The Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education at Brigham Young University was recently awarded approval status from the National Association of School Psychologists, a significant vote of credibility for the department’s evidence-based approach to serving diverse individuals.
BYU counseling psychology graduates who successfully pass the Praxis exam for school psychology can now become nationally certified school psychologists, explained Ellie Young, BYU counseling psychology graduate coordinator and faculty member.
"It is much easier for our students to become credentialed or licensed psychologists in many states because of the NASP approval. NASP recognizes that our students have met high standards of training and we can provide evidence of the quality of our program," she said.
"Because of this recognition, we hope to attract highly qualified students and ensure that future employers of our students recognize that our students are exceptionally well-trained and prepared to serve children, families and schools," Young said.
In order to earn NASP approval, the department had to document that its students master competencies in 11 training domains, including data-based decision-making and accountability, student diversity in development and learning, crisis intervention and mental health and home/school/community collaboration.
"Preparing the portfolio for the NASP reviewers took more than a year of organizing and summarizing data," Young explained. "This was truly a team effort. Lane Fischer, Tim Smith, and Melissa Heath made significant contributions to the writing and data summaries. It is a major accomplishment for our program," Young said.
Writer: Roxanna Johnson
