Who gets to be a liscensed psychologist?

Hey guys,
A few people I know and I were talking about this the other day. What programs enable somebody to become liscensed as a psychologist? Obviously clinical psychology programs, but what about Ph.Ds in counseling psychology? We weren't sure what umbrella that would fall under.
Thanks!
Lindsay

As I understand it, if you graduate from a doctoral program (Ph.D., Psy.D., Ed.D.) in an applied area of psychology (clinical, counseling, school, or I/0), get the required post-doctoral supervision, and then pass the EPPP, you are a licensed psychologist. From what I've heard, in most states, "psychologist" is a generic license, so someone who got a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and another who got a Ph.D. in counseling psychology share the same license. I'm not sure if every state requires that you graduate from an APA-accredited program, but I think a lot do, so it's something you should check if you want to get licensed in that state.

My understanding is that it varies from state to state. In Georgia, a "psychologist" can only be someone who has a PhD or PsyD from an APA-accredited clinical, counseling, or school psychology program. Again, that's just Georgia.

RileyG said:

My understanding is that it varies from state to state. In Georgia, a "psychologist" can only be someone who has a PhD or PsyD from an APA-accredited clinical, counseling, or school psychology program. Again, that's just Georgia.

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I think FL requires APA acred. too, though YMMV.

In general, the first reply is correct....though I/O is *not* a licensable degree, as they do not have any clinical component to it (at least at the programs I looked at, they were purely research). Also, it is important to practice within your scope of training, so a school psychologist who was training primarily in assessment shouldn't do long-term therapy with someone, just like a clinical psychologist shouldn't do educational assessments on a whim without any training in the area.

-t

Thanks! We were sort of having a debate about graduates of psychology programs housed in Education departments, too, as you can get a counseling psychology degree from a edu department.
BTW, these were people in a research lab. I don't just have like, all pre psych friends.
And I think I spelled licensed wrong.

Visit ASPPB.org (Association of State and Provinicial Psychology Boards).

They publish a directory (online too) of the licensing requirements of all the states, provinces, and territories.

While the responses received here thus far are generally correct, you'll be surprised at the variability of the standards in the individual jurisdictions.

The folks at ASPPB and APPIC will tell you -- repeatedly -- if you want to know what a particular jurisdiction's requirements are, you must inquire of that jurisdiction directly.

Therapist4Chnge said:

I think FL requires APA acred. too, though YMMV.

In general, the first reply is correct....though I/O is *not* a licensable degree, as they do not have any clinical component to it (at least at the programs I looked at, they were purely research). Also, it is important to practice within your scope of training, so a school psychologist who was training primarily in assessment shouldn't do long-term therapy with someone, just like a clinical psychologist shouldn't do educational assessments on a whim without any training in the area.

-t

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We talked about this in my professional issues class. I/O Psychologists can be licensed if they go through the APA licensure process (atleast in FL). However as you state it would be looked down upon and against APA guidelines to practice as a "Clinical Psychologist" if you were not properly trained. But in order to legally call yourself a psychologist (like on your door, or business cards) you have to be registered through the APA.

Just a little tid bit. I found out that there are nine states that if you want to get licensed you must have an APA accredited degree. The ones i know off hand are California, Illinois, and Louisiana. It looks like a lot of states have two routes. Either APA accredited or the program has to meet a ton of other requirements. Although they appear to be anything you would find in any regionally accredited university.

IOPsych said:

But in order to legally call yourself a psychologist (like on your door, or business cards) you have to be registered through the APA.

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APA has no authority to regulate what people call themselves.
Members of APA agree to abide by the APA Code of Ethics but the penalty for non-compliance is ejection from APA. There is no legal force of law.

Whether or not you can legally call yourself a psychologist is a matter handled by the professional licensing law in your state. Violating that law one would potentially charges of practicing psychology without a license (though I know of only a minicule number of people who have ever been prosecuted for it.) And, too, most states permit exemptions to the licensing law, notably for those who work in state facilities. Those people are "psychologists" in their place of work, but are not permitted to use that title independently.