PhD/PsyD MA licensure question

[VentureIntoNothingness]

I was wondering if people familar with MA licensure can help me figure out the requirement for the postdoc experiences... I am starting a TT position in MA right after my internship. I was told that to accrue qualifiable post-internship licensure requirement in MA, I will need to see 10 patients a week and with additional 2.5 individual supervision hour per week by licensed psychologist. MA licensure doc, however, under 3.04 (9) states " Psychological employment, teaching, research, or professional practice under the supervision of a licensed psychologist shall fulfill the supervised experience requirement for licensure if it is performed competently at a professional level and it is satisfactory in scope and quality...Satisfactory professional experience includes tasks which depend upon the application of skills, concepts, and principles at a professional level. Examples include: administering and interpreting psychological tests; providing clients or patients assistance in solving professional or personal problems; designing original research projects; analyzing and reporting on research data; and teaching a psychology course." This to me reads like all my "normal" research/teaching/mentoring duties for my TT job would all count towards the 1600 post-internship hours with no particular requirements for face-to-face hours.

Thanks a bunch!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[psych.meout]

Are you asking if you could get licensed without any of your hours being face-to-face clinical hours with patients?

 

[ClinicalABA]

MA doesn't require a post doc. Do yiu not have qualifying pre-doctoral experience? Also, make sure you're looking at licensure with designation as a Health Services Provider (HSP). Licensure without the HSP (if they even do that anyomore) is pretty useless.

 

[psychresearcher16]

If I'm remembering correctly, there's a clause in there stipulating that you need 800 direct clinical hours between internship and post-internship experiences.

 

[ClinicalABA]

If I'm remembering correctly, there's a clause in there stipulating that you need 800 direct clinical hours between internship and post-internship experiences.

The only reference to "800" I see in the regs is that for HSP designation, 800 of your 3200 supervised clinical hours need to be completed by providing health services directly to clients. These 2 years of experience (i.e., the 3200 hours) must be completed in no more than 60 months, with at least half completed prior to receiving the doctoral degree, and must include a 1600 pre- OR post doctoral internship. If you have the 1600 from a pre-doc internship, the other 1600 can come from "advanced practicum" completed after your second year of graduate school. Check the section on "advanced practica" to see if your experiences qualify.

If you don't have all the pre-doc hours and want to be licensed as psychologist HSP (i.e., be able to do therapy, supervise, etc.), you'll need to do those supervised hours in a "health services setting." See below- typical university setting as a TT professor not going to qualify (outside of supervised hours in a training clinic)- from 251 CMR 3.06 (emphasis added):

(5) The reference to "supervised health service experience" in M.G.L. c. 112, § 120 shall not include the following services: vocational guidance services; industrial or organizational consulting services; teaching; or conducting research. Client contact exclusively for research purposes shall not be admissible to meet this requirement.

From what I can see in the regs, there still may be the option of becoming a licensed psychologist without the HSP designation. I don't think there are too many of those left, as it really is doesn't afford any real benefit- you can't provide therapy or psych assessment, nor can you supervise other clinicians or bill insurance. My cognitive psych/stats professor had this licensure (~25 years ago), and there was a supervisor affiliated with my pre-doc internship as well. When the board found out he was supervising pre-doc clinical interns without the HSP, they denied the applications of all his supervisees, sanctioned (and I think fined him and maybe the program). I'm surprised that they still even offer that option.

If you're comfortable, send me a PM and let me know where you're heading for the TT position. It's a small world up here.

 

[Spydra]

MA doesn't require a post doc. Do yiu not have qualifying pre-doctoral experience? Also, make sure you're looking at licensure with designation as a Health Services Provider (HSP). Licensure without the HSP (if they even do that anyomore) is pretty useless.

Isn't the HSP designation what the National Register does? Or is there a difference between that and a state designated HSP?

 

[ClinicalABA]

Isn't the HSP designation what the National Register does? Or is there a difference between that and a state designated HSP?

Honestly I have no idea!?!