I am the Director of Clinical Training for the doctoral degree (PhD) clinical science program in the Department of Psychology at Virgina Tech. With the full support of the clinical faculty and Virginia Tech Government Relations, I wrote and submitted the petition to support the addition of Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) as an accreditor of doctoral degrees in psychology to educational qualifications for licensure eligibility. To be clear, we support parity for both the American Psychological Association (APA) and PCSAS accreditation systems. And as the petitioner, I want to use this comment opportunity to provide some background, data, and context to the petition.

It would be beneficial to the Commowealth of Virginia for the graduates from PCSAS accredited programs to be eligible for licensure in Virginia. Graduates from PCSAS accredited programs are extremely well trained, both as clinical practitioners and researchers. They attend highly regarded internship programs, have high passing rates on the EPPP, and pursue careers that focus on the production of scientific knowledge and the delivery of evidence-based assessment and intervention techniques. Their expertise makes them exceptionally qualified and competent health service providers. Given the need for quality psychological services in Virginia, allowing the graduates from these programs to be licensed in Virginia would be a major service to the residents of Virginia. In addition, given their engagement in practice, supervision, and research, granting license eligibility to graduates from PCSAS accredited programs – a portion of whom go on to be faculty in doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral training programs – would be a major benefit to the future generations of clinical psychologists, to the field, and ultimately to the public’s mental health. Essentially, allowing graduates from PCSAS accredited programs to be eligible for licensure in Virginia is in the interest of both the public and future generations of psychologists.

PCSAS is an independent, non-profit corporation that aims to provide science-centered training in clinical psychology. It requires that all graduates be competent both to conduct research and to be independent providers of psychological services. This agency is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which is the same body that recognizes and authorizes APA accreditation. The U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizes PCSAS as a sole eligibility requirement for VA internships and staff positions. The Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) recently revised their policy to include PCSAS as an eligible accrediting organization. PCSAS has the strong backing from a number of respected psychological organizations including the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science (APCS), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP), the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and the Society for Research in Psychopathology (SRP). Five states to date have changed laws, regulations, or have offered rulings to provide PCSAS parity with APA – Illinois, Delaware, California, New Mexico, and New York (Missouri is expected to be soon).

At present, the following doctoral programs in Virginia support parity for both accreditation systems (and have provided letters of support): Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, George Mason University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. In sum, we want to advocate for clear documentation that students graduating from programs accredited either by APA or PCSAS be eligible for licensure in Virginia.

PCSAS arose in response to growing concerns about the nation’s mental health. Almost 50% of Americans are expected to have a diagnosed mental illness sometime in their lives, and long delays between diagnosis and the provision of appropriate treatments are common. There is a pressing need to train scientists who can develop new, effective, and affordable treatments that are useful in real-world situations with diverse populations and who can find better ways to get these treatments to practitioners so that they can best help their patients. 

PCSAS began accrediting programs in 2009, and to date, PCSAS has accredited 37 programs in the U.S. and Canada (see http://www.pcsas.org/accreditation/accredited-programs/ ). All programs in the U.S. are among the top 50 in US News & World Report, and have internship (required for graduation) match rates of around 98% (national average around 80%) and EPPP pass rates of at least 93% (national average around 76%). Students who graduate from PCSAS accredited programs have careers that focus on producing scientific knowledge, and importantly, on using and disseminating evidence-based assessment and intervention techniques.