To Be or Not to Be Board Certified? A Question of Quality and Identification for Psychologists

Abstract

Achieving board certification in psychology is an important step in a psychologist's professional development. Board certification serves as a quality indicator for consumers, employers, and other stakeholders while providing enhanced opportunities for psychologists who complete the peer-review process that leads to it. This commentary provides an update on trends in board certification in psychology and explores the roles and benefits of board certification as well as barriers to pursuing board certification. Board certification is an important issue to consider because more mental and physical healthcare clinicians and researchers are now embracing the biopsychosocial model. Board certification could well help with maximizing reimbursement or clinical opportunities, as well as produce a greater understanding of the biobehavioral underpinnings of comorbid mental and physical disorders. Specialist data from the American Board of Professional Psychology and membership data from the American Psychological Association were reviewed across specialty areas. The work was archival and involved no human subjects, and therefore, this study was exempt from review by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Minnesota. There are currently 4,198 board certifications across the 15 boards of the American Board of Professional Psychology. These represent a relatively small proportion (less than 4%) of U.S. licensed psychologists. The numbers correlate positively with membership levels in corresponding APA divisions. Between 2011 and 2015, there was a 25.8% increase in the number of board-certified psychologists. Board certification appears to be undergoing a period of rapid growth among psychologists. This trend appears to reflect multiple factors, including an increased number of boards representing expanding areas of specialization in the field, a growing interest in board certification as part of increasing quality emphasis within healthcare, and psychologists' desire to distinguish themselves in a competitive marketplace. Board certification in diverse areas, including clinical health psychology, affords various professionally and personally rewarding linkages and opportunities.To be or not to be board certified is a question psychologists wrestle with as they ponder whether (or not) to pursue advanced specialty board certification.

Understanding the rehabilitation psychology specialty career pathway.

“…Health care providers understand that insurance companies are establishing preferences for board certification, that specialization contributes to respect and recognition by peers, and that the APA, VA, and other health care organizations are encouraging psychologists to pursue training and certification in specialty fields (Kaslow et al, 2012). Given that specialization is increasing in psychology practice and education, a distinct and organized process for certification is critical for success in establishing parity with other health care professions (Robiner & Fossum, 2017).…”

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Objective: Little is known about how psychologists choose their specialty practice area, and rehabilitation psychology is no exception. Specialization and specialty certification in professional psychology have been controversial topics impacting the field during the training sequence and across the span of professional careers (Drum & Blom, 2001;Robiner & Fossum, 2017). The American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology (ABRP) has been providing specialty certification since 1995 and rehabilitation psychology was recognized as a unique specialty in 2015 by the APA's Council for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP).

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Competence in psychology board certification: Unlike a good wine, it does not get better with age.

“…ABPP is the most well-known and widely recognized organization that certifies competency in professional psychology specialization through board certification (Bent, Packard, & Goldberg, 1999; Robiner & Fossum, 2017). Established in 1947, ABPP initially served to identify trained practitioners in the field (i.e., Clinical, Counseling, and later Industrial/Organizational), and was established before licensure regulations for psychologists being widely implemented (Finch, Simon, & Nezu, 2006).…”

“…In part because of the timing of the original establishment of ABPP certification compared with licensure regulation implementation, ABPP became thought of as a credential for the elite in the field (Finch et al, 2006). Robiner and Fossum (2017) describe that originally board certification indicated confirmation of an enhanced level of knowledge and skill that was attained by an elite few. Although this misperception has persisted to some degree, recent developments such as the Early Entry Option (EEO) program within ABPP have facilitated recognition of board certification as an expected professional milestone for most psychologists (Baker & Cox, 2014; Cox, 2010).…”

“…However, the belief that most ECPs have not yet developed the competencies needed for board certification may persist. This harkens back to a largely held misperception that board certification is a milestone for the elite few (Finch et al, 2006; Robiner & Fossum, 2017).…”