PhD/PsyD NJ Licensure/ 1000 client contact hours from internship?

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Member6677

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Hi all,

I posted a thread awhile ago about NJ licensure regarding postdoc hours, and thought I would make a new one for some issues I am having with my internship hours for licensure. The APA standard is 500 direct client contact hours, which I received and slightly exceeded on my APA accredited internship. I just applied for my temp working license in NJ, and the woman on the phone told me I need 1000 direct client contact hours from each of internship and postdoc. I cannot imagine a way this would be in anyway possible because of all the other things you are doing on internship, but I am having a slight heart attack. Can anyone licensed in NJ shed some light on this? @LPPSYD you were very helpful last thread, so I want to connect you to this one as well.

Thanks!

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May want to clarify with them. Do they mean face to face hours? Or do they mean hours spent in clinical care (face to face, notes, chart review, supervision). If it's the latter, you should definitely have the 1000.
 
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Yeah, looks like internship +postdoc, some language about the two years of time being accrued after completion of doctoral requirements. I'm always amazed an how needlessly complicated some states make it. I'm all about making the bar high enough to maintain competency, but at least make your application straightforward.
 
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Yeah, looks like internship +postdoc, some language about the two years of time being accrued after completion of doctoral requirements. I'm always amazed an how needlessly complicated some states make it. I'm all about making the bar high enough to maintain competency, but at least make your application straightforward.

This. So much this. The dropouts they usually hire to "manage" the process don't help matters any. Ours responded to any question about interpretation of the laws with sending us a copy of the PDF of the law. Eventually I just gave up and decided I was going to interpret it however I felt like and deal with the consequences down the line.

My reading aligns with MCParents. I think the equivalency might mean you need more hours, but it gives you an "out" so licensure is still possible. I don't think it includes things like note writing. Not sure I'd ever manage to get licensed in NJ at this point. I don't even know how many F2F hours I had on internship (and doubt there is any way of finding out at this point), but it wasn't even close to 1000 given the nature of my internship. Guess if I ever move there, it won't be for a clinical position!
 
Hmmmm a small and fairly saturated state with a lot of old-guard psychologists has strangely high licensure requirements I WONDER WHY.
 
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Hmmmm a small and fairly saturated state with a lot of old-guard psychologists has strangely high licensure requirements I WONDER WHY.

Well, that too. But, it looks like the actual application and statute guidelines had no actual input from someone who went through school and training for clinical psychology.
 
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Hi all,

The woman I spoke with on the phone clarified that it is 1000 DIRECT clinical client contact hours for EACH year of internship and postdoc. Surprisingly, they seem to get agitated by questions fairly easily. I clarified with her several times and that is what she told me. The question from the form is as follows:

4. The number of client hours completed by the applicant during the span of my supervision was: _____________
5. The average number of clock hours per week spent with the applicant in face-to-face individual supervisory
activities during the span of my supervision was:____________________
6. The average number of clock hours per week spent with the applicant in group supervisory activities during the
span of my supervision was: _____________________
7. The average number of clock hours per week spent by the applicant in professional/academic activities associated
with the effective serving of clients (e.g. reviewing case notes, keeping records, reading cases, etc.) during
the span of my supervision was: _____________________

The manual states:

a) An applicant for licensure shall be required to document the competent performance of at least two years of full time or full time equivalent supervised experience in the practice of psychology, at least one year of which shall have been completed subsequent to the applicant's receipt of his or her doctoral degree. b) The equivalent of one year of full-time supervised experience shall be a minimum of 1,750 hours. The 1,750 hours shall include:
1) One thousand client contact hours completed in accordance with the limitations provided in N.J.A.C. 13:42-3.6(f);
2) Two hundred hours of supervision. At least 100 hours shall be individual face-to-face supervision; the remaining 100 hours may be individual or group supervision. The ratio shall be one hour of supervision for each five hours of client contact per week; and
3) Five hundred fifty hours in other work-related activities such as recordkeeping, consultations, report writing, etc.

Therefore, I had read it as the breakdown only applied to postdoc, but apparently I was wrong?

Edit: The wording of the administration code "e.g "equivalent of one full year" suggests that hours prior to internship, such as practicum/externship could be counted. Anyone have experience with this?
 
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I think you need to read the "one year equivalent" thing and go off that. I think they are saying, "count until you hit 1000 hours of client contact. That's equivalent to one year. Now add the supervision etc and you better be over 1750. Now do that again." As in I think internship and post doc would bleed together for most people, then you need more post doc than usual too.

I THINK. I still think it is written strangely.
 
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I think you need to read the "one year equivalent" thing and go off that. I think they are saying, "count until you hit 1000 hours of client contact. That's equivalent to one year. Now add the supervision etc and you better be over 1750. Now do that again." As in I think internship and post doc would bleed together for most people, then you need more post doc than usual too.

I THINK. I still think it is written strangely.

Thanks MCParent, I think that will be what I do if my training director won't sign off, unless I hear otherwise. I'll send that in to the persnickety gods of the NJ board and see if they accept my offering ^_^.
 
I now have a license in more than 2 states (well, just 3), and the various boards and their language and perceived skepticism is strong.

This is just my experience from the 2 other states, as my home state was painless even if a bit untimely in their clarifications and responding. Its all quite silly, and seemingly ignores ones actual credentials and licensing length and status from the original state.

The state of "licensing" practitioners in this profession is pretty sad, overall, I think. Interesting when contrasted with some of the loosey gooseyness you see in APA accreditation as applied to the graduate programs that are out there.
 
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Yeah, looks like internship +postdoc, some language about the two years of time being accrued after completion of doctoral requirements. I'm always amazed an how needlessly complicated some states make it. I'm all about making the bar high enough to maintain competency, but at least make your application straightforward.

This is definitely accurate. OP, I replied to your private message about this, but I think you may have misinterpreted what they told you. I didn't have to get a permit so I thought maybe the guidance for your situation might have been different. There are a set number of face to face hours required from internship and post-doc combined. So if you don't have enough from internship you just make up for that during post-doc. This will extend your post-doc year a bit, though, because they set a limit on the number of weekly face-to-face hours they accept. Yes, NJ makes things needlessly complicated and confusing.

Edited to add: By "misinterpreted what they told you," I mean they probably worded it slightly incorrectly so that now you are confused as hell. WNL for the NJ board.
 
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