PhD w/ MFT license only, doing testing?

[50960]

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What do you think about a PhD with an MFT license doing testing in private practice?

👍 or 👎

 

[PsychEval]

👎

 

[sasevan]

My thoughts/feelings re: PhD/PsyD getting licensed at the Masters level could probably also be included in the thread about things that one hates about psychology,i.e., 👎
I don't know why the APA doesn't have a policy against this practice.
I know of several PhD/PsyD who are licensed as MHC.
I wonder if this is one more thing that contributes to the confusion between psychologists and mid-level providers.
Peace.

 

[50960]

This was a licensed MFT for years who went back to school for the PhD later.

 

[LM02]

This was a licensed MFT for years who went back to school for the PhD later.

I think that this is a larger ethics issue that has nothing to do with testing, per se. I'm assuming that this person is telling patients that he/she is licensed AND has a PhD (and is thus referred to as "Doctor"). If so, we are expecting a lot from patients to understand that this person NOT a licensed psychologist. It's misleading at worst, confusing at best.

Our ethics call for the burden to fall on our shoulders when it comes to educating our patients about our level of training and scope of practice. If this person is not clarifying these distinctions for his/her patients, I think they are acting unethically. It's the same reason why graduate students are prohibited from using any title with the word "doctoral" to describe themselves - b/c we cannot just assume that the public understands the difference between a "doctorate" and a "doctoral candidate."

 

[3rdFloorDoc]

Not just unethical, but likely illegal. Every state I've ever worked in protected the practice of psychology as well as the use of the term psychology or psychological (as in PSYCHOLOGICAL testing) to licensed psychologists. Reporting the MFT to the Psych board should result in an investigation by the board and possible civil and/or crimminal investigation by state authorities.

 

[psych101]

They're not licensed in both areas are they? Some people are. If you're not sure, the psych board website in your particular state might have a license verification feature so you can look them up. If they're not licensed in psychology, that's a problem. Talk to them and/or report them to the board.

 

[mftPsyD/PhD]

I think this issue requires some clarification. Is the person a licensed MFT AND a licensed psychologist? If so, providing psychological testing and services as a licensed psychologist is not unethical. However, if this person is a MFT who pursued a non-psychology PhD and are providing psychological services, that's unethical. Or, if they aren't licensed on the PhD level at all, and are providing services under the MFT license would be unethical because an MFT license doesn't enable you to do psychological testing. But these are separate issues. Can whoever posted the original message provide more information about these allegations?

I am a licensed MFT who worked for a couple years before pursuing a doctorate in psychology (hence the sign-in name). One of the reasons I sought the doctorate was in order to learn how to conduct psychological testing, which I was not able to do with an MFT. So this issue is of particular salience to me. My hope is that this person is providing psychological services under a psychology PhD and isn't misleading the public in any way. The general public doesn't understand the distinctions between the different mental health fields and are quite vulnerable because of it.

 

[50960]

Sorry I thought I was clear. This person has an MFT license only. The person also received a PhD in psych, but never got a psych license.

 

[MeghanHF]

What do you think about a PhD with an MFT license doing testing in private practice?

👍 or 👎

👎 ...I don’t think the credentials of a licensed MFT with a PhD are enough to do testing and assessment in private practice. Licensure as a clinical psychologist requires additional internship during which one ideally gets supervision and experience specific to testing and assessment. Though an MFT with a PhD could have equivalent experience, without the actual license there nothing to ensure that is the case.

 

[LM02]

👎 ...I don’t think the credentials of a licensed MFT with a PhD are enough to do testing and assessment in private practice. Licensure as a clinical psychologist requires additional internship during which one ideally gets supervision and experience specific to testing and assessment. Though an MFT with a PhD could have equivalent experience, without the actual license there nothing to ensure that is the case.

Along the same lines, is this person receiving any kind of supervision?

I know I already stated my opinion (which hasn't changed, just gotten stronger). But another factor that concerns me is that this person is performing a psychologist service without a psychology license. Regardless of their PhD, they need to be doing so under supervision by a licensed clinical psychologist. This is the same as any psych postdoc doing testing at any site across the country... they do it under supervision.