The Council of Specialties (CoS) just rolled out an initiative that we believe all geropsychologists and geropsychology groups should be made aware of as it has direct implications for training and practice. APA has developed a brief explainer videoopens in new window, and here we share additional background as this initiative relates to geropsychology.
Background
First we offer some context on the Council of Specialties (CoS) itself. CoS is an organization initially sponsored by APA and the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) that was formed “to represent and support the development and functioning of recognized specialties in professional psychology.” All specialties approved by the Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Sub-specialties in Professional Psychology (CRSSPP) are automatically eligible and encouraged to apply for membership in CoS. Indeed, they are expected to do so.
Geropsychology was designated a specialty by CRSSPP in 2010 and at that time also became a member of CoS after the Geropsychology Specialty Council was formed to represent the specialty interests of geropsychology. The Geropsychology Specialty Council also serves as a forum to collaborate across geropsychology organizations. As with all specialty councils, it is made up of organizations representing the professional interests of the specialty; for geropsychology, these include: Div. 20, Psychologists in Long Term Care (PLTC), Society of Clinical Geropsychology (SCG), American Board of Geropsychology (ABGERO), Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs (CoPGTP), and APA Committee on Aging (CONA). These organizations are typically represented on the Geropsychology Specialty Council by their chairs or presidents. Activities are also closely coordinated with APA’s Office on Aging, and prior to her retirement last year, Debbie DiGilio had served in this pivotal role. The Geropsychology Specialty Council elects its own chair to represent Geropsychology on the broader CoS. Bob Knight was the first chair of the Geropsychology Specialty Council, and Michelle Mlinac is the current chair (2021-2023). Victor Molinari served in this role from 2015-2020 and is now treasurer for CoS.
Need for uniform specialty taxonomy and nomenclature
On the heels of four specialty summits sponsored by CRSSPP, ABPP, Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), and CoS, specific recommendations have been made regarding promoting specialization and the need for uniform nomenclature to accomplish this task. One of the guiding principles of these summits has been the idea of transparency of terminology for programs to describe education and training (E&T) in the different specialties. Previously, all the specialty councils had completed an E&T taxonomy grid that describes increasing intensity levels of training (exposure, experience, emphasis, major area of study) across the different stages of training (doctoral, internship, post-doctoral, post-licensure). However, these four by four grids are lacking in specifics and have not been utilized very well (except as now designated by APPIC for internship programs). CoS believes this is important so that, in their descriptive materials, all programs will assist students entering graduate school with a clear understanding of a trajectory towards specialization.
As a point of emphasis, uniformity of terminology is a first step towards allowing specialty groups to accurately describe their academic programs and thereby to outline clear ways for individuals to become specialists at varied stages of training. For example, Hinrichsen, Emery-Tiburcio, Gooblar, and Molinari (2018) surveyed diverse geropsychology organizations to determine what would be the core content of 16 hours of continuing education training in geropsychology for licensed psychologists who might be interested in transitioning to practice with older adult clients by meeting the criteria for post-licensure ‘Exposure’ level of training. Utilizing this clear evidence based programmatic approach across intensity levels and stages of training would allow individuals the opportunity to build their credentials perhaps ultimately to specialize.
It should be noted that, although approximately only 4% of professional psychologists are currently “boarded” specialists, the expectation is for a dramatic increase, with ABPP spearheading a marketing campaign to showcase the benefits of specialization and thereby to credential a greater number of specialists. The specialization body for geropsychology, ABGERO, has now credentialed about 80 geropsychologists since 2014, most of whom are in the earlier stages of their careers. Indeed, there is a personal and professional need to identify recently graduated geropsychologists who have competencies in assessment, intervention, and consultation in working with older adults. Hospital systems now are requiring evidence that one is operating within one’s scope of practice and brandishing a specialty credential from a reputable organization is one way of doing it for a newly-minted geropsychologist.
Objectives
One task for the constituent organizations of the Geropsychology Specialty Council is now to provide input into a revision for the geropsychology taxonomy grid. It should be emphasized that the competency-based approach of the Pikes Peak Training model will continue to provide guidance for the details of the E&T taxonomy, and to link training to competencies and ultimately to outcomes that can be useful for academic programs, students, licensed professionals, and prospective healthcare employees.
Next steps
Geropsychology Specialty Council organizations will be inviting one to two of their members to participate in a workgroup to revise the geropsychology taxonomy grid. In addition to revising their taxonomies according to the detailed guidance now offered by CoS (see link below), the CoS is also tasking each specialty council to appoint a taxonomy grid ‘champion’ to communicate the need for use of uniform terminology. Stay tuned for further updates on this initiative.
Reference
Hinrichsen, G., Emery-Tiburcio, E., Gooblar, J., & Molinari V. (2018). Building foundational knowledge competencies in geropsychology: Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Program (CoPGTP) recommendations. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(2), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12236
See also: