists put "LP" after their name to identify themselves as a licensed psychologist? This would look like "Jane Doe, PsyD, LP." Being a psychologist myself, I have not done so, but have noticed that several of my colleagues do. I asked one, who stated that he "wanted to distinguish [himself] from other PhD's...like those in physics and english." He continued, adding that "it is important for people to know that you have doctorate in psychology, and the LP does just that." One colleague told me that in Minnesota, it was "a requirement" (assumedly by the Minnesota licensing board) to put the "LP" in their name for the same reason that the aforementioned individual stated. I asked several lay individuals, and they had no clue what the LP meant, but knew what PsyD and PhD were.

What are your thoughts? Is this an important distinction that psychologists should be putting as a part of their credentials? If so, why was this not discussed in graduate school (at least not in mine)? Should it not be more uniformed across the country/world to decrease any type of confusion for those seeking services?

I think it probably isn't discussed in graduate school because there are a lot of regional and facility specific issues with licensure. This makes it difficult to discuss with any sort of ability to make a conclusive statement. There are even between state variations for the abbreviations themselves (LP vs LCP for example).

Personally, I use the added license abbreviation only in situations that are required by my facility (when signing charts or signing off on testing reports). I can't see any other reason to use it otherwise.