The American Academy of Health Psychology

The American Academy of Health Psychology (AAHP) – the precursor to the current American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology (ACHP) – was founded in 1993, the same year the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) formally admitted the American Board of Health Psychology (ABHP) as a fully affiliated specialty board.  The Academy was organized in response to the need for a membership organization to represent psychologists who had earned board certification in Health Psychology.  In 1994, Dr. William Deardorff was appointed founding president of AAHP.  In October, 1998, AAHP officially changed its name to the American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology to be consistent with ABHP’s name change to the American Board of Clinical Health Psychology (ABCHP).

In 2009, the original ACHP corporation was dissolved; subsequently, ACHP officially became an “internal” ABPP Academy, by which ACHP acts as an independent organization within the ABPP umbrella structure.  In 2010, ABCHP strengthened its organizational affiliation with ACHP by appointing the Academy President as an ex officio and voting ABCHP Officer.  The Academy membership ratified the ACHP bylaws in 2014.  In 2015, ACHP became a member organization of the American Psychological Association’s Clinical Health Psychology Council of Specialties.

The American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology is the membership organization for psychologists board certified in clinical health psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. The mission of the Academy is to promote the value and recognition of ABPP board certification, recruit and mentor candidates eligible for board certification in clinical health psychology, and represent and support the professional interests of its members.  The Academy is closely affiliated with the American Board of Clinical Health Psychology (ABCHP), which qualifies and examines candidates seeking ABPP board certification in clinical health psychology. Click HERE for a diagram showing the relationships between the academy and other related organizations.