Virginia Administrative Code › Title 18 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING › Agency 125 - BOARD OF PSYCHOLOGY › Chapter 20 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PRACTICE OF PSYCHOLOGY › Part II - Requirements for Licensure › Section 18VAC125-20-54 - Education requirements for clinical psychologists

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
A. Beginning June
				  23, 2028, an applicant shall hold a doctorate in clinical or counseling
				  psychology from a professional psychology program in a regionally accredited
				  university that was accredited at the time the applicant graduated from the
				  program by the APA, CPA, or an accrediting body acceptable to the board.
				  Graduates of programs that are not within the United States or Canada shall
				  provide documentation from an acceptable credential evaluation service that
				  provides information verifying that the program is substantially equivalent to
				  an APA-accredited program.
B. Prior
				  to June 23, 2028, an applicant shall either hold a doctorate from an accredited
				  program, as specified in subsection A of this section, or shall hold a
				  doctorate from a professional psychology program that documents that the
				  program offers education and training that prepares individuals for the
				  practice of clinical psychology as defined in §
										54.1-3600 of the Code
				  of Virginia and meets the following criteria:
1. The program is within an institution of
				  higher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S.
				  Department of Education or publicly recognized by the Association of
				  Universities and Colleges of Canada as a member in good standing. Graduates of
				  programs that are not within the United States or Canada must provide
				  documentation from an acceptable credential evaluation service that provides
				  information that allows the board to determine if the program meets the
				  requirements set forth in this chapter.
2. The program shall be recognizable as an
				  organized entity within the institution.
3. The program shall be an integrated,
				  organized sequence of study with an identifiable psychology faculty and a
				  psychologist directly responsible for the program and shall have an
				  identifiable body of students who are matriculated in that program for a
				  degree. The faculty shall be accessible to students and provide them with
				  guidance and supervision. The faculty shall provide appropriate professional
				  role models and engage in actions that promote the student's acquisition of
				  knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with the program's training
				  goals.
4. The program shall
				  encompass a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate study or the
				  equivalent thereof.
5. The program
				  shall include a general core curriculum containing a minimum of three or more
				  graduate semester hours or five or more graduate quarter hours in each of the
				  following substantive content areas:
a.
				  Biological bases of behavior (e.g., physiological psychology, comparative
				  psychology, neuropsychology, sensation and perception, health psychology,
				  pharmacology, neuroanatomy).
b.
				  Cognitive-affective bases of behavior (e.g., learning theory, cognition,
				  motivation, emotion).
c. Social
				  bases of behavior (e.g., social psychology, group processes, organizational and
				  systems theory, community and preventive psychology, multicultural
				  issues).
d. Psychological
				  measurement.
e. Research
				  methodology.
f. Techniques of data
				  analysis.
g. Professional standards
				  and ethics.
6. The
				  program shall include a minimum of at least three or more graduate semester
				  credit hours or five or more graduate quarter hours in each of the following
				  clinical psychology content areas:
a.
				  Individual differences in behavior (e.g., personality theory, cultural
				  difference and diversity).
b. Human
				  development (e.g., child, adolescent, geriatric psychology).
c. Dysfunctional behavior, abnormal behavior,
				  or psychopathology.
d. Theories and
				  methods of intellectual assessment and diagnosis.
e. Theories and methods of personality
				  assessment and diagnosis including its practical application.
f. Effective interventions and evaluating the
				  efficacy of interventions.