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APA awards proficiency certification to qualified practitioners
Certification could help psychologists define their areas
of expertise for health-care managers.
By Nathan Seppa
Psychologist Patrick Cerra, EdD, an
independent practitioner in Terre Haute, Ind., had never
considered getting additional credentials for treating alcohol-
and substance-abuse patients-about 20 percent of his caseload.
But when a health-benefits management company started denying
coverage for some of his patients earlier this year-saying Cerra
lacked credentials to treat them-he decided he needed more than a
doctorate and a license to keep his practice thriving.
His timing was fortuitous. In April, 1996 APA's College of
Professional Psychology awarded its first batch of certificates
of proficiency in treating alcohol and other psychoactive
substance-use disorders. Cerra applied, and because he is a
licensed health-service provider and met all certification
criteria, he promptly became certified. Cerra was one of roughly
700 psychologists whom APA granted certification this spring.
Cerra sent a record of his new credential to the management
firm that tried to block reimbursement. A few weeks later, he
found himself citing the certificate again, as he filled out
forms to maintain his place on another panel whose management
firm had been bought out by a larger company unfamiliar with
Cerra's work or reputation.
'Thus, the certificate is more than another plaque to
hang on the wall,' said Janet Ciuccio, executive
administrator of the College.
'This is a way to further define [credentials] for
payers, consumers [and] other professionals,' she said.
'It also clarifies a practitioner's areas of expertise-in
this case, drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment,' she said.
Like many practitioners, Cerra belongs to panels or networks
of providers that handle the mental health-care needs of some
large employers, a major source of income.
People who decide which practitioners may serve on such panels
need to have the means of gauging the validity of a
practitioners' claim to be a specialist in an area of psychology,
said Ron Finch, EdD, a consultant in the Health and Welfare
Division at Coopers and Lybrand, an accounting and consulting
firm in Atlanta.
The people who are building these networks at insurance
companies, managed-care companies and coalitions of employers who
purchase the services need to see the integrity issue addressed
up front, Finch said.
Getting certified
Cerra and other members of the initial certification group
will need to pass an examination within the next three years to
maintain their certification. Certificates for this group of
people who applied before June 1 went only to experienced
practitioners who met the requirements. Practitioners applying
after June 1, 1996, need to take the examination before getting
certified. In general, applicants must:
be state- or province-licensed (in good standing) for
independent practice;
provide health services in psychology;
produce letters of recommendation from co-workers; and
have been treating patients with alcohol- or
substance-abuse disorders for at least one year during
the past three years.
The initial group was required to have been providing
alcohol- or substance-abuse treatment for at least five
of the last eight years. The three-hour exam consists
of 150 multiple-choice questions and can be taken on a
computer at more than 200 locations. It will gauge the
practitioner's knowledge in such areas as clinical
pharmacology and epidemiology of psychoactive substances,
causes of substance-use disorders, prevention, screening,
diagnosis, treatment, ethical concerns and issues
specific to certain populations.
Personnel Decisions Research Institutes of Minneapolis
developed the examination, working with psychologists who
have expertise in the area, Ciuccio said. Sylvan
Technology Centers will administer the tests by
appointment. Results are available immediately;
applicants get a printout and the results also go to the
College for comparison with the passing score. If the
applicant fails, a retest can be taken after 90 days. If
applicants fail a second test, they must wait a year
before being tested again.
'A passing score will be based on knowledge
considered necessary for safe, effective practice,'
Ciuccio said. 'All of the items are practice
related. Sample test questions and a suggested reading
materials list will be available. The certificate is
designed to make explicit a status already
attained,' Ciuccio said.
'Our certification does not begin with the
assumption that you now have to become competent,'
she said. 'We assume that providers working in the
substance-use area are practicing effectively, and we're
trying to provide them with an appropriate tool to
demonstrate that.'
The substance-abuse certification is a good start,
Finch said, but needs to be followed by certifications in
other areas.
'Psychology is going to feel some pressure [from
benefits companies] to show that they can regulate their
own credentialing through the [APA] College, rather than
have some credentialing standards placed on them,'
he said. 'The College plans to make available more
certifications in specific areas, but no decision has
been made on the next proficiency to be certified.
Members can petition APA to have their area recognized as
a proficiency,' Ciuccio said.
A marketing tool
'Practitioners need to promote the public's
confidence in psychology, and proficiency testing does
that,' said Toni Collarini-Schlossberg, PhD, a New
York City independent practitioner who was recently
certified. 'And while no one relishes taking an
exam, she said, tests do set a minimum level and certain
standards for knowledge.' Meanwhile, dealing with
third-party payers is a reality faced by practitioners,
many of whom contract with managed-care providers to work
with patients at set fees, she said.
'You have to demonstrate some specialty or
proficiency in order to gain access to more than one
client population,' she said. 'Not knowing
where managed care is going [in the future], you have to
be somewhat aggressive in your career goals. I see myself
practicing another 20 years.'
The certification may also work as a marketing tool.
Cerra plans to include it in his entry in the local
Yellow Pages this summer.
'This credential meets the high standard for
integrity in the world of professional
credentialing,' Ciuccio said. 'Hopefully it
will be regarded as such by everybody, not just
payers.' The certificates will need to be renewed
every three years. For post-June 1 applicants, the
initial fee will be $325 for APA members and $395 for
nonmembers, plus a $200 examination fee, paid at the time
of testing.
Thereafter, a $50 annual maintenance fee will be
charged, plus a renewal fee of $125 every three years.
The recertification program also requires practitioners
to obtain 18 hours of continuing-education credit during
the three-year certification period.
To obtain more information or to request application
materials contact:
College of Professional
Psychology
APA Practice Organization
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-6100
Fax: (202) 336-5797
E-mail
You can also Download
the application form in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
If you do not have the free Adobe Acrobat reader, you can download it from Adobe's site. |