American Academy of Clinical Psychology

If you request a mentor (by e-mailing contact@aacpsy.org), the Academy will try to provide one for you. A mentor can answer questions about the processes of application and examination and can guide you through some of the steps involved. The potential activities and boundaries of mentors are described below.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

MENTORING GUIDELINES

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One of the functions of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology is to encourage applicants for Board Certification in Clinical Psychology and to assist them, if needed, to prepare for the examination. As part of this effort Academy members volunteer to serve as mentors for applicants who would like this assistance, at no cost to applicants. (The fact that mentoring is available does not suggest that all applicants “need” or should engage in a mentoring relationship in order to be able to pass the examination, but it is available to all and useful particularly for those with special concerns or questions.) This mentoring activity is guided by the following principles.

1. Mentors will advise those mentored regarding the application and examination processes, including qualifications, the preparation of work samples, and preparation for the oral examination. Those mentored may be new applicants or those who have taken but not passed the examination, and may be applicants for either the regular or the “senior” examination.

2. After the applicant contacts the AACP President to request a mentor, a mentor is assigned by the AACP mentoring coordinator. The mentor will contact the applicant to offer his or her services.

3. Contact with mentors will usually be through telephone or e-mail. Face-to-face meetings may occur occasionally, if geographically feasible, but the relationship is an advising rather than a teaching relationship, and this mentoring can almost always be accomplished through other than face-to-face means. There is no limit to the number of contacts, as long as both parties are willing and feel that the contacts are still useful.

4. Guidance to those mentored may include explanations, tailored to the needs of each applicant, of the philosophy, structure, and rationale for the Board Certification processes, as well as explanation of the viewpoint and expectations of examiners, which will help those mentored to better prepare their “personal statements” and work samples, know how to describe their practice orientation and procedures, and be prepared to answer questions about their work samples and about ethical issues in the examination. Hopefully the comments and advice of mentors will serve to put the examination in an appropriate context and allay any unnecessary anxiety on the part of applicants.

5. Mentors may read professional statements, if requested, but comments will be limited to matters of incompleteness or ambiguity. Mentors will not view, read, or give specific advice regarding the content of any written or recorded examination materials. Advice will be limited to information that helps the applicant to understand what is needed for the examination process and how his or her materials may be viewed by examiners, that will enable the applicant to respond to the examination process to the best of his or her own ability.

6. Mentors may raise questions about possible deficits in the applicant's professional knowledge and skills, but mentors do not tutor applicants or take on the task of upgrading the knowledge and skills of applicants, except by occasionally recommending readings, courses, and supervision that might be helpful and that are carried out without the involvement of the mentor.

7. Mentors do not certify anyone’s readiness to take the examination or speculate on an applicant’s likelihood of passing the examination. If they choose to, mentors may offer comments regarding an applicant's professional strengths and weaknesses, if requested. Comments and advice of mentors are not communicated to ABCP or to examiners, have no bearing on the examination outcome, and may not be used to appeal an examination outcome.

8. Applicants are reminded that periodically members of AACP and of the American Board of Clinical Psychology offer workshops, at psychology conventions or otherwise, describing and explaining Board Certification processes and answering all questions about these processes, just as a mentor would.

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