Alabama Administrative Code › Title 750 - ALABAMA BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN PSYCHOLOGY › Chapter 750-X-2A - THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL TECHNICIANS › Section 750-X-2A-.04 - Psychological Technician Training Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) All applicants for licensure as a
			 Psychological Technician shall have a master's degree in psychology from a
			 regionally accredited institution of higher education. The degree program of
			 the applicant shall be publicly identified and clearly labeled as a psychology
			 program. In lieu of a master's degree, an applicant must have completed the
			 equivalent of a master's degree from an American Psychological Association
			 accredited doctoral program in psychology, as determined by the
			 board.
(2) Included in the course
			 credit, a minimum of nine (9) of the graduate semester hours must be in the
			 basic substantive areas of psychology and at least three (3) substantive areas
			 must be represented. The basic substantive areas of psychology include, but may
			 not be restricted to, ethics, experimental, developmental, individual
			 differences, psychological tests and measurements, social, cultural/ethnic, sex
			 roles, statistics, history and systems, research and experimental design,
			 personality theory, learning, physiological, abnormal, comparative, motivation,
			 emotion, sensation and perception, learning, thinking and
			 organizational.
(3) Candidates must
			 have successfully completed a minimum of a 3 semester hour graduate course in
			 psychological assessment and a minimum of a 3 semester hour graduate course in
			 intervention techniques.
(4) In
			 cases in which the successfully completed formal master's degree program in
			 psychology does not meet the curriculum requirements to allow licensure as a
			 Psychological Technician, the Board may, at its discretion, accept additional
			 course work subsequently completed in a qualifying graduate training program
			 and/or professional experience.
(5)
			 The degree program of the applicant shall meet all of the following
			 requirements:
(a) The program shall be
			 publicly identified and clearly labeled as a psychology program.
(b) The program shall maintain clear
			 authority and primary responsibility for the core and concentration areas
			 whether or not the program crosses administrative lines.
(c) The program shall have an identifiable
			 body of students in residence at the institution who are matriculated in the
			 program for degree purposes.
(d)
			 The program shall have an identifiable full-time psychology faculty in
			 residence at the institution, sufficient in size and breadth to carry out the
			 responsibilities of the program, and employed by and providing instruction at
			 the main campus of the institution.
(e) There shall be a psychologist responsible
			 for the program as the administrative head of the program, the advisor, a major
			 professor, or the committee chair.
(f) The program shall be an integrated,
			 organized sequence of study in psychology as demonstrated by an identifiable
			 curriculum track or tracks wherein course sequence are outlined.
(g) The program shall encompass the
			 equivalent of a minimum of two academic years, at least one of which shall be
			 one academic year of full-time graduate study in student residence at the
			 institution from which the degree is granted. Residence requires interaction
			 with psychology faculty and other matriculated psychology students. A one year
			 residency shall consist of 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours taken on a
			 full-time or part-time basis at the institution.
(h) The program shall include practical or
			 other field experience appropriate to the area of specialty and practice as a
			 psychological technician. This experience shall satisfy all of the following
			 criteria:
(1) The experience shall be a
			 planned or directed program of training in psychology, in contrast to
			 on-the-job training, and shall have provided the trainee with a planned and
			 directed sequence of training integrated with the educational program in which
			 the trainee is enrolled. The training shall be planned by the faculty of the
			 program rather than by the trainee.
(2) The training site shall have a clearly
			 designated and licensed psychologist who is responsible for the integrity and
			 quality of the training program.
(3) The training shall last a minimum of six
			 months and consist of at least 500 hours of supervised training. At least 50
			 percent of the training shall be spent in direct contact with patients or
			 clients.
(4) The training program
			 shall have a written program description detailing the functioning of the
			 program and shall be approved by the psychology program of the trainee before
			 training occurs.
(5) The training
			 site staff shall provide a minimum of one hour per five hours of client contact
			 of face-to-face, primarily individual, regularly scheduled supervision,
			 overseeing the training experience.
(6) Supervision may be provided in part by
			 psychiatrists, social workers, or other related professionals qualified by the
			 training site. At least 60 percent of the supervision shall be provided by a
			 licensed psychologist.
(7) A person
			 enrolled in a training program shall be designated as a practicum student, or
			 any other designation which clearly indicates training status.
(i)
(1) The program shall include a minimum of 45
			 semester hours or 68 quarter hours of graduate study in standard psychology
			 courses, including courses drawn from academic psychology, such as social,
			 experimental, physiological, developmental, history and systems, and statistics
			 and research design.
(a) Of the required
			 semester or quarter hours, not more than six semester or nine quarter hours
			 shall be credited for practicum and not more than six semester or nine quarter
			 hours shall be credited for thesis.
(b) No credit shall be allowed for audited
			 courses or courses taken at an institution which is not a regionally accredited
			 institution of higher education.
(2) An applicant whose credentials have been
			 approved by the board for examination at the licensed psychologist level may be
			 issued a license as a psychological technician if the applicant fails an
			 examination at the licensed psychologist level but passes the examination at
			 the licensed psychological technician level. To receive this license, the
			 applicant shall file all required application materials with the board for
			 licensure at the psychological technician level.