WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association has appointed a task force to develop a blueprint for the association to accredit master’s programs in health service psychology.
“Given the increasing number of states that are licensing psychology providers at the master’s level, the association decided it makes sense for APA to create a roadmap to add master’s programs to its accreditation portfolio,” said James Lichtenberg, PhD, professor emeritus in counseling psychology at the University of Kansas. “APA has long been the recognized leader in accrediting doctoral programs in psychology, so it makes sense for the association to apply its expertise to master’s-level programs.”
Members of the task force have experience and interest in graduate education at the master’s and/or doctoral level, in clinical, counseling and school psychology. They are also knowledgeable about accreditation of doctoral programs in health service psychology, as well as accreditation of master’s programs in clinical or counseling psychology; approval of school psychology programs; Veterans Affairs experience in training and employment of individuals with psychology degrees; academic leadership associated with a department, college or school offering master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology, as well as leadership roles specific to the professional practice of psychology. They were selected by APA’s Board of Educational Affairs. Celeste Malone, PhD, of Howard University, will serve as the Board of Educational Affairs liaison to the group.
The task force’s mandate is to outline a plan by which APA could pursue development of an accreditation system for master’s programs in health service areas (clinical, counseling and school) of psychology. The task force is slated to deliver its recommendations to the council in 2019.
Specifically, the charge of the task force includes:
- Developing a statement that broadly delineates the scope of accreditation for training at the master’s level as contrasted with the current scope at the doctoral level.
- Prioritizing possible pathways for APA to establish accreditation of master’s programs in psychology. For example, what are the advantages and disadvantages of creating an entirely new accreditation system vs. expanding the scope of APA’s current accrediting body? Included would be a review of how the accreditation body would (or would not) overlap with existing accreditation systems for individuals trained at the master’s level in health service areas of psychology.
- Identifying the necessary expertise for the accreditation decision-making body.
The decision to appoint the task force comes after almost 70 years of debate within the association and the field about the role of master’s-trained individuals in psychology. Given the association’s policy that the doctorate is the minimum educational requirement for entry into professional practice as a psychologist, APA had not sought to accredit training programs in psychology at the master’s level. However, changes in the field led to a decision by the council of representatives to direct APA to develop an accreditation system for master’s programs in health service areas of psychology.
In addition to Lichtenberg, the task force members are:
- Nadya Fouad, PhD
Mary and Ted Kellner endowed chair in educational psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. - William L. Hathaway, PhD
Dean, school of psychology and counseling; professor of psychology, Regent University. - Tammy L. Hughes, PhD
Chair, department of counseling, psychology and special education; professor of school psychology, Duquesne University. - Elizabeth Louis, MA
Doctoral student, University of Georgia. - David Lutz, PhD
Professor, department of psychology, Missouri State University. - Jason Jared Washburn, PhD
Associate professor, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. - Valene Augusta Whittaker, PhD
Mental Health Clinic Recovery Services, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.