Board cancels costly psychologist licensing exam

AUSTIN (AP) – A costly proposed national certification exam for psychologists has been scrapped for now after Texas’s licensing authority led the fight against it by considering crafting a cheaper alternative to alleviate the mental health provider shortage.

On Tuesday night, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, also known as ASPPB, released a statement before their national meeting in Dallas later this month saying the organization has decided to pause the rollout of an additional qualification test to the industry.

The decision, released in 2022, had originally outlined that by Jan. 1, 2026, an extra $450 “skills” test would be added to the already required $800 knowledge exam known as the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, or the EPPP test.

This additional skills test was designed to weed out applicants who lacked the skills to work in a clinical setting.

“In response to ongoing feedback from our membership and the broader professional, educational, and training communities, the Board has decided it is time to shift from conflict to resolution,” the ASPPB board said in a statement.

Instead, the ASPPB will explore the feasibility of creating a single-session exam that integrates both knowledge and skill assessment.

“Together, we can navigate this important moment in time and shape a future that supports both the growth of our profession and the protection of those we serve,” the testing agency said in their statement.

John Bielamowicz, the presiding member of the Texas psychologists’ licensing board, applauded the decision but mentioned its hastiness.

“This kind of whiplash isn’t fair to those who are on the cusp of entering the psychology ranks,” he said.

Texas was the first licensing board in the nation to consider an alternative to the national exam due to its cost, leading to other states such as Oklahoma, California, New York, and Florida supporting it.

Currently, Texas licensed psychologists must have a doctoral degree and pass three exams: the $800 knowledge exam by the national testing board, a $210 jurisprudence test, and a $320 oral exam. This is in addition to the $340 a prospective psychologist must pay to do the required 3,500 hours of supervised work.

Any failure requires a candidate to retake an exam and pay the price again. Several mental health providers testified to the Texas board earlier this year that they had spent thousands of dollars trying to pass the current knowledge exam. They said that adding anything else can be costly.

Refusing to adopt this additional test would have made any future psychologists in Texas ineligible to use the existing exam, which the state licensing board has used since 1965.

This summer, the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission saying the national board has violated federal antitrust laws by updating the EPPP without approval and input from the states.

The national board denied these claims, stating that the allegations against it ignore the long development history and justifications behind the additional test. The board added that the test change is consistent with every other doctoral-level health service licensure examination in the United States.

Tuesday’s announcement is a significant win for the state of Texas as it struggles to find enough mental health workers.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 246 of the state’s 256 counties have a shortage of mental health professionals, with two counties having partial shortage designations.

Bielamowicz, the presiding member of the state psychologists’ licensing board, said the agency still plans to fold the test into one, meaning a price hike could still be on the horizon.

“I appreciate that ASPPB finally recognized the lack of support for their new test. However, their decision to back away from this deadline changes little — it’s clear they intend to repackage the same ideas and try to force it through at a later date,” he said.

ASPPB still supports the spirit that they say was behind the walked-back decision to add a second test.

“Although the Board of Director’s position remains steadfast — public protection is best achieved by evolving our licensure examination to be comprehensive and competency-based, evaluating not only our foundational knowledge but also practical skills — we find ourselves at a pivotal moment,” according to ASPB’s statement. “Our collective goals are at risk of being overshadowed by a tug of war, where no clear winners emerge.”

Texas lawmakers will still get to decide this upcoming legislative session whether to proceed with a state-developed licensing test for psychologists despite the ASPPB’s decision, Bielamowicz said.