To become a Health Service Psychologist:
- Request an Online Application, complete, and submit the application
- Request that your doctoral transcript(s) be sent directly from your educational institution(s) to the National Register
- Print the Internship and Postdoctoral confirmation forms and have your supervisors review the criteria and complete the forms
- Submit a signed Application Attestation Form, licensure documentation and the non-refundable credential review fee ($225) to the National Register.
- Once your application is reviewed and approved, you will then need to submit the Registration Attestation form and the Registration fee ($170, or $150 if you are within 3 years of initial licensure) to activate your credential
If you have any questions or comments regarding the National Register's application or application process, contact Kim Haynes.
To qualify for the National Register Health Service Psychologist credential, you must meet the following criteria:
- A doctoral degree in psychology from an ASPPB/National Register Designated Doctoral Program in Psychology or an APA/CPA Accredited Program
- At least two years (3,000 hours) of supervised experience in health services, including:
- a. One-year (1,500 hours) internship or training program meeting the National Register's guidelines
- b. One-year (1,500 hours) of supervised postdoctoral experience meeting the National Register's guidelines
- An active, unrestricted license at the independent practice level
- No pending or current disciplinary action
Detailed criteria for the National Register Health Service Psychologist credential:
To be eligible for the National Register Health Service Psychologist credential you must meet or exceed the following criteria:
1. You must have a doctoral degree meeting the Designation Guidelines
If you are a graduate of an American Psychological Association ("APA") or Canadian Psychological Association ("CPA") accredited program, you should meet the criterion. See APA and CPA web sites for further information. If you are not a graduate of an APA or CPA accredited program but are a graduate of a program listed at the time you completed it in the ASPPB/National Register Designated Doctoral Programs criteria on our web site, then your program should meet the criteria as long as your transcript reflects completion of the required course work.The National Register also completes individual reviews for applicants who graduated from a program that is currently designated but was not designated at the time of their graduation, from a program prior to the inception of the designation program in 1980, or for those who earned their degrees outside of the United States and Canada, or for programs that no longer exists. In these cases, the applicant, with the assistance of the degree granting institution, will have to document that the doctoral program he/she completed meets Criteria 2-11 of the Designation Guidelines.
2. You must have at least two years (3,000 hours) of supervised experience in health services in psychology, including:
- a. One year (1500 hours) internship or organized training program meeting the National Register's Criteria. If you completed an APA accredited internship, you should meet this criterion. Information regarding APA approved internships, visit the APA Web Site. If you plan to complete a non-APA accredited internship, it is important that you compile an organized health service training program as outlined in the Guidelines for Defining an Internship or Organized Health Service Training Program in Psychology. The Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) publishes an annual directory listing internships that are APA approved and those that are members of APPIC. For more information regarding APPIC approved internships, visit the APPIC Web Site. Also, the Joint Committee on Internships (Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs, the Division of School Psychology of the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists) publishes annually the Directory of Internships for Doctoral Students in School Psychology. For more information regarding the most current directory prepared by the Joint Committee on Internships, contact: School Psychology Clinic, 227 CEDAR Bldg., Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.
- b. One year (1500 hours) of supervised postdoctoral experience meeting the National Register's guidelines. Postdoctoral experience should be designed in advance to meet the National Register's Guidelines for Supervised Postdoctoral Experience, including 1500 hours that is comprised of acceptable supervised experience completed within a four-year period.
3. You must hold an active, unrestricted license or certification by a State, Provincial or Territorial Board of Examiners of Psychology to practice psychology at the independent practice level.
If you graduated from a psychology doctoral program outside the United States or Canada, you may not be eligible for admittance to a licensing exam until after a review of your education and training by a state/provincial board of examiners or an independent organization. For information about the requirements for licensure in the United States and Canada, contact the state, provincial or territorial regulatory board in the jurisdiction(s) where you anticipate applying for licensure.
Click here for a list of all licensing boards and board web sites.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the criteria to become a Health Service Psychologist, contact kim@nationalregister.org.
