Candidates for licensure must have earned a doctoral degree from an educational institution accredited and recognized by national and regional accrediting agencies. Department or schools which have programs fully or provisionally accredited by the APA at the time the applicant graduated will be recognized as meeting the Board’s definition of a department or school of psychology, and applicants who graduated from these APA accredited programs will be considered to have met the Board’s educational requirements. Otherwise, programs will be recognized as meeting the Board’s definition of a qualifying department or school of psychology if certain criteria was met at the time the applicant graduated, as detailed in Administrative Code Rule 750-X-2-04.
The Board has not adopted specific rules regarding record content and suggests that licensees refer to the APA’s Record Keeping Guidelines: http://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/record-keeping.aspx
The Board has not adopted specific rules regarding record content and suggests that licensees refer to the APA’s Record Keeping Guidelines: http://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/record-keeping.aspx
The Board does not make any provision for temporary, unlicensed practice.
If you possess a license to practice psychology in another state, you may practice in Alabama for no more than 30 days each calendar year without applying for an Alabama license. This authority to practice does not apply if you have been denied licensure in Alabama. And it does not apply if you are a legal resident of Alabama, or if you intend to practice full-time or a major portion of your time in Alabama. In both of these cases, you must apply for and be granted licensure to practice in the State.
An individual licensed to practice psychology in another state who is providing services in Alabama in response to a declared disaster or state of emergency may practice in this state for no more than 60 days in a calendar year without applying for licensure. You must notify the Board. Please see the Emergency Services link on our Home page for more information.
Yes...you must wait the 6 months. Pursuant to Code of Alabama Section 34-26-41, a candidate who does not achieve a passing score on a compulsory examination must wait a mandatory period of six months before taking the examination again. If re-examination is successfully completed within one year of the first administration of the exam, no new licensure application or licensure application fee is required. However, a second test administration fee will be required and a different form of the exam will be used. After two unsuccessful attempts, a new licensure application is required.
The Board has not adopted specific rules and does not have any specific provision addressing the developing area of psychological service provision commonly known as telepsychology. Use of telecommunication technologies present unique opportunities, considerations, and challenges to psychologists, and you are encouraged to reference the APA's Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology for more information on the topic: http://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/telepsychology.aspx
First, it is perfectly OK to ask your therapist about his or her credentials and if he or she is a licensed psychologist, or holds any other license issued by this or any other State agency. You can also access this information looking under License Search and Verification. It is illegal for a person to misrepresent himself or herself as a psychologist or psychological technician who treats clients if he or she is not licensed. All licensees are listed in the verification file.
It is always appropriate to discuss whatever feelings you are having with your therapist. If you don't feel comfortable doing this or, after doing this, continue to have significant worries, then you might want to change therapists. If you have a complaint about the ethical conduct of a therapist and wish to report that complaint to the Board, you can download the Form here, or you can call the Board office at (334) 242-4127 to request that a Complaint Form be mailed to you. The Board will investigate your complaint according to its Procedures for Complaints Against Licensees.
Candidates with documented disabilities or impairments who wish to be tested under non-standard conditions should specify their condition in writing when submitting their application to give the Board ample time to evaluate and make any special arrangements that may be required for the test administration. Our Accommodation Request Form can be found here.
All application materials must be submitted in the form of “original documents”. Official transcripts must be sent from the registrars of the respective degree-conferring institution directly to the Board office. Faxed documents are not acceptable. Electronic documents sent directly to the Board office via email from a clearinghouse will be accepted as Official correspondence. An application file is not considered complete until all original application materials have been received. Only then will the application be evaluated by the Board at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Re-application is required when an application remains incomplete for a period of one year from the date of receipt. Re-application includes completion of a new application form, a new application fee, and new and updated references.
Maybe.
A psychological technician with adequate training may directly provide the following services without supervision: administer and interpret tests, interview and screen, and psychoeducational interventions.
The Board requires psychological technicians who meet the education and training requirements for licensure to provide the following services only under the qualified supervision of a licensed psychologist: personality appraisal, clinical intervention, consultation services, and assistance with forensic assessments and neuropsychological evaluations.
For more information, see Administrative Code Rule 750-X-2A-.06 Limits of Practice.
When a complaint has been investigated and deemed to be without merit (no probable cause for a disciplinary hearing), the licensee and the complainant are notified of the “no probable cause” finding and the file is closed and remains confidential. Investigations are confidential unless the Board’s Investigative Committee determines that there is “probable cause for a disciplinary hearing”. In such a case, the Board’s counsel proceeds with the filing of administrative charges and a formal hearing to present evidence to the full Board regarding the complaint.