APA Model Act on "School Psychologist" Title

[OasisStudent]

http://www.nasponline.org/standards/apamla.aspx


"..After a three year revision process in which APA considered a revised MLA that would remove or restrict this exemption, the APA Council of Representatives voted on February 20, 2010 to retain the right of both specialist and doctoral level school psychologists credentialed by State Education Agencies to use the title “school psychologist.”



So what does this mean for school psychologists really? Does this or will this effect the work of doctoral level psychologists?

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[lookitssara]

It doesn't change anything. Had they changed the title restriction, there *may* have been a slight shift in schools hiring practices (preferring doctoral-level school psychs) but that is a big *may* (especially since they would have to pay them more).

 

[FadedC]

As the previous poster said, all this means is that the APA decided not to change anything at all.

 

[jnine]

i think that this was an asinine argument over semantics and am glad it's over so school psychologists of all levels can focus more on doing their jobs. that said i side with the masters level school psychologists because the APA was threatening their livliehood on a basic level with next to no good reason to do so.

 

[aagman01]

Well, as a doctoral student in school psych I was sort of neutral on that debate. On the one hand, I certainly did not want to see any positions eliminated because of semantical changes. On the other hand, most school masters/educational specialist school psychologist are not psychologists in the sense that the title infers that they are.

A majority of MA/EdS school psychs receive no true supervision in therapy (and if they do, its from a school psych who normally themselves received very little training/supervision). Furthermore, there role tends to be restricted to cognitive and academic assessment (with some further work done for "emotional disturbance"/EBD assessment).

Having myself completed externship in a school and several non-school settings (community counseling clinic, clinical psych training clinic, and a variety of roles in a hospital) I would say the school psych role is VERY restricted as compared to what many other psychologists do.

If RTI truly became the norm, I could see a stronger rational for not removing the title exemption. However, that is overwhelmingly NOT the case natinoally. In all honesty, psychodiagnostician or something of that sort is probably more in-line with the role(s) MA/EdS school psychs actually fulfill. With all of that said, it seems that removal of the title would threaten the funding/job sources at some state levels. So, I sort of see both sides of the debate.

i think that this was an asinine argument over semantics and am glad it's over so school psychologists of all levels can focus more on doing their jobs. that said i side with the masters level school psychologists because the APA was threatening their livliehood on a basic level with next to no good reason to do so.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

So a school psychologist can be: MS, EdS, Ed.D., Ph.D., or Psy.D? That's not going to cause any confusion....., particularly since more school psychologists are moving out into other areas of practice, and are not staying just in the school system. The education differences are rather significant, but they all fall under the same title. As someone at the doctoral level, I am frustrated that a protected term (in the vast majority of places) is essentially not protected. I think the bigger issue it that a place of employment can advertise for a "school psychologist", and may at the MS level, completely disregarding the years of extra training involved in doctoral training.

 

[FadedC]

Well my understanding is that it's not quite as bad as that. The exemption only applies to practice within a school. If you are not practicing within a school then you can no longer use the title psychologist unless you are actually licensed. School psychologists who practice outside the school will almost always be doctoral level.

So a school psychologist can be: MS, EdS, Ed.D., Ph.D., or Psy.D? That's not going to cause any confusion....., particularly since more school psychologists are moving out into other areas of practice, and are not staying just in the school system. The education differences are rather significant, but they all fall under the same title. As someone at the doctoral level, I am frustrated that a protected term (in the vast majority of places) is essentially not protected. I think the bigger issue it that a place of employment can advertise for a "school psychologist", and may at the MS level, completely disregarding the years of extra training involved in doctoral training.

 

[Buzzwordsoldier]

Well my understanding is that it's not quite as bad as that. The exemption only applies to practice within a school. If you are not practicing within a school then you can no longer use the title psychologist unless you are actually licensed. School psychologists who practice outside the school will almost always be doctoral level.

I think T4C makes the point that it's called "scope CREEP" for a reason... tiny compromises to the who what where how and why

 

[FadedC]

I think T4C makes the point that it's called "scope CREEP" for a reason... tiny compromises to the who what where how and why

But my point is just that this has been a long standing law and I'm not aware of any scope creep here or any potential for it. That was never a concern for this issue. Unless someone knows something that I don't.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

But my point is just that this has been a long standing law and I'm not aware of any scope creep here or any potential for it. That was never a concern for this issue. Unless someone knows something that I don't.

The reason why it is more of an issue now than 20 years ago is that back then there were much more clear lines between masters and doctoral training. Lobbying efforts by a variety of professional organizations have purposely blurred the lines, and title is just the next thing to go.

 

[FadedC]

The reason why it is more of an issue now than 20 years ago is that back then there were much more clear lines between masters and doctoral training. Lobbying efforts by a variety of professional organizations have purposely blurred the lines, and title is just the next thing to go.

Well I don't necesarily think the exemption is a good thing, in general I prefer the idea of psychologist=doctor accross the board because it's much simpler. I just don't think scope creep is an issue, the laws simply don't allow certificate level psychologists to practice outside of schools, at least to the best of my knowledge.