New APA guidelines/reform regarding licensure and accreditation

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DrClinPsyAdvice

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2008
Messages
508
Reaction score
51
Folks applying this year:

You REALLY need to read this. APA just passed a resolution saying that only folks from an accredited graduate program and an accredited internship will be able to get licensed at all! Even if you get into an accredited doctoral program, you may not get an accredited internship since some of them have a very low match rate!

Be very careful!!!!

Read these:
http://www.cudcp.us/files/Reports/CUDCP_2011_Psy_Grad_School_Fact_sheet.pdf

and

http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Internship Outcomes.pdf
Members don't see this ad.
 
DrClinPsyAdvice said:
Folks applying this year:

You REALLY need to read this. APA just passed a resolution saying that only folks from an accredited graduate program and an accredited internship will be able to get licensed at all! Even if you get into an accredited doctoral program, you may not get an accredited internship since some of them have a very low match rate!

Be very careful!!!!

Read these:
http://www.cudcp.us/files/Reports/CUDCP_2011_Psy_Grad_School_Fact_sheet.pdf

and

http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Internship Outcomes.pdf
Click to expand...

Interesting! Thanks for the info; I think this is generally a positive step forward for the field. If and when there is more information available about the APA resolution, could you pass it on? I'm a little confused about how this is going to happen, because I thought state licensing boards operated separately from the APA.

Thanks again for posting!
 
ASPPB, CoA, and others are all working towards reform together. So, we should see some major changes to the field occurring soon. I hope NO ONE applies to a grad school that is not accredited, and NO ONE attends a grad school with low internship placement rates at accredited internships. All applicants NEED TO KNOW this!!!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
thewesternsky said:
Interesting! Thanks for the info; I think this is generally a positive step forward for the field. If and when there is more information available about the APA resolution, could you pass it on? I'm a little confused about how this is going to happen, because I thought state licensing boards operated separately from the APA.

Thanks again for posting!
Click to expand...

ASPPB, CoA, and others are all working towards reform together. So, we should see some major changes to the field occurring soon. I hope NO ONE applies to a grad school that is not accredited, and NO ONE attends a grad school with low internship placement rates at accredited internships. All applicants NEED TO KNOW this!!!
 
DrClinPsyAdvice: When you say accredited internships, does that refer to APA and CPA only? As always, thank you for the information!
 
Last edited:
Good thread! I am wondering where you got the info that APA was about to make attending an APA-accred school necessary for licensure?

I agree, I think this is a good step forward. Ideally I wish the programs that were not accredited weren't allowed to operate, as many students are going to be screwed.
 
DrClinPsyAdvice said:
Folks applying this year:

You REALLY need to read this. APA just passed a resolution saying that only folks from an accredited graduate program and an accredited internship will be able to get licensed at all! Even if you get into an accredited doctoral program, you may not get an accredited internship since some of them have a very low match rate!

Be very careful!!!!

Read these:
http://www.cudcp.us/files/Reports/CUDCP_2011_Psy_Grad_School_Fact_sheet.pdf

and

http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Internship Outcomes.pdf
Click to expand...

I really like the table from UNC that lists APA internship match rates by program! Very user friendly!

However, where is the resolution that APA actually passed? I have to see it to believe it. They are not courageous enough to pass something like this so I'm very skeptical.
 
Last edited:
What the connection between the posted links and the actual claim made here? I see nothing about it, but I just gave the documents a cursory glance.

And licensing (and what is considered "license-eligible") is up to the state, no? That's not even in APA authority, is it?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
erg923 said:
What the connection between the posted links and the actual claim made here? I see nothing about it, but I just gave the documents a cursory glance.

And licensing (and what is considered "license-eligible") is up to the state, no? That's not even in APA authority, is it?
Click to expand...

FWIW, this was posted on one of the division listservs from a reputable source:

"As an overview of this discussion so far -

As of 2017, only students of APA accredited doctoral programs can participate in the APPIC internship match. That will draw a bright line between accredited and non-accredited doctoral programs.

As of 2018, in order to be considered a "health-service psychologist" by APA (which would also be expected to affect licensing in those states that designate psychologists as health-service providers) one would have to graduate from an APA-accredited doctoral program, and by 2020 also have completed an APA-accredited internship."
 
This is going to implode in 2020. The APA match rate is 56%. It's a move in the right direction, but I can't even imagine how it will play out.
 
futureapppsy2 said:
FWIW, this was posted on one of the division listservs from a reputable source:

"As an overview of this discussion so far -

As of 2017, only students of APA accredited doctoral programs can participate in the APPIC internship match. That will draw a bright line between accredited and non-accredited doctoral programs. Sounds good, but why wait 4 years? The student entered an unaccredited program knowingly

As of 2018, in order to be considered a "health-service psychologist" by APA (which would also be expected to affect licensing in those states that designate psychologists as health-service providers) one would have to graduate from an APA-accredited doctoral program, and by 2020 also have completed an APA-accredited internship." By 2020, this will be revoked. How many states have psychologists designated as health service providers?
Click to expand...
 
erg923 said:
And licensing (and what is considered "license-eligible") is up to the state, no? That's not even in APA authority, is it?
Click to expand...

APA's move is toward requiring accreditation for doc programs and internships (it used to be called "universal accreditation," but accreditation of post-docs is too hard to manage). This includes allowing only APA-accredited doc programs to participate in the APPIC match.

But, yes, you're right--actual implementation of this falls on state boards. It will be up to the state boards to implement it, from my understanding.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
PHD12 said:
futureapppsy2 said:
As of 2018, in order to be considered a "health-service psychologist" by APA (which would also be expected to affect licensing in those states that designate psychologists as health-service providers) one would have to graduate from an APA-accredited doctoral program, and by 2020 also have completed an APA-accredited internship."
Click to expand...

By 2020, this will be revoked. How many states have psychologists designated as health service providers?
Click to expand...
yeah, this seems slim at best. I believe the APA just rolled out this idea. Meaning, they want the profession to be included as health-service providers, which would mean that all providers have nationally accredited training programs. At this point, more than half of all clinical psychologists do not receive APA-accredited training. So, the APA thinks it can change that in 5-7 years? Some may say that is inane.

Coincidentally, this comes on the heels of a new psychology accreditation system, which creates the first real competition for the APA.
Click to expand...
 
Something needs I happen either way. If APA wants to tighten standards that is fine with me. Looking at that second link, Alliant Los Angeles has a .98% EPPP pass rate?!? How is that even possible? Random chance should have more than that pass a multiple guess test.
 
Sanman said:
Something needs I happen either way. If APA wants to tighten standards that is fine with me. Looking at that second link, Alliant Los Angeles has a .98% EPPP pass rate?!? How is that even possible? Random chance should have more than that pass a multiple guess test.
Click to expand...

That's their APA match rate.
 
This will hopefully address the saturation of the market, which is a good thing.

I sort of wish they'd first focus on their accreditation standards that allow the issues associated with FSPSs to exist before attempting to make those standards even more the be all end all.
 
It just increases the internship bottleneck, though. And while I agree that the internship is a better place to be bottlenecked than the actual job market, it's still not the best place. The bottleneck belongs at the graduate admissions process.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
NotTheHoff said:
I sort of wish they'd first focus on their accreditation standards that allow the issues associated with FSPSs to exist before attempting to make those standards even more the be all end all.
Click to expand...

In fairness to the APA, they are doing some of this now. The new CoA leadership sent out the entire accreditation process for comment and revision, and included some things in there that weren't there before (e.g., better defining the match rates they want to see at accreditation/reaccreditation time).

At the same time, those same revisions had wording problems (having bad outcomes resulted in a program getting "looked at," by the policy wording--I and some others raised this point in the public comments).

You could get involved in APAGS/APA, or your state leadership association, and help to make sure these issues stay on the front burner. :)
 
Wow I hope I dont get screwed by this, I'm attending an APPIC only (not APA accredited internship) and from an APA accred. program.

BTW, can we have a link to the listserv post? I think my program and intenrship TD would like to know about this, if they dont already.
 
Getting this phased in will take awhile, especially regarding state by state decisions so students already on internship should not be impeded. But it is important for potential students to know about, for certain, especially the health service aspects as we move toward universal health care programs.
 
bmedclinic said:
Wow I hope I dont get screwed by this, I'm attending an APPIC only (not APA accredited internship) and from an APA accred. program.
Click to expand...

I think the idea is for state boards that use this to also use the grandparenting in (i.e., if you went to a non-accredited internship during the time that was ok to be licensed in the state, you're ok for the future). I think not screwing over students was a part of the entire discussion.

PHD12 said:
By the way, APA's response to the letter you sent about the internship imbalance is on the main APA website:

http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/
Click to expand...

Here's the direct link: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/about/coa/student-internship-imbalance.aspx. I posted this to the occupy FB group as well.
 
MCParent said:
http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/about/coa/student-internship-imbalance.aspx. I posted this to the occupy FB group as well.
Click to expand...

Is the CoA doing an audit of APA-acred. programs to ensure that they met the 09/15/12 deadline?

CoA Response to Student Petition said:
....By September 15, 2012, all accredited doctoral programs will be required to provide data on the following key indicators using a required template: time to completion, program costs, internship placement, attrition, and licensure. Additionally, these data are to be placed within “one-click” of the program’s webpage and titled, “Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data.” Although this IR has been in effect since 2006, the required format is designed to assist potential students in comparing programs on identical criteria and to allow the CoA to efficiently recognize identifiers that may signify a concern with a program’s educational quality.
Click to expand...
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Is the CoA doing an audit of APA-acred. programs to ensure that they met the 09/15/12 deadline?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I think they do a web cull of every single program's C-20 data every year, so I assume so. I can ask a contact I have about it. If they're supposed to, but you see nonconforming sites, I'd be happy to bring it to their attention.
 
MCParent said:
I don't know. I think they do a web cull of every single program's C-20 data every year, so I assume so. I can ask a contact I have about it. If they're supposed to, but you see nonconforming sites, I'd be happy to bring it to their attention.
Click to expand...

OK. I remember seeing a couple last year (prior to the deadline) that were not in the correct format, but I don't recall the specific programs. If I stumble across any I'll FWD them along to you.
 
Does anyone have a complete document outlining the official resolution? I am curious to look at the details and fine print.
 
The field is a mess!If I were an undergraduate I'd avoid psychology! A psych major in college can get much a job but can be competitive for graduate programs in other fields. l'd go into one of those other fields.
 
This is a resolution but licencusre is completely up the the individual Boards of Psychology NOT our professional organization (APA). The APA does not control the licensing Boards. The trend is actually moving in the opposite direction and in fact, individual states that have had requirements regarding APA accredited internships have since begun to express their desire to NOT limit the applicants. Most states have accepted APPIC and CAPIC membership internships. I strongly recommend that everyone understands the difference between professional organizations and governing bodies. Be sure that you go to the source for accurate information - contact the states individual Boards and you may even reach out to ASPPB (the national association that oversees all of our licensing examinations) www.asppb.net
We also welcome every student to look at these important myths and facts that include accreditation, licensure and employment.

CAPIC Myths and Facts: http://capic.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CAPIC-Myths-and-Facts-FINAL.pdf

Comparing APPIC and CAPIC Internship membership criteria: http://capic.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Analysis-of-APPIC-v-CAPIC-criteria-Updated-gw.pdf

Be informed consumers everyone...


DrClinPsyAdvice said:
Folks applying this year:

You REALLY need to read this. APA just passed a resolution saying that only folks from an accredited graduate program and an accredited internship will be able to get licensed at all! Even if you get into an accredited doctoral program, you may not get an accredited internship since some of them have a very low match rate!

Be very careful!!!!

Read these:
http://www.cudcp.us/files/Reports/CUDCP_2011_Psy_Grad_School_Fact_sheet.pdf

and

http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Internship Outcomes.pdf[/QUOTE
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
erg923 said:
And make sure you pay your interns below minimum wage, right?
Click to expand...
If you don't like it, then you should just make your own alternative path because who cares that it will just add to the existing problems within our profession and inordinately benefit a handful of for-profit companies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I'll get excited when I actually see positive change. I don't think predatory programs, shady internships, and CAPIC are going anywhere anytime soon. They'll continue to make the field look worse until the APA actually gets some cajones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I have to say that I appreciate the potential for reform and that APA is working to improve the field. I feel that reform is greatly needed and is a long time coming, especially in light of the internship imbalance the field has been facing and how this has been impacting the training of psychologists who provide care throughout the country. Having completed an APA accredited program and internship, I am clearly bias in my view that this would be a welcomed benchmark for those becoming licensed. However, I find myself wondering if this internal bias prevents myself and others from considering viable alternatives which could better identify competent providers that did not necessarily complete an accredited internship. Food for thought I should think.........

Bearing that in mind, I am also skeptical about whether these potential changes could ever become formalized and enacted. I remember that there were efforts to limit certain doctoral programs and internships from being formed/accredited, so as to address the internship imbalance not too long ago. If I am not mistaken, antitrust laws were a key issue that prevented said proposals from being pursued. Along these lines, I am not exactly sure how this new policy could be enacted on a national level, as there are sure to be practical, legal, and ethical considerations which not yet readily apparent to those of us on the outside looking in.
 
DynamicDidactic said:
Wait, is someone from CAPIC actually posting on here? Are CAPIC administrators worried about losing applicants?
Click to expand...

Did you read the "Myths and Facts" thing? I loved this little tidbit "Almost 50% of CAPIC approved internships provide funding to interns." I especially like how this is portrayed as a supposedly good thing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
ASPPB is an antitrust scheme under investigation...
 
shooter said:
ASPPB is an antitrust scheme under investigation...
Click to expand...

From your blog:

About Us
Click to expand...
The psychologists for Modern Psychologists.

Why Charge the Members, When You Charge the Advertisers?

We are a group of new and aspiring psychologists, dissatisfied with outdated associations.

With innovative ideas and a new millennial mindset
  • Modern Psychologists operate as a guerrilla, unrestricted to people with formal affiliations or outdated bureaucratic bodies.
  • We scrutinize, challenge, and question what is said and ‘done’ for early career and emerging psychologists by current stagnant psychological associations.
  • We encourage, enable, and disseminate critical psychology in American graduate programs, licensing boards, and provide opportunities for practical solutions.
Cheers!
Click to expand...

No, you certainly don't have an agenda....
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
WisNeuro said:
Because.........Vote Trump, 9/11 was an inside job, and the gays killed Kennedy and Jesus!
Click to expand...

coming out of your state @WisNeuro

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

E
Is APA accreditation on contingency hard to get?
Replies
1
Views
588
AcronymAllergy
AcronymAllergy
P
APPIC match when PhD program has APA accreditation site visit during interviews?
Replies
4
Views
673
niceman
N
AbnormalPsych
ResearchGate and APA Collab
Replies
2
Views
396
Ollie123
O
thisisjustatest
Appic member post doc not APA accredited
Replies
7
Views
911
summerbabe
summerbabe
E
Not yet APA Accredited?
Replies
9
Views
1K
Epak333
E
Top