Welcome Letter from the Specialty Board President

Mark B. Sobell, PhD, ABPP

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for your interest in the American Board of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology. As a member specialty Board of ABPP, our goal is to certify psychological professionals as possessing specialty knowledge in Behavioral and Cognitive psychology. Certification can be important for job advancement, and it informs the public that you have special expertise.  

Board Certified Behavioral and Cognitive Psychologists are health service providers who possess specialized knowledge and experience. Psychologists who earn our certification have met our educational, training, and experience requirements. They have specialty level skills in areas such as assessment, intervention, consultation, awareness of the science base of the field, supervision, teaching, ethics, diversity issues, and interpersonal interactions. Behavioral and Cognitive psychologists engage in independent practice, community service, research, consultation/supervision, and education and/or training regarding a wide range of psychological and behavioral problems. They work with children, adolescents, adults, families and other populations. The distinct focus of the specialty is its heavy reliance on an empirical approach and its grounding in theories of learning, cognition and behavioral analysis. There are currently four sub-areas of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology: (a) behavior therapy, (b) cognitive-behavior therapy, (c) cognitive therapy, and (d) applied behavior analysis.

Board members and other certified psychologists want to help guide you through the process of earning the certification. You can request a personal mentor who can serve as your guide by clicking on the FAQ and Candidate Mentoring link directly to the left. You may also contact our Coordinator of Consultation, Dr. Robert Klepac (bobappic@aol.com), to request a consultant/mentor.

We appreciate your interest in our specialty. Please contact me directly if I can be of service to you.  I can be reached at sobellm@nova.edu.

Mark B. Sobell, PhD, ABPP
President, American Board of Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology