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To be credentialed as a psychologist means that you have deposited all of your training-related information into an online repository for safekeeping. Psychologists bank their credentials to avoid difficulties associated with locating supervisors and verifying education and training later in their careers. Once documentation of education, internship and postdoctoral experience is reviewed and approved, the credentials are banked and available to you throughout your career.
Read on below for more information on some of the most important credentialing bodies for psychologists. The good news? Both of these organizations have an "early entry" option that allows graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows to begin the process as soon as possible, and at a low cost! |
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THE NATIONAL REGISTER FOR HEALTH SERVICE PSYCHOLOGISTS
The National Register of Health Service Psychologists is an organization that collects training-related information like your completed coursework, GPA, and other information and maintains them in a secure online repository. By being registered, it is much easier to streamline your psychology licensure as well as your certification with healthcare organizations, insurance organizations, and hospitals. As a psychologist, you have to first be licensed before you can practice independently. Additionally, you must apply to receive privileges to practice at hospitals and to be accepted as a provider on various health insurance panels. By registering, you can easily obtain the necessary application data and not have to keep re-collecting the data which would be quite time consuming!
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Registering also makes licensure mobility between states easier. This means that if you move, you are now much more easily able to transport your training-related information to a new state's licensure process. This is important because many states have different requirements for licensure. It is helpful to have this information already handy, and not have to be rooting around for old graduate school information thirty years into your career.
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There are some additional benefits to the national register, including being featured on the consumer website FindaPsychologist.org and receiving access to the their free continuing education program. Click here for a full overview of benefits.
THE AMERICAN BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (ABPP)
On the other hand, the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) has a credentialing process that is strictly for the purposes of facilitating the ABPP board certification process. Incorporated in 1947, ABPP is the primary organization for specialty board certification in psychology. It provides oversight certifying psychologists to deliver high quality services in various specialty areas of psychology. Board certification serves as the highest recognition of expertise in one of these specialty areas. There are a number of other board certifying bodies, check out our section on board certification to learn more.