Fraud Blocker

Attorneys and clients have at times expressed frustration in their attempts to find a
board certified expert in North Carolina. Here is some information to clarify this for NC.
The term ‘board certified’ can be confusing when referring to psychologists. The NC
Psychology Board licenses psychologists and does not grant any specialty certificates;
thus a psychologist is never board certified in anything by the NC Psychology Board.
They grant the titles of ‘Licensed Psychologist’ for doctoral degrees and ‘Licensed
Psychological Associate’ for master’s degrees. (Each state psychology board is
independent and other states may grant specialty certificates. For example, the Virginia
Psychology Board grants a certificate in the treatment of sex offenders.)

Sometimes the public can confuse the American Board of Professional Psychology
(ABPP) with our actual state psychology boards, but the ABPP is a private organization
with no licensing authority. The ABPP gives specialty certificates (based on a review of
credentials and some testing), which since they put the word ‘Board’ in their title one
then says they are ‘board certified.’ This can also be confusing because it sounds
similar to the American Medical Association’s language wherein the AMA does board
certify in medicine. The ABPP was established in 1947 before almost any state
psychology boards existed. Back then since the profession was unregulated it was a
way for psychologists to legitimize themselves via an association; and it did serve that
function because it ensured for the consumer the doctor had a certain degree and
training. Of course now state boards license clinicians to signify they are qualified to
practice, thus a relatively small percent of psychologists go through the ABPP
certification process any more. It is still a highly positive thing to have an ABPP
certification, just very few psychologists do it. Also, attorneys sometimes ask for ‘board
certification’ in a specific forensic area, such as in psycho-sexual assessments.
However, even the ABPP only has a certification in general forensics, and thus does not
certify psychologists in any specific forensic specialty area.

Another well known organization in psychology, the American Psychological Association
(APA), is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in
the United States and in the world. Their mission is to advance the creation,
communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and
improve people’s lives. They do not grant certifications or licenses, so one would not be
board certified by the APA.

This all can lead to attorneys and clients being frustrated in their search for a ‘board
certified’ psychologist in NC, should they embark on that specific quest versus just
looking for qualified, experienced forensic and/or clinical psychologists. Because as you
can see, the vast majority of psychologists, including forensic psychologists with many
years of experience, are not ‘board certified’ through the ABPP; and the ABPP is a
private organization with no authority. Our NC Psychology Board, which has licensing
authority, does not grant board certifications.

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