Incorporated, 1981 from the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology
under the auspices of the American Board of Professional Psychology

The American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN) is the affiliated specialty board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) which is responsible for the examination for the diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology. Attainment of the diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology designates individuals as Clinical Neuropsychologists who have had their credentials thoroughly reviewed, have been subjected to a rigorous examination of their knowledge and practice by their peers, and have been found competent to practice. ABCN was incorporated in 1981 in the State of Minnesota. Through ABPP, ABCN has awarded the diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology to 701 individuals by May 2009 who practice in a wide variety of settings in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and 4 provinces in Canada. In 2002, ABCN endorsed the training model proposed by the Houston Conference on Specialty Education And Training In Clinical Neuropsychology. The diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology awarded by ABCN through ABPP is the clearest recognized credential for competence to practice according to the guidelines of the Division of Clinical Neuropsychology of the American Psychological Association.

Procedures for Obtaining the ABPP Diploma
An individual seeking the diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology proceeds through the following steps:

1. Download an Application

Download an application from the ABPP website.

2. Approval of Application

Application materials (including transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) should be forwarded to the ABPP central office along with the initial application fee. Application materials are reviewed by ABPP central office in regard to meeting general ABPP eligibility guidelines as follows:

	•	An earned doctorate in psychology from a regionally accredited institution.
	•	The equivalent of three years of experience in the specialty area, met by:
		•	three years of experience, only one of which can be predoctoral, or
		•	one year of pre- or postdoctoral experience and successful completion of an accredited postdoctoral program in the specialty.
	•	Two years of supervision in the practice of the specialty, met by:
		•	two years of postdoctoral supervision, or
		•	one year of predoctoral and one year of postdoctoral supervision, or
		•	successful completion of an accredited postdoctoral program in the specialty.
	•	Licensed for independent practice in the individual's state or province, which practice must be ethical and professionally responsible within applicable laws.

Once approved by ABPP, the applicant's materials are then forwarded to the ABCN eligibility committee which determines eligibility specific to Clinical Neuropsychology. Applicants who have completed a re-specialization program in clinical neuropsychology will be held to the criteria or standards in place at the date of completion of their re-specialization program, not the date of their original Ph.D. The criteria used are as follows:

For persons receiving their doctoral degree, or respecialization, after 1/1/05:
	•	Training conforms to guildelines of The Houston Conference (PDF).*
	•	Houston Guidelines require that the residency be the equivalent of 2 years and completed on at-least a half-time basis. ABCN will accept minor deviations from these requirements that may arise based on medical, personal or professional factors. Under these circumstance the candidate must provide written documentation from the residency director that the candidate:
		1) left the residency in good standing,      2) met all requirements of the residency,      3) obtained the requisite skills and knowledge base described by the Houston Guidelines.
	•	ABCN will not require that the faculty of the 2-year residency include a board certified neuropsychologist (as stipulated in the Houston Guidelines). However, under these circumstances the candidate may be asked to provide a curriculum vitae for their primary neuropsychology supervisors.
	•	Canadian Guidelines




For persons receiving their doctoral degree, or respecialization, between 1/1/90 and 1/1/05:
	A. Successful completion of systematic didactic and experiential training in neuropsychology and neuroscience at a regionally accredited university;
	B. Two or more years of appropriate supervised training applying neuropsychological services in a clinical setting.
	This is to include didactic and experiential training and experience in basic neurosciences, functional neuroanatomy, neuropathology, clinical neurology, psychological assessment, clinical neuropsychological assessment, psychopathology, and psychological intervention.




For persons receiving their doctoral degree, or respecialization, between 1/1/81 and 12/31/89:
	1600 hours of clinical neuropsychological experience supervised by a clinical neuropsychologist at the predoctoral or postdoctoral level.




For persons receiving their doctoral degree, or respecialization, prior to 1981:
	4800 hours of postdoctoral experience in a neuropsychological setting, involving a minimum of 2400 hours of direct clinical service.


3. Written Examination

Once an individual's credentials are approved, the candidates are notified of their eligibility to take the written examination.

The examination consists of 100 multiple choice items in the areas of Neuropsychological Assessment, Clinical Neuropsychology, Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Behavioral (Clinical) Neurology, and General Clinical Psychology.

The examination is administered at each of the three major North American neuropsychology conferences each year:

	•	The International Neuropsychological Society meeting (February)
	•	The American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (June)
	•	The Division of Clinical Neuropsychology/American Psychological Association meeting (August - 2005 only), and
	•	The National Academy of Neuropsychology meeting (October)

A candidate registers for this examination by filling out the appropriate form and forwarding it with the examination fee to ABPP central office.

4. Review of Practice Samples

Once the written examination is passed, the candidate is then instructed to forward the oral examination fee to the ABPP central office and to prepare two practice samples for review.

Each practice sample includes a candidate's original clinical report (with appropriate confidential and identifyihng information obscured), a summary sheet of test scores, and copies of the raw data. (Note: Supplemental/contextual information are no longer required, but we ask that you submit a summary sheet of test scores that contains normative information, i.e., either cutoff scores, percentiles, means and standard deviations or t-scores for their tests.) The practice samples are forwarded to three individuals already holding the diploma who judge whether or not they should be accepted for entry to the oral examination.

A vote of two of the three reviewers renders the decision.

4. Oral Examination

After the practice samples are accepted, the candidate is placed on a waiting list until the next oral examination is scheduled in Chicago. Typically, oral examinations are held twice per year, usually late spring and late fall.

The oral examination consists of three parts.

	•	The candidate is examined on his/her practice samples, including their appropriateness, the rationale for the assessment approach employed, and the clarity of the candidate's report and conclusions.
	•	The candidate is examined on ethics and professional issues; this includes the candidate's ethical analysis of a presented vignette, and an explanation of the nature of the involvement in professional activities and activities to foster continuing education.
	•	The candidate is given a brief clinical vignette and is then required to extract all relevant clinical information (i.e. test scores, results of medical procedures, relevant patient history, etc.) from the examiner, as if the candidate were conducting a genuine clinical neuropsychological evaluation. The candidate is then asked to formulate findings, render a diagnosis, and provide a rationale for conceptualization of the patient.

Afterward, the examiners for each of the three areas meet and discuss their examination from the standpoint of the candidate's evaluative skills, intervention knowledge and skills, scientific and professional knowledge, ethics and social responsibility, and professional commitment. After discussion, the examiners vote to either pass or fail the candidate, with the decision of two out of three determining the outcome.

5. Final Decision

The decision of the examiners is summarized and forwarded to ABPP central office which, after final ABPP board approval, sends a letter of decision to the candidate. If the candidate has passed, the diploma attesting to competence in the specialty area is awarded at the annual ABPP Convocation held in conjunction with the meeting of the American Psychological Association.

The ABCN examination, under the auspices of ABPP, is designed to assess full competence in the practice of clinical neuropsychology. It is intended not just as a measure of fund of knowledge, but as a tool to determine the effectiveness of application of neuropsychological principles in the clinic setting and the promotion of the welfare of the patient.

The examination is designed to provide a standard by which competence to practice clinical neuropsychology is judged and thus assesses the ability to integrate appropriate neuropsychological and clinical knowledge in the care of patients. As such, the diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology awarded by ABPP is the recognized credential that provides external evidence of an individual's competency for this area of specialized practice.

All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the examination for the diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology and to participate in the maintenance of quality standards for the practice of the profession.

To Obtain Application Materials:

Download from: http://www.abpp.org/, or write to:

American Board of Professional Psychology
600 Market Street, Suite 300
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Local Phone: 919-537-8031
Fax: 919-537-8034

For Further Information, write to:
(Regarding ABCN or a Copy of the ABCN Directory of Diplomates)

American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology
Department of Psychiatry
The University of Michigan Hospitals
1500 East Medical Center Drive, SPC 5295
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-5295

Phone: (734) 936-8269
FAX: (734) 936-9761


Questions, Facts, and Figures

1. Is ABCN an entrepreneurial, freestanding, or an affiliated board?

ABCN, incorporated in 1981, is a member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) which has been the board-certifying body in psychology since 1947.

2. Is ABCN board certification anything like board certification in medicine?

Board certification represents acknowledgment by one's professional peers that one is competent to practice in a designated specialty following thorough examination of one's knowledge and abilities.

In medicine, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is the umbrella body for 18 medical speciality boards, including the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. In psychology, ABPP is the umbrella board for 13 specialty boards, including ABCN.

The ABCN examination process is strictly analagous to that of medical speciality boards, and includes training requirements, credentials review, written examination, practice sample evaluation, and oral examination. Thus, ABCN board certification in Clinical Neuropsychology is strictly analagous to medical board specialty certification.

3. How many ABCN board certified Clinical Neuropsychologists are there?

As of May 2009, there are 701 board certified Clinical Neuropsychologists in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and 4 provinces in Canada.

4. Is ABCN mostly for academic neuropsychologists?

This is a false rumor that is commonly circulated. ABCN is a practice certification, not an academic certification. In fact, if one looks through the most recent directory of AACN members, the majority are not affiliated with any academically-related setting. ABCN is especially important as an external credential for psychologists involved in private practice.

5. Are ABCN pass rates abnormally low?

No, ABCN pass rates are quite fair and comparable to those of the medical boards. In 1994, the pass rate was 76% for the written exam and 72% for the oral exam. In 1995, the pass rate was 59% for the written exam and 68% for the oral exam.

For comparative purposes, from the neurology portion of the exam for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, in 1994, the pass rate was 64% for the written exam and 70% for the oral exam. In 1995, the neurology board pass rate was 52% for the written exam and 73% for the oral exam.

The ABCN pass rates in 1999 were 76% for the written exam, and 82% for the oral exam.

6. Is ABCN an "exclusionary" vehicle?

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the goal of the ABCN to have all competent practicing clinical neuropsychologists pass board examination and receive their diploma. Anyone who receives an earned doctorate degree and receives specialized training in Clinical Neuropsychology is eligible to take the examination. Exceptions are also regularly made for individuals with nontraditional training backgrounds.

The only "discrimination" which is designed into the exam is discrimination based on competence.

Of course, individuals may not pass the examination for multiple reasons, including anxiety, acute illness, etc., and in such cases, competence may not be demonstrated even though the candidate is not lacking. Every effort is made to support the candidate through the process and procedures are in place for relatively painless re-taking of the exam in the cases where the candidate does not pass.

7. Why should I or anyone else be concerned about board certification through ABCN?

As mentioned above, legitimate board certification is validation by one's peers of competency to practice in a given specialty. If one wants to represent themselves to patients as a specialty practitioner, it is appropriate to have one's claims to competence verified. ABCN represents a genuine examination of knowledge and competence and consumers of clinical neuropsychological services can be assured that the individual with board certification has stood for and passed such an examination.

Certifications attesting to specialty status which do not require rigorous examination or which do not discriminate specialty competence from interest areas or self-designation, do neither the patient nor the profession any service. In addition, in the current climate of shrinking health-care resources, misrepresentation of specialty competence can do significant damage to the professional status of Clinical Neuropsychology by confusing potential consumers about adequate credentials and risking the reputation of the specialty by generalizations from inferior practice.

In brief, board certification provides external validity of specialty competence which, besides verifying capabilities to oneself, verifies them to others, including health service organizations and hospitals, courts, licensing bureaus, etc. In addition, if one moves from state to state, board certification through ABPP is recognized in over 40 states as evidence for transferability of license.

 

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Page Last Updated: May 6, 2007