THE CURRENT U.S. METHOD OF EVALUATING 
FOREIGN EDUCATED PSYCHOLOGISTS

Foreign educated psychologists who attempt to obtain a license to practice psychology in the US are faced with an unpleasant reality:

• US psychology-regulating authorities do not recognize the validity of the usual qualifications required to obtain a license to practice psychology in countries which do not have a US school system.  This differs from the situation for foreign-trained lawyers and medical practitioners.
  
  

• American State laws pertaining to psychology regulation are now unanimous in requiring that licensed psychologists have a degree called a PhD.  US psychology-licensing boards require that such degrees contain content equivalent to APA approved American PhDs and refuse to consider the psychology content of any training given an undergraduate tag, even when these have been developed in accordance with the APA guidelines for an accredited PhD program.  There is currently no legal clause or administrative guideline in any American State or Province which acknowledges that non-US PhDs are typically advanced research degrees which are not sufficient for professional licensure because they are orthogonal to professional training and not hierarchically sequential to it.  Nor are there clauses which acknowledge that the international equivalents of the US professional PhD in psychology are often given different names, including those that are reserved for pre- and low-level professional degrees in the US system.  These omissions effectively disqualify the best and most appropriately foreign trained professional psychologists from US licensure, while allowing those with inappropriate training to apply.
  
  

• Contrary to the international norm, licensed members of the psychology profession do not perform first-instance evaluations of foreign psychology credentials in the USA.  Instead they are done by the staff of private evaluation agencies and university admission offices who have little or no training in psychology, are ignorant of the findings of reputable studies in comparative international education, use invalid measuring tools and have vested interests in devaluing foreign qualifications.
  
  

• There is no regional adaptation system that allows international psychologists to complete unmet local requirements and familiarize themselves with the culture and ideology underpinning the practice of psychology in the USA.  In most other countries, foreign professionals go through a short acclimatization program that does not deny them their professional status or their right to advance their careers.

 Faced with this situation, some internationally trained psychologists choose to enter the standard US educational system, not because their training is inadequate or insufficient, but because American professional degrees are the only ones recognized within the US system.  Many others, especially those with family commitments, have no option but to leave their professional field and work in jobs that are far below their capabilities.  Talent and potential are wasted and lives are damaged. 

There is an alarming shortage of psychologists in the US with appropriate linguistic and cultural training who can attend to the needs of the country's large minority communities.  When the debate over immigration issues questions the contribution of immigrants to the country’s development, it is regrettable that well-trained and capable professional immigrants, who are best suited to address the mental health needs of these communities, are not given fair and appropriate evaluations of their credentials and are thus effectively blocked from obtaining licensure.  This policy discriminates against internationally trained psychologists, against minority communities whose mental health needs are not appropriately being met and against American psychology practitioners who are isolated from the best of their internationally trained professional peers. 

We believe this silly and inequitable situation should be changed. 

If you want to support our efforts, please add your identifying details to the following petition.

PETITION FOR THE FAIR AND SENSIBLE TREATMENT 
OF FOREIGN-EDUCATED PSYCHOLOGISTS IN THE USA.

  We believe that internationally educated psychologists in the USA should be given a fair, psychology-specific credential evaluation in line with the international norm, epitomized in the criteria for awarding the European Diploma of Psychology.

 We want a case-by-case evaluation that includes the totality of education and training in psychology.  We want this evaluation to consider the nature, purpose and level of each program of training, regardless of its nominal title.  We want this evaluation confined to licensed psychologists who are professionally qualified to judge the quality and equivalency of psychology programs and who are familiar with the current scientifically reputable literature in comparative international education.

 We want interpretative guidelines for State licensing legislation to acknowledge that the international equivalent of a US professional PhD is frequently given some other name and that crucial professional training in these countries may occur in credentials given names reserved for pre-or low-level professional training in the USA.  We want acknowledgement that Junior College / pre-professional / IB-diploma level training is usually completed in the last years of Secondary School in most countries outside the USA.

We want access to appropriate regional adaptation programs that provide a speedy and effective pathway to local professional practice.  We want such programs to take reasonable account of the realities for trans-nationals who are not only experienced professionals but have familial and financial responsibilities which may include young children, elderly parents and mortgage payments.

 I support the petition to treat foreign-trained psychologists in the USA fairly and sensibly.