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The Importance of Documenting your Training: Advice for Graduate Students, Newly Licensed and Seasoned Psychologists

Practitioner’s Information

J.B. Goebel

The purpose of this article is to give advice about the kind of documentation you should keep regarding your education, training and experience. Keeping accurate records will save you many hours now, and possibly later in your career, and decrease your anxiety when you apply for licensure and/or other credentials. It would be easy and convenient if psychologists had reciprocity of licensure from state to state, however, currently this does not exist. “More than 1,000 colleagues annually request transfer of their license exam score to a new state. Yet few psychologists realize how difficult it is to get re-licensed in a new state” (DeLeon, 2000).

I am aware of at least six categories for which accurate and complete documentation of one’s education, training and experience are required.

1. To apply for a job. Some institutions such as the Veterans Affairs system and the US active duty military and reserves ask in the application for information concerning number of patients and diagnoses you treated, as well as number and type of psychological tests you administered, and so forth.
2. To answer a complaint filed against you with the state licensing and disciplinary board. Frequently the lawyer for the board or a board member will ask the psychologist charged, to discuss how many cases of the type in question the psychologist diagnosed and/or treated.
3. To apply for licensure in another state.
4. To join certain organizations. Division 12 of the APA requires documentation including letters of recommendations from your mentors and colleagues.
5. To apply to take the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) examination. This organization requires detailed description of all of your education, training and experience with exact dates and the names and addresses of employers and Supervisors.
6. To testify in court as an expert witness. After receiving a copy of your vita, each lawyer may ask you questions about its contents including your education, training and experience.

My own saga, briefly summarized, will serve as an example of the importance of documenting one’s education, training and experience. After 24 years as a licensed psychologist in a Midwestern state, I applied for licensure in a southern state. What I thought would be a straightforward process of submission of documents for licensure turned into an intense 13 thirteen- month ordeal that cost thousands of dollars. Part of the process required that I supply original graduate school transcripts, a copy of the original book containing course offerings from 1975, a letter from the Director of Clinical Training (who had retired), letters from supervisors, (some of whom were deceased), and the score from the EPPP examination. The largest single expense was the lawyer I had to hire to guide me in the process, who wrote letters and made phone calls on my behalf to the state bureaucrats. Eventually, I did obtain the license.

Encouraging efforts

Ron Levant (2003) reported that the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP) at the request of the American Psychological Association’s Council of Representatives “had been implementing a strategic plan to provide a supportive environment for giving visibility to the existing mechanisms for professional mobility available through the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) and the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).”

The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) offers two services that help doctoral students and recent graduates, as well as seasoned psychologists.

“Doctoral students and recent graduates who plan to be licensed as a psychologist should consider taking advantage of ASPPB Credentials Bank program offered by the ASPPB, the association of U.S. and Canadian psychology licensing boards. The credentials bank is an electronically stored record of university transcripts, supervised experience, examination performance and continuing education activities. It can be reproduced and transmitted to a licensing board where you are seeking licensure.” (ASPPB, August 2002).

ASPPB also offers a mobility program. A licensed psychologist can apply for a Certificate of Professional Qualifications in Psychology (CPQ).

“The CPQ was established to facilitate professional mobility through the recognition by ASPPB member boards of psychology licenses issued by other ASPPB member boards. The CPQ documents the individual holding the certificate has met specific requirements relative to his or her educational background, Supervised experience and performance on the EPPP. ASPPB certification also documents that the holder has been licensed based on a doctoral degree for at least 5 years by an ASPPB member jurisdiction and has never had disciplinary actions taken against his or her license.” (ASPPB,2002)

As of March 2004. excluding Canadian provinces, there were 23 jurisdictions accepting the CPQ and 13 more were in the process.

It is important to document information that you may be required to report throughout your career. You should maintain records concerning:

1. number and types of patients tested, diagnosed and/or treated
2. number and types of tests administered
3. documentation of dates of supervised counseling activities including hours of supervision, name and location of supervisor, and the specific program. This should be in a letter written by your supervisor. It is not a letter of reference; it is simply a statement of facts.

You may have difficulty documenting your history if a number of years have passed, however, it is worth the effort. To enjoy professional mobility in today’s job market, you must be able to document the valuable education, training and experiences that you have acquired.

References

Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards, (Aug. 2002). P.O. Box 241245, Montgomery, AL 36124 Phone 334-832-4580. www.asppb.org

Associate of State & Provincial Psychology Boards, (2002). ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification in Psychology, P.O. Box 241245, Montgomery, AL 36124. Phone 334-832-4580. www.asppb.org.

DeLeon, P. (2000). The critical need forlicensure mobility. Monitor on Psychology, 31 (4), 9.

Levant, RF. (2003 Winter). The problem oflicensure mobility. The Illinois Psychologist, 60, 3, 23.

National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, 1120 G Street, N.W., Suite 330, Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 202-783-7663; Fax 347-0550 www.nationalregister.org

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