Postdoc abroad, but seeking licensure?

[bbchsan]

Hi all,

I am rounding the corner on my PhD in counseling psychology. I have been in discussions with a researcher in Europe about writing a grant to do a postdoctoral project abroad for 2 years. I am in the US, and will go on internship next year. We are currently discussing which grant cycle to target. My concern is licensure. I definitely want to get licensed, and plan to come back to the US after the grant. This grant is to facilitate cross-cultural research, and I think would be a great opportunity for beginning my research career. I've tried to look into this situation online, but haven't found much.

Any thoughts about this? Should I postpone applying for the grant until I've obtained licensure in the US? I am not sure how much supervised clinical experience I would get on the grant (if funded) and not sure how that would count towards licensure requirements. I am not sure if going abroad immediately after internship would be a big barrier to getting licensed once I got back.

Any thoughts on this? I know it's a unique situation. I hate to pass up the opportunity to do cross-cultural research, but want to be thoughtful about the requirements for licensure, etc.

Thanks!

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[WisNeuro]

No one size fits all answer. Your best bet is to look up the detailed requirements in the states you think you'll be coming back to. I imagine some states will not count hours from overseas in this context. In some states, you may need to get supervised experience once you get back from this postdoc.

 

[deleted343839]

I am not sure how much supervised clinical experience I would get on the grant (if funded) and not sure how that would count towards licensure requirements.

States vary as to what kind of work counts toward hours of experience. In addition to the experience and supervision requirements, you should also check out how much time you have to obtain supervised experience between graduation and applying for licensure. Once that clock starts ticking it's hard to stop it.

A US-based research fellowship may be willing to negotiate some time for your outside collaboration and the travel associated with it (assuming you have funding). Perhaps you could do some limited collaboration during your first postdoc year and travel more or relocate when you are license-eligible and more flexible.

Look into APA Division 52 if you haven't already: International Psychology (Division 52)

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Some ppl complete research AND clinical fellowships/post docs. Going abroad likely complicates collecting clinical hours, though it is very state dependent. I would strongly discourage passing on post-doc hours and trying to get licensed in one of the handful of states that have waived required post-doc hours bc you are stuck if you move to a state that requires them and can't otherwise be exempted (like ppl who graduated 30yr ago and could apply w a decade or more of prior licensure).