Licensure in US for graduate of CPA-Accredited Program

[pcooke114]

I am currently in a MA counseling program in the US and I am beginning to look into counseling psychology doctoral programs. I am interested in some CPA-accredited schools (such as McGill), but I'm concerned about getting licensed in the US. I've read some about the agreements between the APA and CPA, but it's not clear to me whether state licensing boards will consider CPA-accreditation as equivalent to APA-accreditation. Assuming I did an APA-accredited internship, would it be possible or, better yet, probable for me to get licensed as a psychologist in the US? Obviously licensing varies from state to state, but is there any sort of generalization that could be made?

Thanks!

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[AcronymAllergy]

I believe CPA accreditation might actually be more stringent than APA, so my gut reaction is that you'd be fine. That being said, I have no idea what (if any) additional paperwork might be required; as you mentioned, it's likely going to vary from state to state, so the safest bet would be to check out any and all states in which you're considering becoming licensed.

APA-accredited internship would at least make that particular step much easier to document, though.

 

[RGirl]

CPA and APA accreditation are recognized as equivalent by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. It was only recently that the APA stopped accrediting Canadian programs (many programs used to have to go through both accreditation procedures), and the only way this was accepted if it was ensured that students would not be penalized for this.

http://www.asppb.net/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3391

The only problem you will find is for VAs- they require APA accreditation, no matter what, so that is worth considering. Also, you may occasionally need to cite the equivalency of APA to CPA to employers (as many will state you need an APA program or internship, but won't reference CPA), but I just included a reference to it in my CV and cover letter when applying to US post-doc fellowships, and that seemed to do the trick.