American Board of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology Update
ABCCAP Board Certification – Individualized Review of Training/Credentials & Mentorship, in the style of Dear Abby
By David A. Langer, PhD, ABPP (ABCCAP President)
Dear “ABCCAPy,”
I’m excited to be board certified, but a bit daunted by the process. Is there any help available?
Sincerely,
I’M SO EXCITED
Dear EXCITED,
I love your excitement about board certification (as well as your love of 1980s hits), and I’m glad that the answer to your question is a resounding yes! Each ABCCAP board member is ready to answer your questions about each stage of the process that they manage. AND, ABCCAP has a mentorship program led by mentorship chair (and SPP Board of Directors member) Dr. Sunnye Mayes. If you’re looking for a mentor, reach out to her at sunnyem@med.umich.edu. And for readers who are already ABCCAP board certified, reach out to Dr. Mayes if you’d like to be a mentor. As Dr. Mayes says, “mentorship is a great way to help others, participate in the ABCCAP process, and engage in an enjoyable professional development activity.”
And as the Pointer Sisters might have said, “This year’s the year you’re gonna make it happen.” Good luck!
Dear ABCCAPy,
I’m a pediatric psychologist through and through – I even supervise pediatric psychologists-in-training! – but my graduate school training wasn’t specific to pediatric psychology, and I’m not sure about my internship and brief post-doc. Am I eligible for ABCCAP specialty board certification?
Sincerely,
BEMUSED BY BOARDING
Dear BEMUSED,
You’re right to be considering board certification to demonstrate competence in your specialty. Bravo! ABCCAP has standard training requirements (as you’ve read in the exam manual available online), but also recognizes that many competent specialists have varied training experiences. ABCCAP is working to formalize guidelines to review applicants whose training varies from the standard requirements. BUT you need not wait to apply – ABCCAP already reviews applicants with varied training experiences through an individualized review process to determine if an applicant’s training and experiences is consistent with the expectations for specialists in pediatric psychology. Reach out to our credential reviewer, Dr. Kelsie Hendrickson (a pediatric psychologist at St. Luke’s), at hendrick@slhs.org, to find out more and/or consult on your specific application.