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.
