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  ABPP Mission Statement

The mission of the American Board of Professional Psychology is to increase consumer protection through the examination and certification of psychologists who demonstrate competence in approved specialty areas in professional psychology.

Message from the President

Nadine J. Kaslow, Ph.D., ABPP                                                

I want to thank Christine Maguth Nezu, PhD, ABPP for her courageous and dedicated leadership of ABPP over the past two years. It is remarkable what we accomplished during her presidency. Below is a list of some recent highlights:

·    Moved our office to Chapel Hill, North Carolina

• ·    Launched a wonderful new website
• ·    Developed an ABPP Statement of Value
• ·    Disseminated the early application program
• ·    Held our first Meet and Greet reception at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) for training directors
• ·    Secured interviews with key leaders in our organization for the American Psychological Association Graduate Student (APAGS) Newsletter
• ·    Added the Diversity Committee as a Standing Committee of the Board of Trustees and enhanced our emphasis on diversity
• ·    Developed a structure that allows for more flexibility in the relations between specialty boards and their associated academies
• ·    Approved a policy for the examination of individuals who currently are in the military
• ·    Approved a new ethics policy
• ·    Created enhanced sources of revenue for our organization (a) Maguth Nezu, Finch, and Simon published Becoming board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology, with Oxford University Press in 2009; and (b) Dr. Finch made progress toward the formation of a 5013C tax exempt fund (The ABPP Foundation, Inc)

Executive Officer Update

David R. Cox, Ph.D., ABPP 

California State Hospitals request ABPP Workshop

This year I had the opportunity to visit with the psychology departments of each of the hospitals in the State of California Department of Mental Health (DMH) in order to present on competency in psychology and the ABPP.  The visits arose following a call from a hospital in which it was indicated that many of the psychologists there had an interest in pursuing board certification through ABPP.  It turned out that the group was no small lot; 70 some psychologists at that one facility.  One discussion led to another and before I knew it ABPP had been asked to present to each of the five hospitals.  Across the hospital system, there are some 300+ psychologists, and several reported that the staff size was positioned to increase significantly over the next year or two.  Not all of the psychologists were interested, nor ready, to pursue board certification; however many were.  Since that visit, ABPP Central Office has seen a number of applications come through, from different hospitals in the DMH system.  Perhaps more importantly, the California DMH is setting a standard that perhaps other such systems will follow – encouraging education about, if not pursuit of, board certification through ABPP.

The workshop presented was not solely about ABPP.  Rather, it focused on the Culture of Competency in Professional Psychology, with emphasis on the development of competencies as worked on by the various workgroups within and across APA, APPIC, ABPP and other professional organizations.  A developmental history was presented, including an outlining of competency areas and the integration of that into ABPP’s model of competency examination.  It was well received and, as one might expect of a topic of this nature, could have gone yet more in depth than the two hour time slot that we allotted for each site. 

The California state hospitals all house individuals who have been involved in the legal system, yet not all of the psychologists working their view their specialty as forensic psychology.  The variety of interests included clinical psychology, forensic psychology, clinical neuropsychology, rehabilitation psychology and cognitive and behavioral psychology.  I was particularly impressed with the vision and enthusiasm that the leaders of each group of psychologists had – they were all keenly interested in making sure that their departments got information about advances in psychology, genuinely encouraged staff to attend the workshop provided and asked about return visits in the future to provide similar information to new staff psychologists.  This was a dedicated group of psychologists who clearly hold quality service and professionalism in high regard.  They are to be commended for their interest in establishing a culture of competence within their settings!

Russian Psychologists Visit ABPP Central Office

ABPP Central Office was one of several sites that psychologists from Russia asked to visit while in the United States learning about licensing, credentialing and professional psychology.  The purpose of their trip was to study the system of licensing and certification used in the United States for professional psychologists so that they might implement a similar system in the Russian Federation.  As well, they hoped to learn about the educational and training system for psychologists in the United States.  The group met with ABPP, APA, ASPPB, the National Register, the State of North Carolina Psychology Licensing Board, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and others.

They visited the ABPP Central Office on March 5, 2009 and I spent several hours talking with them about various aspects of psychology training, licensure and the ABPP board certification process.  They were very interested in our models of credentialing and eager to learn.  It was interesting to realize how much emphasis we place on maintaining our high standards of quality and consumer protection – almost taking them for granted, while other countries may not even have basic licensure models adequately in place.  We have a lot to learn from one another as psychology becomes more globalized.  The visitors from Russia were:  
 
Dr. Sergey Alekseyevich Manichev is the Chair, Department of Ergonomics and Engineering Psychology, School of Psychology, St. Petersburg State University.  He holds a Ph.D. with a specialization in Engineering Psychology.  He was elected to be the Director General of the newly established National Institute for Certification of Professional Psychologists (its registration is in the process now), St. Petersburg, Russia.  He was asked to help establish the National Institute for the Certification of Professional Psychologists and become its Director General, at the request of the General Committee of the Russian Psychology Society.  Dr. Manichev graduated from the School of Psychology of St. Petersburg State University where he is currently the Chair of the Department of Ergonomics and Engineering Psychology.  He serves as a researcher and consultant in organizational development.

Mrs. Natalia Olegovna Mastinen is the Chief Manager, National Institute for Certification of Professional Psychologists, St. Petersburg, Russia.  She has three Specialist degrees (equivalent to U.S. Master’s degree) including degrees in management and psychology.  She is responsible for management of the National Institute for Certification of Professional Psychologists. The Institute is just beginning the process registration, and Mrs. Mastinen is responsible for creation of certification policies, principles, and rules.  Much of this will be established based on what she and the others learn from their visits with foreign entities such as ABPP.  Her role includes cooperative interaction with foreign institutions, representing the National Institution for Certification of Professional Psychologies, and managing the National Institute.  Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Institute, her education and experience are in the fields of management and psychology.

Dr. Larisa Aleksandrovna Tsvetkova is the Dean of the School of Psychology at St. Petersburg State University.  She holds a Specialist Degree (equal to a Master's Degree) and Ph.D. from the School of Psychology, St. Petersburg State University.  As the Dean of the School of Psychology, Dr. Tsvetkova administers it, participates in the management of St. Petersburg State University, and teaches at the School. She is an active participant in the process of establishing the National Institute for the Certification of Professional Psychologies in Russia. She is also the First Vice President of the Russian Psychology Society.  Dr. Tsvetkova leads two projects whose goals are to develop preventative measures aimed towards reducing behavioral anomalies. "Preventing Abnormalities in Children's Neurodevelopment" is a project that has been sponsored by the National Institute of Health of the United States since 2003 and is conducted together with the University of Oklahoma. Another project in which she is involved is dedicated to developing methods for creating programs that promote a healthy life style, prevent diseases, and encourage the student health and safety.

Web Site Update

You are reading this on the new ABPP web site!  This is a beginning of the new look that we will be continually developing for the ABPP web site.  We are getting there!  After a rocky road with a web developer, the ABPP Executive Committee elected to “change horses mid-stream”.  This tact appears to be serving us well.  We have a new look to our yet-to-be-launched redesign that will be integrated with an association management software package that hold promise for much improvement!  The integrated association management software promises the opportunity for setting up personal logins for each ABPP specialist so that you can provide updates to your contact information when needed, set up online registration for events (such as the ABPP 2010 Convention to be held in Portland July 2010) and avail yourself of other opportunities in the future.  With the capabilities of the web and related software we hope to begin implementation of online continuing education opportunities, list-servers and perhaps blogs, and set up portals for communications among Specialty Board reviewers and more.  The association management software was selected following discussion with the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), who, thanks to the close and collegial relationship we maintain with them, also kindly lent us one of their key staff members, Ms. Amy Hilson (Thanks, Amy and ASPPB!) for a few days to help us learn from their experience with the system.

Meeting Attendance and Inter-organizational Activity

Many times, I find myself in need of being reminded that many of the day-to-day activities in which I and others engage in on behalf of ABPP are not necessarily something of which you may be aware; yet we may take for granted.  Some of this includes participation in many key psychology meetings and conferences that keep ABPP in the forefront of psychology and our colleagues in other organizations.  Personally, I find myself having established relationships with people in those organizations that are mutually beneficial which is, of course, one of the desired goals. Moreover, the relationships with many of these high-quality people help keep the organizational work interesting, energized and even fun!

A prime example of that is the above-mentioned interaction with the ASPPB.  Our (ABPP’s) relationship with ASPPB is a very strong one and we interact fairly regularly with them on various issues.  You may or may not have noticed over the years, but ABPP and ASPPB are most often located proximal to one another at APA Convention; that is not by chance alone!  Nancy McDonald of ABPP Central Office and Amy Hilson of ASPPB have a long-standing professional relationship that serves both organizations well, and our relationship with ASPPB has for many years included having a representative attend their board meetings. 

I joked recently with some colleagues that ABPP and ASPPB needed to share a jet, as we spend so much time traveling to the same locales.  I represented ABPP at the recent APPIC meeting in Portland, Oregon, where I co-presented with the Judy Hall of the National Register and Emil Rodolfa and Carol Webb of ASPPB on credentialing. The following week in Boston at the ASPPB meeting several of us emailed back and forth with others who were not present to decide that it was in everyone’s best interest to cancel the scheduled meeting of the Council of Credentialing Organizations in Professional Psychology, which was scheduled for the next week in Mexico City. 

In addition to the APPIC and ASPPB meetings, I attend the APA Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP) meetings, the APA State Leadership Committee (SLC), APA Council of Representatives meeting and the APA Consolidated Meetings (where I primarily focus on the Board of Professional Affairs activities).  In addition, ABPP President Christine Nezu has represented us recently at the National Multicultural Conference & Summit in January and presented an invited address to the psychologists at the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Conference in March. 

It is our desire for ABPP to be a participant in those areas of psychology where ABPP presence and interaction can be of mutual benefit in advancing the profession and protecting the consumers of psychological specialty services.  It is not just me, staff and the Board of Trustees that represent ABPP.  Many others also represent ABPP – Dr. Jim Besyner recently was in attendance at a meeting of the Department of Veterans Affairs where ABPP was well represented and Dr. Pat DeLeon apparently encouraged the psychologists in attendance to seek ABPP board certification.  No doubt many of you also take your participation in professional meetings somewhat for granted at times.  If you know of meetings or groups that you think need to be added to our list (the above is by no means intended to be exhaustive), please let us know.  Furthermore, if you are engaged in such activities and being of service to ABPP in some way, however small you may think it is, please let us know!

ABPP Myths 

Christine Maguth Nezu, Ph.D., ABPP

Myth 1. ABPP is a Largely Academic and Elitist Organization.

Myth-busting facts.  The mission of ABPP is to board certify individuals in various psychology specialties.  As such, board-certified specialists are first and foremost, competent professionals who are responsible for the delivery of best practices of their specialty. It is true that, In addition to their commitment to providing competent services to the public, some psychologists who hold leadership positions on the various ABPP boards and academies also hold leadership positions in various clinical training or academic institutions.  However, this is not elitist, rather, simply attests to their active participation in the growth and improvement of the field.  Board-certified specialists are individuals who are interested in promoting competent practice, at all levels of experience, from the full range of professional service settings, and from all theoretic orientations.  Since when did the aspiration of competent practice cease signifying responsibility and start signifying elitism?

Myth 2. If one is Licensed, There is No Need for Further Evaluation of His or Her Abilities.

Myth-busting facts.  Technically, in order to legally and ethically engage in independent general practice, this is correct. However, if one considers him- or herself a specialist regarding assessment, treatment, or consultation in any of the recognized specialty areas within professional psychology, there is a growing interest among jurisdictional regulators and third- party payers to look toward board certification, similar to medicine, as a way to credential competent specialty practice. Moreover, our own ethical standards require us to provide services within the boundaries of our competencies. Board certification goes beyond what knowledge we have obtained and extends to how we competently apply what we know in day-to-day specialty practice.

Myth #3. I am a Quality Provider and Very Successful. I Don’t Need ABPP to Attract Patients. 

Myth-busting facts.  ABPP was never intended to be a marketing vehicle by which individuals could attract patients or increase the entrepreneurship of their practice (although it is a reported additional benefit for some).  Rather, when high quality providers (e.g., the very people who subscribe to this myth and accurately self-identify in this way) are recognized through board certification, the process uplifts the entire profession because their practice provides the specialty benchmarks for competent work.  One psychologist (who previously subscribed to this myth) recently told me that it was his concern about uplifting the profession during our discussions that sold him on the importance of board certification through ABPP.

Myth #4.  ABPP Does Not Have Value for Me.  Indeed, if I Take the Exam, I May be Communicating That I Am Not Competent Until I am Board Certified.

Myth-busting Facts.  Ask any ABPP board-certified psychologist if they ever questioned the board-certification process or if they experienced any fears of how patients or colleagues might react if they did not pass (although the pass rate for individuals taking the exam is high, most all of us have experienced these fears).  It is important to consider that many of the most valuable personal learning experiences involve some discomfort.  After the first question, the board-certified specialist should then be additionally asked why he or she decided that it was still worth the time, effort, and cost to get board certified. I have never spoken to a specialist who regretted their decision. With regard to concerns about performance, there is much one can do to increase the likelihood of a successful exam experience by seeking information, guidance, and mentorship through the specialty board or academy of interest. More important, ABPP’s value far exceeds the individual sense of accomplishment, the increase in practice mobility, the increase in employment or salary opportunities, and increased protection of the public. Its value is important primarily to the professional of psychology as a whole. I have received emails, letters, and phone calls in the past two years from psychologists who are concerned about the unfair recognition of doctoral-level psychologists compared to their counterparts in medicine. Examples include the lack of fairness in media outlets regarding their refusal to use the title “Dr.” for psychologists and attempts by some segments of the American Medical Association (AMA) to do the same.  It is reasonable and justifiable to have these concerns and desire to want to fight for equal professional footing. However, the overwhelming majority of physicians are board certified, whereas the current percentage of qualified psychologists who are board certified is approximately 4%. We will never receive the parity and fairness we seek regarding the media, law-making bodies, insurance carriers, our colleagues in other disciplines, or the public, unless we demonstrate an equal commitment to ensuring competence in our specialty practices. What we do is important. The easing of human suffering, the improvement of lives and relationships, and improved mental and physical health outcomes require robust and competently delivered therapies. Board certification is a widely accepted means by which to increase confidence in the competence of those who provide such services.

Myth # 5. ABPP is Only for Expert Practitioners Who Have Been Practicing for Years and Years. 

Myth-busting facts. Individuals qualify as candidates for board certification if they have the requisite doctoral training and have an unrestricted license in the jurisdiction in which they practice. Although requisite professional experience varies with specialties, in most cases, this involves approximately three years postdoctoral training (including internship).

Myth #6.  I Don’t See Patients in Day-to-Day Practice Much Anymore. More of My Work Involves Program Development, Supervision, or Development of Effective Treatments Through Psychology Research.

Myth-busting facts. I saved this one for last because I hear it so often in academic settings. I usually ask the person perpetuating this set of myths some of the following questions depending upon the particular version of the myth. “Imagine for a moment that you were a student seeking a professional doctoral training program (e.g., psychology, medicine, nursing, etc.), would you seek training from board-certified or non board-certified professionals in the specialty or discipline with which you are interested?  If you were seeking treatment for a significant medical or physical problem, would you want to know that your provider was board-certified as competent and prepared to treat the problem for which you seek help?” And finally, “if you were supporting research to investigate a psychotherapy approach that was aimed at decreasing human suffering, would you want to know that the therapists in the study were competent?”  Of course the answers to any (and all) of these questions is usually a resounding “yes.” Particularly in academic settings that train the next generation of professional psychologists or investigate the next wave of effective psychotherapy treatments, competence is a critical concept. For example, one clear bridge between research and practice is that those conducting clinical research trials in psychotherapy must necessarily be concerned with ensuring the competency of therapists in their studies as an essential aspect of their scientific integrity.

Why Myths Tend to Periodically Resurface

Recently, I read an article in another professional psychology organization’s newsletter, in which that organization was promoting its own credentialing process.  Rather than focusing on the benefits to their members regarding their own activities, the author provided false and misleading information about ABPP, referring to it as an “academic certification” (see myth # 1), stating that only 1% of psychologists are board certified (false and misleading information), and making statements directly dismissing the value of ABPP board certification.  It is disappointing when fellow psychologists behave poorly. More importantly, when our colleagues resort to disseminating information that is at best inaccurate and naive, and at worst, irresponsible and unprofessional, their behavior can be damaging to the profession as a whole.  

Despite our training and experience, none of us are immune to fear, or any of the array of personal strategies human beings employ to reduce fears, including avoidance, denial, distraction, rationalization, or even aggressive acts. Many of the myths that persist can be traced back to colleagues’ fears that their competence might be questioned, avoidance of the burden of a fair and objective exam, denial of its importance, distraction from responsibility, rationalization that peer evaluation of competence is not necessary, and in its extreme, aggressive and attacking remarks toward the board certifying body (ABPP).  It does not need to be this way. This issue significantly hits the notion of “practicing what we preach” and working together to support and help each other in the inevitable sequence of steps we all recognize as essential to demonstrating competent practice and placing professional psychology on equal footing with other healing disciplines. By doing so, we can reduce the prevalence of these myths and simultaneously help the profession.  In order to accomplish this, we will need to reduce our own desires to promote the idea that there are so many competent psychologists out there that should be recognized and identified as such. We will need to do more to help our colleagues confront examination fears in a more effective manner and walk willingly into their board-certification experience.  One reason for publishing our first ABPP book this summer was to reach out and make the board certification process more user-friendly, by sharing our experiences, our knowledge, and our collective helpful guidance with the process.  We need to be welcoming and encouraging. The challenge, which I have often heard stated at so many meetings and conferences, is to get psychologists to “stop shooting ourselves in the foot.”

How to Stop Shooting Ourselves in the Foot

Rather than allow fears of the oral exam or face the possibility that some our specialty competencies may require continuing education to result in arguments or competitions with each other, how can we appeal to our colleagues to “cease fire” and stop thinking of ABPP as a “four-letter word?”  Continued avoidance, denial, rationalization, and attacks may provide some immediate sense of personal control over fear, but it inevitably reduces the value and importance of what our profession can offer. 

Imagine how the field could be strengthened if we helped and supported each other to reach the competency standards for practice to which we can mutually agree.  More energy would be spent on mentoring, supervision, continuing education, and cross-specialty conferences. To begin this type of activity, we are planning the first-ever, ABPP-wide, continuing education conference in Portland, Oregon July 6-10, 2010 (please mark your calendars and save the date). This conference will disseminate the work of board-certified psychologists across all specialty areas, and allow for cross-specialty integration. It will provide cutting-edge developments and will be open to both board-certified and non-board certified psychologists.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

In recent months, I have spoken to many people and organizations in my role as ABPP President in order to disseminate information about board certification, promote the importance of competence in professional psychology, and to invite dialogue regarding how we can best reach the many licensed psychologists for whom board-certification would acknowledge their work and promote the profession. Although I have witnessed an ever growing enthusiasm for these concepts, I continue to experience the barriers of old myths that are perpetuated by a lack of information or presence of fears.

Why We Need to Change

I recently was speaking with a hospital credentialing administrator and explained the importance of board certification for professional psychology specialists. In doing so, I made a few comparisons to the board-certification process required by physicians. She listened carefully and agreed that peer evaluation of competency in a specialty certainly provides for an important means for the public to have confidence in the psychological services provided by the hospital. Additionally, she indicated that it clarifies for other groups, such as third party payers, the nature and competencies involved in one’s specialty practice.  However, she later suggested, “unless we can grandparent the existing practitioners, we may have a revolt on our hands…because no psychologist who has been practicing for many years is going to be willing to take another test. They’re not like other docs…they fight these things.”  
 

Another licensed psychologist recently told a colleague that after years of practice as a qualified psychologist, to have her patients know that she is taking a board-certification would be an embarrassment that may have a negative impact on her practice.  As you might expect, I could not disagree more. It’s essential to help our colleagues overcome the barrier of fear in much more constructive ways. However, in order to do so, they should expect our enthusiastic support, mentorship, and helpful guidance. Although undergoing evaluation may be a bit daunting, it’s the very concept of self-study, continuing education, and dedication to competence that contributes to our organization’s integrity.

Why We Need to Address Maintenance of Board-Certification in the Future

During this same week, I read an editorial by a cardiologist who writes a column for our local newspaper that had as its focus, the board-certification requirements of physician specialists and the more recent requirement of maintenance certification to which all of their 24 member boards agreed to participate. The American Board of Medical Specialties indicates that this maintenance of certification is important because it “assures that the physician is committed to lifelong learning and competency in a specialty and/or subspecialty by requiring measurement of core competency areas established by the association.”
 

Our own board of trustees began an exploration of the topic of maintenance last December and charged the standards committee to consider various models and processes of continuing education and lifelong learning that provide a means by which ABPP as an organization can maintain the value of board certification.  As part of their preliminary deliberations, the ABPP Board of Trustees recognized that once an individual is board certified, a full re-examination process would not be efficient; rather it would be and unnecessarily burdensome to our specialists, the examining boards, and the overall organization. As an alternative, the Standards Committee is working on the development of a future process by which board certified specialists can earn “recertification credits” through demonstration of their continued dedication to remain current, active, and proficient in the profession. A model such as this acknowledges that the board certified professional has demonstrated their competence, support of the profession, and personal commitment to excellence in the field at the time of their original certification examination process. This model also presumes that, unless otherwise demonstrated through adverse action, this competence can be maintained by daily professionally relevant work responsibilities and activities. Sample activities that might be included will be solicited from current specialists soon; there is announcement regarding plans for the process in this issue of The Specialist. We are eager to hear from all of you as a way of identifying the daily activities and responsibilities that you view as contributing to the maintenance of competence. 
 

In closing, I wish to indicate that it has been a sincere honor and privilege to serve as President of ABPP.  I applaud the significant work to which so many people have voluntarily contributed over the past two years. During this time we have tackled challenging issues and further defined our mission. We have significantly increased applications (thanks largely to our early entry application), and initiated several important activities, involving improved board and academy relations, our first published book, a refined values statement, a process for consideration of subspecialties, improved examination process of military personnel, a review of our ethics policies, and a combined marketing/advertising/ recruitment/continuing education and conference task force that is planning our first ABPP-wide conference. We have moved our central office to North Carolina and are getting ready to launch our new website as this Specialist issue goes to press. Thank you for allowing me to take part in the leadership of this organization. I was indeed fortunate to have Norma Simon and Al Finch as mentors on the Executive Committee (EC). I am also very thankful to the collective wisdom and dedication of the various members of EC who wrestled with the day-to-day ABPP challenges over the past two years, including former EC members Sandy Koffler and Art Nezu, as well as current EC members Randy Otto, Greg Lee and Nadine Kaslow, and all of the Board of Trustees. With Nadine as the next president, as well as the continued professional, administrative leadership and customer service provided by David Cox and Nancy McDonald, we are indeed in good hands.  

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