Guide to Board Certification in Clinical Psychology

by Fred Alberts, Jr. PhD, ABPP, Christopher Ebbe PhD, ABPP, David Kazar PhD, ABPP

Overview

The guide discusses how to find the right mentor, set realistic preparation timelines, create exemplary practice samples, and prepare for the oral exam. It provides examples of application elements such as professional work statements, practice examples, oral exam questions, and excerpts from a simulated transcript of an oral exam session. Helpful tips and handy checklists reinforce each stage of the process. The guide examines and dispels myths surrounding Board Certification that promote unnecessary anxiety, and offers examples of pitfalls to avoid during the application process. Key Features: Provides practical advice for successfully obtaining Board Certification in Clinical Psychology Is the only guide available that focuses exclusively on the Clinical Psychology certification Authored by experienced clinical psychologists who have long served as ABPP examiners and mentors to applicants, as well as leaders in the ABPP Academies Contains examples of application elements, including professional statements, practice samples, and oral exam questions Includes excerpts from a simulated transcript of an oral exam session

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826199812
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/01/2013
Pages:	180
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Fred, L. Alberts, Jr., PhD, ABPP, has been in independent practice in Tampa, Florida since 1984. He is Assistant Professor of the Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida.

Christopher E. Ebbe, PhD,has served as Psychology Training Coordinator for the San Bernardino, CA, County Department of Behavioral Health for the past 30 years, treating clients and training new psychologists, including 200 doctoral psychology interns and over 100 post-doctoral residents.

David B. Kazar, PhD, ABPP, is employed by the Veterans Administration in San Antonio, Texas, where he provides tele-health services and service supervision to outlying facilities. His independent clinical practice, spanning approximately 20 years, provides assessment and psychotherapy services in various venues and populations including forensic assessment services.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD
PREFACE
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Chapter 1. An Introduction to Board Certification in Clinical Psychology
Chapter 2. Making the Commitment to Obtain Board Certification and Getting Started
Chapter 3. Stage II: Practice Samples - The Professional Statement
Chapter 4. Stage II: Practice Samples – Assessment and Intervention Samples
Chapter 5. Stage III: The Oral Examination
Chapter 6. Life After Examination
APPENDICES

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Christopher J Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)
Description: Board certification has long been the standard of competence in medicine and it is quickly gaining attention as the standard in clinical neuropsychology and forensic psychology as well with many employers, attorneys, or courts preferring or even requiring this. As there is increased emphasis on delineating quality professionals, board certification will inevitably become the standard for clinical psychology as well.
Purpose: This is a practical guide to the board certification process through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) for individuals interested in obtaining diplomate status.
Audience: It is intended for clinical psychologists preparing to become board certified. It is written by board certified clinical psychologists who have served as examiners and have intimate knowledge of the process, but may be written at too simplistic a level.
Features: A description of board certification begins the book and sets the stage for its importance and benefit to clinicians and the field. A Q&A section with board certified individuals details their experiences, presents general advice for applicants, dispels myths about the process, and lists some of the rewards of being board certified. The book presents an overview of the steps before providing more detailed information for each step. It is surprising that the book covers some extremely rudimentary topics, such as how to create an appropriate CV with an example consisting of what seems to be fairly obvious and egregious errors. The samples for completing different sections of the Professional Statement are helpful, in the sense of demonstrating a competent versus incompetent applicant, but not so much in terms of how to write a good statement. At the point of applying for board certification, competence is not something that can be remedied by reading this book. This makes the examples, in the main, unconstructive. The suggestions for how to approach the oral exam and interact with examiners are much more reasonable and could potentially make or break an applicant regardless of their skills. The appendixes have useful examples of the contextual statement for an intervention submission, an exam excerpt from an intervention case, and an exam excerpt from the legal and foundation portion.
Assessment: Overall, this can be a good resource for clinicians starting the process of ABPP board certification, but there is a significant section dedicated to the professional statement that is largely squandered by providing examples of incompetent practice rather than pitfalls in structure or presentation of material to the board.

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