Psychology licensure-lead time question

[dgarrettwi]

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Hi everyone, I was curious to know how long it’s been taking people to get their license number from the board who have submitted everything. I have submitted everything to the board, including the money. I would be curious to know how long it’s been taking people out there. Thanks in advance.

 

[WisNeuro]

Anywhere from 2 months to 9 months IME.

 

[neurotic_cow]

I recently got licensed in two different states. One took me 3 months total (and I had to take EPPP) and the other took me 7 months total despite having already taken the EPPP and passing jurisprudence early on in the process. I think it just depends on the state.

 

[WisNeuro]

OP, if your handle has anything to do with where you are getting licensed, I would plan for something closer to 9 months.

 

[RejectClinical]

Really depends on the state. After I submitted all of my application materials (including that I passed the state jurisprudence exam), I think I had a license in 24-48 hours. From speaking with friends, this is NOT the norm. I've had friends wait well over 9 months. You're at the mercy of the government....good luck. After you get licensed, it seems pretty consistent across the board that it takes about 3 months to get credentialed before you can start practicing.

 

[WisNeuro]

Really depends on the state. After I submitted all of my application materials (including that I passed the state jurisprudence exam), I think I had a license in 24-48 hours. From speaking with friends, this is NOT the norm. I've had friends wait well over 9 months. You're at the mercy of the government....good luck. After you get licensed, it seems pretty consistent across the board that it takes about 3 months to get credentialed before you can start practicing.

In most states, not really. While the board is overseen by the government, most are just psychologists who volunteer for the position, or get a small stipend. You're usually at the mercy of chronic under staffing and inefficiency.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Montana took me a year and a half. Had to get a counseling license during the interim so I could work. They made some changes to their process since then so probably not as bad, but what a friggin nightmare that was. Just one issue out of several was the catch22 of needing a specific work sample that I didn’t have, a projective test administered in the last two years, and not being able to administer an assessment without being charged with practicing without a license. At one point the board suggested that I fly to the state where I was still licensed to test someone. I had thought of that myself, but how exactly do you recruit someone for that?

Ironically, the counseling license that I got in less than a month when I realized that was what I needed to do, enabled me to administer a psychological assessment that included a projective test (last Rorschach I’ll probably ever do). When I sent in my work sample I remember panicking because I had used the term Psychological Assessment at the top and I thought they would say I was misrepresenting myself as a psychologist since I was operating under a counseling license.

It was a very weird experience being a psychologist in one state but not be one in another and at the same time be a clinical director of a treatment program who was being asked to make clinical decisions and recommendations daily and have a licensing board clearly and in writing direct me not to do that.

Maybe I shouldn’t relate horror stories as the OP is probably anxious enough. I do think the field has been improving with some of these issues though and I like to tell stories about how back in my day we had to walk two miles to school in the snow.