Certification board recognizes rehabilitation psychology specialty

The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) recently added rehabilitation psychology to the list of 11 board-certified specialties in which it provides psychologists certification. ABPP is the leading certification agency for psychologists.

ABPP recognized the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology (ABRP) in 1997 as a fully affiliated board. The ABRP has defined the specialty of rehabilitation psychology as an area of practice concerned with assisting people with either congenital or acquired disabilities in achieving optimal psychological, physical and social functioning.

"Until recently, the qualifications for a well-trained rehabilitation psychologist had not been well defined, unlike the other established ABPP specialties, such as clinical neuropsychology, health psychology and forensic psychology," says Mitchell Rosenthal, PhD, president of ABRP.

The certification process allows hospitals, universities and consumers to easily identify practitioners who are specially trained in rehabilitation psychology, says Rosenthal, who is also vice president for research at the Kessler Medical Rehabilitation Research and Education Corp., in West Orange, N.J.

Since 1997, more than 60 psychologists have received board certification for rehabilitation psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. Eligibility requirements include:

* A doctoral degree from a recognized program in psychology.

* Licensure as a psychologist in the state in which he or she practices.

* Postdoctoral training that requires at least two years of supervised practice in a specialty or one year of predoctoral and one year of postdoctoral supervision or the successful completion of a recognized postdoctoral program in rehabilitation psychology.

* Case reports as examples of professional work or other work samples which are indicative of the applicant's knowledge of rehabilitation psychology.

* A passing grade on the oral examination.

The American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology and APA's Div. 22 (Rehabilitation) co-sponsor an annual meeting each March that features a series of workshops designed to help prepare psychologists for the American Board of Professional Psychology's certification process.

For more information about the annual meeting and workshops, contact Mitchell Rosenthal at mrosenthal@kmrrec.org. For more information about the certification process, contact ABPP at 514 E. Capitol Ave., Jefferson City, Mo. 65101, (573) 634-5607, or visit the ABPP web site at www.abpp.org.

--L. Rabasca



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