Welcome - from the President
M. Victoria Ingram, PsyD, ABPP.JPG)
Greetings,
On behalf of the American Board of Clinical Psychology (ABCP) members and Board of Directors, I want to take this opportunity to welcome you to our website. ABCP is a member Specialty Board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).
If you are an individual seeking the services of a board certified clinical psychologist, please use the “Find a Board Certified Psychologist” ( http://www.abpp.org/i4a/member_directory/feSearchForm.cfm?directory_id=3&pageid=3288&showTitle=1 ) feature of this website to search for a board certified clinical psychologist in your area.
If you are a psychologist interested in board certification in clinical psychology, I am hopeful that this message encourages you to engage actively in the board certification process. While board certification is conceptualized as a level higher than the basic level of competence confirmed by jurisdictional licensure, it is within the reach of most practitioners of professional psychology. The ABCP eligibility review and the evaluation processes are intended to certify that the successful candidate has completed the educational, training, and experience requirements of the specialty; it includes performance examinations designed to assess the competencies required to provide quality services in the specialty of Clinical Psychology.
I want to strongly encourage all interested applicants to review and utilize the most current version of the Clinical Examination Manual ( http://www.abpp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3412 ) in preparation for each stage of this process. This manual is designed to maximize success through providing explicit instructions and transparent access to the examiners’ criteria for candidate evaluation. Our website also includes several practice samples that may be useful guides to you. In addition, the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, will provide interested applicants with a mentor who can assist and advise you on the process. Please email them at contact@aacpsy.org to secure a mentor if desired.
For those of you who are already board certified, I want to encourage you to renew your commitment to the organization by volunteering to serve on examination committees in your region. Please contact your regional representative to volunteer and receive additional guidance. Thank you sincerely to those already doing so.
Finally, if you are the Training Director of a graduate program, internship or residency program in Clinical Psychology we want to specifically engage you in this process. If you are not yet board certified yourself, the ABCP Board of Directors ( http://www.abpp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3409 ) wants to hear directly what your concerns and/or reservations are regarding such. Many of our colleagues’ reservations are based in historic myths or are easily overcome. We want to strongly encourage you to become board certified and also ask that you encourage the same in your faculty. Financial incentives, in the form of scholarships for successful completion of the board certification process, are frequently available from ABCP to assist in this process. Additionally, please consider sponsoring your students, interns, and residents in the ABPP Early Entry Program ( http://www.abpp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3299 ). We recognize that you serve an integral role in shaping the future of our profession and we want to support you in that process.
In closing, to our current members and those considering board certification, we appreciate your interest. The ABCP Board of Directors meets twice annually and communicates daily. Please feel free to contact me directly whenever you have input for the board or if I can be of service to you. I can be reached at victoria.ingram@amedd.army.mil.
Sincerely,
M. Victoria Ingram, PsyD, ABPP
President, ABCP