State laws and ethical standards govern the
level and nature of qualifications and training that a person must meet to
identify oneself as a mental health professional. These laws and standards vary
from one state to another and from one profession to another. Below are some
examples for the State of California. You will also find listed at the bottom of
this page some national professional organizations you may contact to get information about how to check the qualifications of mental health professionals
in other states. For general information about checking the qualifications of mental health
professionals, look at the section below which applies to the particular type of professional person of interest to you.
You will find my qualifications at
Marvin S. Beitner, Ph.D.
When using the worldwide web
(www) addresses below, you
will sometimes reach a screen that asks for a
password for that
organization.. Just click on the cancel button and after a brief
pause you
will usually be connected without a password.
PSYCHOLOGIST
Feel free to ask any psychologist where he or
she took their doctorate degree in psychology, and to ask for their
psychology license number. Ask how long the psychologist has been in practice in
your community and whether he or she has any university or hospital
affiliations.
In California a psychologist must hold
a psychology state
license. You can contact the California Board of Psychology to find out if a psychologist is
properly licensed.
California Board of Psychology
1426 Howe St., Suite 54
Sacramento, CA 95825, (916) 263-2699 www.dca.ca.gov/psych/timeline.htm
The National Register of Health Service Providers
in Psychology lists psychologists state by state in communities across the
nation. It is carried in libraries and can be contacted at (202) 783-7663 or at the website: www.nationalregister.org Information about actions taken by the Committee on Professional Practice and Ethics
appears at: www.nationalregister.org/coppe.html
Other good resources for information about
psychologists in California are:
The California Psychological Association:
1022 G Street Sacramento, CA
95814
(916) 325-9786 www.calpsych.org
The Orange County (California) Psychological Association:
www.ocpapsych.org
Long Beach, California Specialists. A
resource to get information about specialists in psychotherapeutic
treatment in various medical specialties in Long Beach, California can be
found at healthylongbeach.org. Click on Dr.
Beitner's practice profile page at that site and then click on Home at the
bottom left hand corner of that page to pick out the specialty list of interest
to you.
The American Psychological Association Website provides much general information
about the profession of psychology at www.psycport.com
The Ethics Code of the American
Psychological Association can be viewed at: www2.apa.org/ethics/code2002.doc
In other states in the U.S. and for
Provinces in Canada, see:
Association of State and
Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)
Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)
PO Box 4389
Montgomery, AL 36103
334-832-4580, FAX: 334-269-6379
Email: asppb@asppb.org
PSYCHIATRIST
A psychiatrist must hold a license as a medical doctor
in the state in which he practices. You can check to see if a physician is
licensed by contacting the appropriate state agency. For example, in California
you may check on information about psychiatrists, through the Medical Board of
California, which licenses physicians, investigates complaints and takes
disciplinary action. The website address is: www.medbd.ca.gov.
The California Psychiatric Association can be reached at (916) 442-5196 or at
its website at www.calpsych.org
The Orange County Psychiatric Society can be reached at (714) 978-1160.
It is important to know that any physician can
call himself a psychiatrist although physicians get minimal training in psychiatry in medical school. If you consult a psychiatrist, you want to make sure that he
does have proper training in the field of psychiatry. Feel free to ask him where
he took his post-graduate residency training in psychiatry and ask if he is board certified in
psychiatry. You can verify his board certification at:
www.certifieddoctor.org/scripts/verify.asp
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST
In California a marriage and family therapist
(previously known as a marriage and family counselor) must hold a state license. To check on the licensure of Marriage and Family Therapists in California, you
may contact: The Board of
Behavioral Sciences in Sacramento, California. It can be
reached at (916) 445-4933, or at its website: www.bbs.ca.gov.
Licensing and disciplinary information is available at this website.
LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER (LCSW)
In California you may check on the licensure of an
LCSW by contacting
The Board of
Behavioral Sciences in Sacramento, California. It can be
reached at (916) 445-4933, or at its website: www.bbs.ca.gov.
Also see the information listed below under the National Association of Social Workers below.
NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
To find out about the relevant licensing
requirements and qualifications in other states you may contact the county,
state or national professional organization. Some useful addresses, phone numbers and internet sites are listed below.
American Psychological Association
750 First St.,
NE
Washington DC 20002
(202) 33l6-5500
www.apa.org
The National Register of Health Service Providers
in
Psychology lists psychologists state by state in communities across the
nation. It is carried in libraries and can be contacted at (202) 783-7663 or at the website: www.nationalregister.org Information about actions taken by Committee on Professional Practice and Ethics
appears at:
www.nationalregister.org/coppe.html
National Association of Social
Workers
750 First Street
N.E.
Washington, D.C.
20002
(202)
408-8600
(800) 742-4089
or in Sacramento, California (800) 538 2565
Society for Clinical Social Work
Sacramento, California
(916) 923-0255
American Association for Marriage & Family
Therapy
1133 15th St., N.W., Suite
300
Washington, D.C.
20005
(202) 452-0109
American Psychiatric
Association
1400 K Street.
N.W.
Washington, D.C.
20005
(202) 682-6000 www.psych.org
Canadian Psychological
Association
www.cpa.ca
