The following chart is intended as general guidance for subspecialty petitions. It provides questions that petitioners for subspecialty recognition should consider in preparing a petition, and some suggestions of documents and information that may be provided as part of the petition to address different areas.
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Criterion |
Questions, Tips, Guidance |
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Criterion I. Administrative Organization |
Questions:
Can you describe the infrastructure, staff, and operational capacities of these organization(s) for assessing a) effectiveness, b) quality improvement, and c) provider evaluation and identification for the public? How often do the organizations meet? What documents already exist that describe the taxonomy of the subspecialty and the processes through which the education and training guidelines are developed, monitored, and modified? Recommendations:
Create a calendar of joint meetings between your subspecialty and other relevant groups. Describe what financial arrangements, if any, there are between the subspecialty and parent specialty. Describe any subspecialty obligations in education and training that subspecialists must fulfill in the specialty on a regular basis.
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Criterion II. Public Need for Subspecialty Practice |
Questions:
How does this differ from your parent specialty? What procedures does your subspecialty utilize to assess changes in public needs? Recommendations:
Utilize case examples when appropriate to illustrate how public need for your subspecialty has emerged and is being met.
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Criterion III. Diversity |
Questions:
i.) subspecialty-specific scientific and theoretical knowledge;
What processes are in place for assessment and continued development of such knowledge? In what way is your subspecialty involved in the parent specialty’s council/committee on diversity? Recommendations:
Describe how your subspecialty has evolved to meet emergent needs and changing demographics in training, research, and practice (e.g., through research, needs assessment, market surveys). Describe how cultural diversity and individual differences will be addressed in each of the criteria. Strongly consider reviewing APA’s Multicultural Guidelines: An Ecological Approach to Context, Identity, and Intersectionality (American Psychological Association, 2017), and describing how your subspecialty integrates the guidance in training and practice.
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Criterion IV. Distinctiveness |
Questions:
How do you justify that you that you are a natural outgrowth of the parent specialty with a circumscribed set of problems, populations, and/or circumscribed approaches? Recommendations:
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Criterion V. Advanced Scientific and Theoretical Preparation
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Questions:
How do you document the scientific and theoretical preparation of the faculty and supervisors in your subspecialty? Recommendations:
Document relevant and current theories, psychologists, journals, etc. in your subspecialty. Describe the paradigm shifts that have led to the subspecialty. What emergent scientific research and findings are available, if any, within the subspecialty?
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Criterion VI. Advanced Preparation in the Parameters of Practice
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Questions:
What are the distinguishing education, training, and/or professional experiences that are central to the subspecialty as described in the taxonomy? How do these differ from the education, training, and/or professional experiences of the parent specialty? What populations are targeted and how does the proposed subspecialty embrace meeting the needs of diverse populations? How is this different than the parent specialty populations? How do the approaches, methods, techniques, and interventions of the subspecialty differ from the parent specialty? Recommendations:
Describe how the subspecialty will reach a diverse group of targeted consumers. Describe the problems that would ensue if consumers did not have access to this subspecialty.
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Criterion VII. Structures and Models of Education and Training in the Subspecialty |
Questions: At what level(s) of education do(es) the subspecialty education and training take place? Has the subspecialty prepared its taxonomy? Recommendations:
Ensure that the subspecialty taxonomy is sufficiently distinct from the parent specialty taxonomy, and yet extends the education, training, and supervised experience of the parent specialty taxonomy. Describe curricula and the relevant and current literature.
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Criterion VIII. Continuing Professional Development and Continuing Education |
Questions: What organizations carry out continuing education (CE) and/or continuing professional development (CPD) for the subspecialty? What is the data related to continuing professional development (CPD) and CE (e.g., how many people attend these workshops, what is the frequency and location of these offerings)? What are the mechanisms for quality assurance in relation to CE/CPD? What are requirements for maintaining subspecialty recognition status? Recommendations:
Show how learning is evaluated (e.g., post-tests for homestudy or asynchronous programming).
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Criterion IX. Effectiveness |
Questions
Do you have research consistent with the above criteria on the efficacy of the subspecialty's services for problems that are typically confronted and addressed by the subspecialty? Do you have research consistent with the above criteria that demonstrate the efficacy of the subspecialty's services when delivered in the settings or organizational arrangements where the subspecialty is practiced? Recommendations:
Discuss the problems that are most commonly treated, as well as the type of problems that could potentially be addressed in the future. |
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Criterion X. Quality Improvement |
Questions:
How do you describe the range of methodologies used, the breadth of practice settings, the diversity of populations served, and the number of researchers currently in the field? What types of CE will be most useful to your group and what will be the requirements for maintaining expertise in the subspecialty? Has the recent literature and research shaped changes in the field so that the subspecialty practice extends the subspecialty? How will you assess the differential needs and responses to treatment of the diverse populations that you serve? How were the first training programs started and what is the process for deciding where and how to develop new training programs? Recommendations:
Examine the parent specialty procedures for quality improvement to ensure that the subspecialty is tailored to the needs of the subspecialty. |
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Criterion XI. Guidelines for Subspecialty Service Delivery |
Questions: What literature supports the effectiveness of the subspecialty? What practice guidelines has the subspecialty promulgated? Are there APA clinical or practice guidelines that are specific to this subspecialty? Recommendations:
Develop specific practice or clinical guidelines for the subspecialty. Show how these practice or clinical guidelines are used in practice. Describe the process by which your subspecialty is seeking formal recognition of any practice guidelines.
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Criterion XII. Provider Identification and Evaluation |
Questions:
How do you conduct the subspecialty exam and decide how psychologists are able the privilege of use the subspecialty title? What are your criteria for evaluating subspecialty competence during the exam? How will you educate the public and the profession about subspecialist practitioners? How will the public be able to identify your subspecialists? How will you assess how many psychologists are practicing in the proposed subspecialty? How will you develop a formalized subspecialist board certification process? Recommendations:
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