Oscar Oo, Psy.D., ABPP
Board Certified in Clinical Psychology
& Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology
Call 949.648.3704
What is Board Certification in Psychology?
"The mission of the American Board of Professional Psychology is to increase consumer protection through the examination and certification of psychologists who demonstrate competence in approved specialty areas in professional psychology." - ABPP
The American Board of Professional Psychology serves the public need by providing oversight certifying psychologists competent to deliver high quality services in various specialty areas of psychology. Board certification (awarding a certificate in a specialty) assures the public that specialists designated by the ABPP have successfully completed the educational, training, and experience requirements of the specialty, including an examination designed to assess the competencies required to provide quality services in that specialty.
The American Board of Professional Psychology was incorporated in 1947 with the support of the American Psychological Association. The ABPP is a unitary governing body of separately incorporated specialty examining boards which assures the establishment, implementation, and maintenance of specialty standards and examinations by its member boards. Through its Central Office, a wide range of administrative support services are provided to ABPP Boards, Board Certified Specialists, and the public.
A Specialty is a defined area in the practice of psychology that connotes special competency acquired through an organized sequence of formal education, training, and experience. In order to qualify as a specialty affiliated with the ABPP, a specialty must be represented by an examining board which is stable, national in scope, and reflects the current development of the specialty. A specialty board is accepted for affiliation following an intensive self-study and a favorable review by the ABPP affirming that the standards for affiliation have been met.
These standards include a thorough description of the area of practice and the pattern of competencies required therein as well as requirements for education, training, experience, research bases of the specialty, practice guidelines, and a demonstrated capacity to examine candidates for the specialty on a national level.
Specialists who are board certified are also eligible to become Fellows of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology.
The American Academy of Clinical Psychology is an organization of Board Certified psychologists in the specialty of Clinical Psychology who have joined together to promote high quality services in Clinical Psychology, through encouraging high standards and ethical practice in the field. The Academy also provides member services, promotes the value and recognition of Board Certification in the specialty of Clinical Psychology, and encourages those qualified by training and experience to become candidates for Board Certification.
The Academy was founded in 1993 in response to needs for a membership organization for psychologists who have earned Board Certification in Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Clinical Psychology (ABCP), which is a member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). ABPP is the organization recognized by the profession of psychology as the grantor of Board Certification in specialty areas of applied psychology. Board Certification in psychology is similar to Board Certification in the field of medicine, indicating a standard of practice appreciably higher than that of state licensure. (Those who are Board Certified through ABPP were previously known as "Diplomates," referring to those who held the ABPP "Diploma" in Clinical Psychology.) The American Board of Clinical Psychology (ABCP) is responsible for examination standards and the awarding of Diplomas.
Board Certified Clinical Psychologists, who are automatically eligible to become members and Fellows of the Academy, include some of the most prominent and visible leaders in Clinical Psychology. They are frequently department heads or supervisors, and may be engaged in research, training, or clinical practice in a wide variety of settings including: hospitals, universities, the military, medical schools, correctional facilities, clinics, and private practice. They are frequently found in leadership positions in the profession. They have served as reviewers of quality of care for insurance companies as well as for governmental third party payers. In recent years with the advent of managed care there has been an ever increasing demand for Fellows of the Academy as reviewers and providers of specialty mental health services The members of the Academy provide professional services in many countries, but the overwhelming majority reside and practice in the United States.
An essential part of the advanced competencies of Board Certified Clinical Psychologists is awareness of and sensitivity to the diverse influences on personality and behavior of such factors as culture, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, and physically challenged status. Board Certified Clinical Psychologists take these factors into account in a skillful way when arriving at assessment and treatment planning decisions and when carrying out treatment (and they consult with more knowledgeable colleagues when necessary to ensure that such factors are appropriately considered).
*Retreived from The American Board of Professional Psychology, www.abpp.org, and the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, www.aacpsy.org
The American Academy of Clinical Psychology
The American Academy of Clinical Psychology is an organization of Professional Psychologists who have joined together to promote high quality services and advanced standards of practice, through encouraging ethical and science based practice.
The American Academy of Clinical Psychology is an organization of Board Certified psychologists in the specialty of Clinical Psychology who have joined together to promote high quality services in Clinical Psychology, through encouraging high standards and ethical practice in the field. The Academy also provides member services, promotes the value and recognition of Board Certification in the specialty of Clinical Psychology, and encourages those qualified by training and experience to become candidates for Board Certification.
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History
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The Academy was founded in 1993 in response to needs for a membership organization for psychologists who have earned Board Certification in Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Clinical Psychology (ABCP), which is a member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). ABPP is the organization recognized by the profession of psychology as the grantor of Board Certification in specialty areas of applied psychology. Board Certification in psychology is similar to Board Certification in the field of medicine, indicating a standard of practice appreciably higher than that of state licensure. (Those who are Board Certified through ABPP were previously known as "Diplomates," referring to those who held the ABPP "Diploma" in Clinical Psychology.) The American Board of Clinical Psychology (ABCP) is responsible for examination standards and the awarding of Diplomas.
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Fellows: Leaders in the Science and Profession
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Board Certified Clinical Psychologists, who are automatically eligible to become members and Fellows of the Academy, include some of the most prominent and visible leaders in Clinical Psychology. They are frequently department heads or supervisors, and may be engaged in research, training, or clinical practice in a wide variety of settings including: hospitals, universities, the military, medical schools, correctional facilities, clinics, and private practice. They are frequently found in leadership positions in the profession. They have served as reviewers of quality of care for insurance companies as well as for governmental third party payers. In recent years with the advent of managed care there has been an ever increasing demand for Fellows of the Academy as reviewers and providers of specialty mental health services The members of the Academy provide professional services in many countries, but the overwhelming majority reside and practice in the United States.
An essential part of the advanced competencies of Board Certified Clinical Psychologists is awareness of and sensitivity to the diverse influences on personality and behavior of such factors as culture, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, and physically challenged status. Board Certified Clinical Psychologists take these factors into account in a skillful way when arriving at assessment and treatment planning decisions and when carrying out treatment (and they consult with more knowledgeable colleagues when necessary to ensure that such factors are appropriately considered).