Exams are routinely held at meetings sponsored by APA Division 53 (e.g., The National Conference on Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology; The Miami/Niagara Conference), APA Division 54 (The National Conference in Pediatric Psychology), and other national meetings (e.g., ABCT, APA). Additionally, groups of examiners are geographically distributed throughout the country to minimize travel for candidates for examinations occurring at times other than those noted above. The board is happy to work with you to schedule an exam at a convenient time and location.
The examination process assesses your awareness of current professional issues in clinical child and adolescent psychology, the scientific basis of your practice, your experience and clinical judgment, and your awareness of diversity issues and sensitivity to ethical, professional, and legal standards of practice. In the written materials and in the exam, you will have the opportunity to discuss the evidence base that informs your practice. There are a number of theoretical orientations that can inform practice in clinical child and adolescent psychology. The key is that you describe in detail the theoretical orientation that guides your professional work; your practice samples should demonstrate your professional behavior and actions that are congruent with this orientation.
If you already have an ABPP in another specialty, the $125 application fee for your clinical child application will be waived. Also, your general credentials from your prior application are kept on file for four years, so if you reapply within that time frame you will only need to resubmit your specialty credentials. Finally, you will have to submit a novel practice sample consisting of clinical material or other work samples different from those submitted in support of your prior ABPP certification.
Fees cover overall board administrative expenses such as mailing costs, web development, development of exam materials, and direct expenses related to the oral examination, such as transportation, lodging, and meals for exam committee members (if necessary). In order to keep our fees as low as possible, we try to minimize costs wherever we can, such as utilizing local examiners (whenever possible) and using electronic communication rather than regular mail to transmit material (when confidentiality is not an issue).
Do you have an iPad? Devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and other digital tablets usually come with a built-in camera application. Most of these cameras can be switched between taking still photographs and video. Several Child and Adolescent ABPP Board members suggest using the iPad, which can easily be set up on its frame and positioned to capture the assessment or therapy session. You can review these recordings immediately and troubleshoot sound or picture quality with little hassle. The finished video can then be downloaded to a DVD and sent in with the candidates application materials. Of course, don’t forget to get signed authorization for the taping and for sending the video in for review.
The American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology is highly representative of professionals who identify as Pediatric Psychologists and Child Health Psychologists, and who are active in APA Divisions 54 and 38. Each exam committee is selected to be able to accurately assess the work that the candidate performs in her/his usual setting, including work done as a Pediatric Psychologist. This approach has resulted in approximately half of those certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology having a primary identity as a pediatric/child health psychologist. Please contact a member of the board for more information.
Applicants that do not pass the Stage 3 oral exam, will receive specific constructive feedback detailing the reasons that the exam was failed. Detailed feedback is provided in the hope that the examinee will chose to take corrective action and re-submit materials. Applicants will be advised if they need to submit new practice sample videos/materials, or if the re-examination can be based on the original video/materials. New practice samples should be sent to the ABCCAP Exam Coordinator within six months, and a new examination fee paid online. Applicants will be assigned a new Examination Team, including a new Chair.
Please note that (similar to Stage 1 and Stage 2 decisions) non-approval of the practice sample can be appealed by the candidate. The applicant must specify the grounds on which the appeal is made. The alleged grounds of the appeal must document violations of the Specialty Board’s procedures. Appeals that fail to demonstrate the Board’s non-adherence to exam procedures are generally not upheld. The appeals process is described in detail in Form H-1 of the Exam Manual.
Please contact the ABPP Central Office for general questions regarding the application process, generic review process, notification of results, and fees.
American Board of Professional Psychology
600 Market Street, Suite 201
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516
Telephone: (919) 537-8031; Fax: (919) 537-8034
Email: office@abpp.org
ABCCAP Credentials Reviewer – The Credentials Reviewer can answer questions regarding the initial specialty credential review process.
ABCCAP Exam Coordinator – The Exam Coordinator can answer questions regarding the work sample submission and composition of the examination committee. The Candidate may contact the Exam Coordinator to request a mentor for guidance in preparing the work sample.
ABCCAP Examination Chair – The Examination Chair can answer questions regarding the work sample review and the oral examination process.
Please contact any of the ABCCAP Board members if you have additional questions that we can help you with. Click here to be redirected to the Specialty Board Officers page.