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Internship
Programs | Postdoc
Programs | Consortia APPIC
MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAMSCriteria
Revised May, 2006
Clarification Revised February, 2008 Postdoctoral
training programs that are accredited by the American Psychological Association
are recognized as meeting the APPIC Postdoctoral Membership criteria. All others
must meet all of the following criteria (i.e., 1 through 14 below) and are reviewed
for adherence to the criteria every three years. EDUCATIONAL NOTE:
A program's adherence to APPIC membership criteria does not guarantee that the
trainees in the program will meet individual state, provincial, or territorial
licensing requirements. - A postdoctoral training program is an
organized experience which, in contrast to on the-job training, is designed to
provide the Fellow with a planned, programmed sequence of supervised training
experiences. The primary task is advanced training in an area of professional
psychology.
Clarification:
The organization
of a postdoctoral program is evident in a clear:
- statement
of the goals and objectives of the training activities.
- description
of the training plan, location, and sequence of direct service experiences.
- description of the training curriculum: i.e., the content, duration,
and frequency of the training activities.
- description of
how the psychology training program is integrated into the larger organization.
For programs with multiple sites, the services rendered by the
Fellow, the supervision provided, and the training director's involvement is clearly
described for each site.
- The postdoctoral program has
a designated psychologist who is clearly responsible for the integrity and quality
of the training program, who has administrative authority commensurate with those
responsibilities, and who is licensed as a psychologist in the jurisdiction where
the program exists. This director has expertise in an area of postdoctoral training
offered and has credentials of excellence such as the American Board of Professional
Psychology diploma, status as a Fellow in APA or CPA, record of active research
productivity, or clear evidence of professional competence and leadership.
Clarification:
The postdoctoral program is administered
by a doctoral level licensed (certified or registered for independent practice)
psychologist who:
- directs and organizes the training
program and its resources.
- is responsible for selection
of Fellows.
- monitors and evaluates the training program's
goals and activities.
- documents and maintains Fellows'
training records.
- The sponsoring institution
has two or more psychologists on staff who are currently licensed as psychologists
in the jurisdiction in which the program exists. The postdoctoral program has
a training faculty which includes at least one psychologist with expertise in
each area of postdoctoral training offered and has credentials of excellence such
as a Fellow in APA or CPA, record of active research productivity, or clear evidence
of professional competence and leadership in that program focus area.
Clarification:
Postdoctoral Fellows' primary clinical
supervision and role modeling must be provided by psychologists licensed (certified
or registered) for independent practice at the doctoral level on the program's
staff who:
- are officially designated as postdoctoral
program supervisors.
- are significantly involved in the training
program.
- show evidence of expertise in the focus area(s)
of the training program.
- The postdoctoral program
includes a minimum of two hours per week of regularly scheduled, face-to-face
individual supervision with the specific intent of supervising the psychological
services rendered directly by the Fellow. This supervision is provided by staff
members of the sponsoring institution who carry professional practice responsibility
for the cases being supervised and are licensed as psychologists in the jurisdiction
in which the program exists.
Clarification:
Supervisors need to be clearly designated by the agency as professionally responsible
for the cases (for example, countersigning documentation or having their name
on the treatment plan or case summary). Two hours of regularly scheduled, face-to-face,
individual supervision by a licensed psychologist should be provided weekly regardless
of whether the postdoctoral program is one year full-time or two years half-time.
- In addition to individual supervision, the program includes
at least two additional hours per week in learning activities, such as: case conferences
involving cases in which the Fellow is actively involved; seminars dealing with
clinical issues; co-therapy with a staff person, including discussion; group supervision;
or additional individual supervision.
Clarification:
Above and beyond the two hours of individual supervision each Fellow receives
weekly, the Postdoctoral Program should provide two hours per week of additional
learning experiences, regardless of whether the program is one year full-time
or two years half-time. These learning experiences should be regularly scheduled,
and may include but are not limited to additional individual or group supervision,
seminars, case conferences, workshops, or co-therapy with a supervisor. Clear
descriptions of the learning activities should be provided.
- At
least 25% of the Fellow's time is in professional psychological services.
Clarification:
A minimum of 25% of the Fellow's time
should be spent in provision of professional psychological services to patients/clients,
students, consultees, and/or agencies. These services may include but are not
limited to assessment, intervention, consultation, policy making, program design
and implementation, provision of supervision, and clinical research.
- Admission requirements include completion of all professional doctoral
degree requirements from a regionally accredited institution of higher education
or an APA/CPA-accredited program and predoctoral internship meeting APPIC standards.
This is defined as having on the first day of the fellowship either the diploma
in hand or a letter from the Director of graduate studies verifying the completion
of all degree requirements pending institution graduation ceremony.
APA guidelines on specialty change are followed. Fellows having completed doctoral
studies in fields other than clinical, counseling, or school psychology must have
received a certificate of equivalency from an APA/CPA accredited university program
attesting to their having met APA/CPA standards, including internship.
Clarification:
Postdoctoral Fellows must have completed
the doctoral degree before beginning their postdoctoral training. At a minimum,
Fellows must have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree from a regionally
accredited institution of higher learning, including an internship meeting APPIC
standards.
- If the Postdoctoral Training Program
requires that Fellows possess a doctoral degree from an APA- or CPA-accredited
program, it need not state the requirement that it be a regionally accredited
institution of higher learning. In this case, the brochure should state that Fellows
must have completed all doctoral degree requirements from an APA/CPA-accredited
program.
- If the Postdoctoral Training Program requires that
Fellows have completed an APA- or CPA-accredited internship, it need not state
the requirement that it meets APPIC standards. In this case, the brochure should
state that Fellows must have completed an APA/CPA-accredited internship.
- If the Postdoctoral Training Program does not require completion
of an APA- or CPA-accredited doctoral degree program or an APA- or CPA-accredited
internship, the brochure should state that Fellows must have completed all professional
doctoral degree requirements from a regionally accredited institution of higher
education, including an internship meeting APPIC standards.
- If
the Postdoctoral Training Program accepts applications from individuals who have
previously received a doctoral degree in some area of psychology other than clinical,
counseling or school, the brochure should state that such applicants must have
received a certificate of equivalency from an APA/CPA accredited university program
designed for the "retraining" of such psychologists, attesting to completion of
all requirements, including an internship meeting APPIC standards.
- The postdoctoral agency has a minimum of one full-time equivalent
postdoctoral Fellow at the postdoctoral level of training. This postdoctoral Fellow
must be on site and in training at the time of initial application for APPIC Membership.
Clarification:
The agency must have a minimum of one
full-time Fellow or two half-time Fellows in training at the time of initial application
for APPIC Membership, and should maintain this minimum for any period of training.
In special circumstances, such as changes in funding or reorganization, the Postdoctoral
Training Program may maintain APPIC Membership for up to one year without training
Fellows, as long as the training program is otherwise in good standing.
- Postdoctoral trainees have a title, such as "Intern," "Resident,"
"Fellow," or other designation of trainee status.
Clarification:
The title should indicate the Fellow is in training, and it is helpful
if the title distinguishes the Fellow from other trainees, e.g., if the title
"Intern," is used, then the full title should be "Postdoctoral Intern," to distinguish
the Fellow from those completing a predoctoral internship.
- The
sponsoring institution has a written statement or brochure made available to prospective
Fellows which describes the goals and content of the program, program organization,
entrance requirements, program faculty/staff, and mechanisms for Fellow evaluation.
Clarification:
Postdoctoral training programs must
make available descriptions of their training programs which give applicants and
Fellows a clear understanding of the program in terms of:
- the program's training goals and objectives.
- the program's
training methods, content, and curriculum, including rotations offered or required,
seminars, supervision, and other training experiences.
- the
program's training resources, including training/supervisory staff, physical facilities,
training support.
- the sites at which training and services
are provided. For programs with multiple sites, clear descriptions are given for
each site of services rendered by Fellows, supervision offered, and involvement
of the Director of Training.
- specific application requirements.
Postdoctoral programs must clearly indicate that applicants must have completed
all requirements for the doctoral degree before beginning their postdoctoral training,
and that they must have received the doctoral degree from an APA/CPA-accredited
program or from a "regionally accredited institution of higher education," including
an APA/CPA-accredited internship or an internship "meeting APPIC standards," as
described in Criteria #7.
- methods of Fellow evaluation,
including the frequency of evaluation (a minimum of 2 written evaluations per
year) and an indication of due process procedures in the event of a grievance.
- licensure requirements for postdoctoral supervised practice. Programs
must indicate whether satisfactory completion of the postdoctoral training program
meets postdoctoral supervised practice requirements for licensure or certification
in the jurisdiction within which the program resides.
- Postdoctoral
programs have documented due process procedures, including notice, hearing, and
appeal for postdoctoral trainees. The procedures are given to postdoctoral trainees
at the beginning of the postdoctoral training period.
Clarification:
Due process procedures describe how an agency deals with postdoctoral fellows'
deficiencies and how the postdoctoral fellows handle grievances with the training
program. The documentation would include:
- a description
of formal evaluation and complaint procedures.
- the program's and
fellow's responsibilities and rights in the process.
- the appeal
process.
- a description of procedures if fellows have grievances
about their training or supervision.
Programs need two written policies:
(1) Due Process and (2) Grievance Process. The procedures must be specific to
the postdoctoral fellowship training program; reliance on a more general HR policy
is insufficient. Both procedures should be provided to postdoctoral fellows at
the commencement of training. Due Process is a written procedure that
comes into use when a postdoctoral fellow's behavior is problematic. (The use
of the term "impaired" is discouraged because if one identifies a postdoctoral
fellow by that term, legal issues having to do with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) could be invoked.) Due process must include three elements: Notice (i.e.
the postdoctoral fellow must be notified that problematic behavior has been identified
and that the postdoctoral fellow is addressing the problem); Hearing (i.e. the
program must have a formal process by which the identified problematic postdoctoral
fellow has an opportunity to hear concerns and to respond to the concerns); and
Appeal (i.e. the postdoctoral fellow must have an opportunity to appeal the actions
taken by the program in regards to the identified problematic behavior. The appeal
should extend at least one step beyond the Training Director). A Grievance
Procedure is a process that is invoked when a postdoctoral fellow has a complaint
against the training program. The procedure should include specific steps a postdoctoral
fellow takes in the complaint process and be broad enough to cover any and all
complaints that may arise for fellows (e.g. complaints about evaluations, supervision,
stipends/salary, harassment, etc.).
- The postdoctoral training
program (minimum 1500 hours) must be completed in no less than 9 months and no
more than 24 months (two years half-time). Depending on the area and standards
of specialty practice, a postdoctoral program may be more than one year.
Clarification:
Postdoctoral training programs may be
part-time or full-time experiences, and must be completed in not less than nine
months, and not more than two years. Fellows must receive two hours per week of
individual supervision and two hours per week of additional training activities
as described in Criteria #4 and #5, regardless of their full-time or part-time
status.
- A certificate of completion is granted upon fulfillment
of the program requirements.
Clarification:
The certificate should clearly indicate:
- the name
of the institution, organization or agency.
- the postdoctoral
nature of the training program.
- the focus area of the training
program, if applicable.
- beginning and ending dates of the
Fellow's training.
The Director of Training should sign
the certificate.
Example: the XYZ University certifies that
Jane Doe, Ph.D. has successfully completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical
Psychology from September 1, 2001 to August 31, 2002.
- The program
has the necessary financial resources to achieve its training goals and objectives.
Postdoctoral stipends shall be reasonable, fair, and stated clearly in advance.
Unfunded postdoctoral positions are allowable only in unusual and infrequent circumstances.
Clarification:
APPIC requires postdoctoral positions
to be equitably funded across the site. Postdoctoral stipends shall be set at
a level that is representative and fair in relationship to the geographic location
and clinical setting of the training site. Unfunded or poorly funded postdoctoral
positions are allowed only in unusual and infrequent circumstances in which the
creation of such a position would serve to alleviate a hardship for the potential
postdoctoral candidate. Examples of such hardships may include geographic limitations
due to family circumstances or difficulties finding suitable placement. In such
cases, the "burden of evidence" lies with the program to demonstrate
that the lack of funding does not adversely affect morale or quality of training.
In addition, training resources should be sufficient to afford the same training
for an unfunded or poorly funded position as for fully funded positions.
The payment of a stipend is a concrete acknowledgment that a trainee in the agency
is valued and emphasizes that the primary task of the year is educational in nature.
Stipends are generally lower than a salary received by a regular employee and
implies that there is a significant training component in addition to experiential
learning. Stipends are equal among trainees unless there is an extenuating circumstance
(e.g., specialized skills, consortia agreements). This distinction between trainee
and regular employee emphasizes that a postdoctoral program is "an organized
training program, in contrast to supervised experience or on-the-job training."
GRANDPARENTING PROVISION: Programs that are current APPIC members on the
date of implementation of this criterion, but do not meet the criterion or clarification
on that date, must request an exception at the time of each membership renewal.
An exception may be granted if the program demonstrates that they have made reasonable
efforts to secure funding and describes its plan to obtain future funding in order
to meet this criterion. Frequently
Asked Questions regarding APPIC's Stipend Requirement Note:
APPIC membership criteria are approved by a vote of the APPIC membership and appear
above in bold type. Clarification information is approved by the APPIC Board of
Directors. 20 February 2008
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