Transcript Careers in Psychology part three

APA Accreditation, Terminal Degrees,
Art Therapy, Psychiatric Nursing,
Substance Abuse, & Applied Behavioral
Analysis
 Your
education should be obtained at a
college that is accredited by the appropriate
association
 Basically each degree we are going to talk
about today has an overseeing association-for
example the American Psychological
Association (APA).
 This assures that the courses you take are
those that are required for licensure in your
state.
 When choosing a school this is essential
 American
Art Therapy Association-requires
specific psychology and art therapy courses
that prepare for licensure and practice
 American Psychiatric Nurses Association- a
group that recognizes the special needs of
psychiatric nurses
 the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center-in
NJ nurses have to be licensed to practice as
an LPN, RN, and Practitioner
 State
of New Jersey as advanced practice
nurses with prescriptive authority-advanced
practice nurses are overseen by this board
 Addiction Professionals Certification Board of
New Jersey (APCBNJ) for CADC eligibilitycertification in Addictions is overseen by this
board
 NJ Applied Behavioral Analysis Associationnew group that would like to see that all ABA
therapy is monitored and eventually
licensed.
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APA accreditation-all schools in psychology seek APA accreditation
Please look at your handout about the APA goals for undergraduate
education
10 Goals that look at Knowledge, Skills, and Values
Consistent with the Science and Application of
Psychology
Goal 1. Theory and Content of Psychology
Students will demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts,
theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in
psychology.
Goal 2. Research Methods in Psychology
Students will understand and apply basic research methods in psychology,
including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
Goal 3. Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology
Students will respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical
inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems
related to behavior and mental processes.
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Goal 4. Application of Psychology
Students will understand and apply psychological
principles to personal, social, and organizational
issues.
Goal 5. Values in Psychology
Students will be able to weigh evidence, tolerate
ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that
are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline.
Goal 6. Information and Technological Literacy
Students will demonstrate information competence
and the ability to use computers and
other technology for many purposes.
Goal 7. Communication Skills
Students will be able to communicate effectively in a
variety of formats.
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Goal 8. Sociocultural and International Awareness
Students will recognize, understand, and respect the
complexity of sociocultural and international
diversity.
Goal 9. Personal Development
Students will develop insight into their own and
others’ behavior and mental processes and apply
effective strategies for self-management and selfimprovement.
Goal 10. Career Planning and Development
Students will emerge from the major with realistic
ideas about how to implement their psychological
knowledge, skills, and values in occupational pursuits
in a variety of settings.
 Terminal
Degrees-usually are degrees where
you take a certification exam and can get a job
in the field of your terminal degree.
 It is called a terminal degree because you can be
employed in your specialty and do not need any
further schooling to be employed in the field of
specialization.
 For example, when you major in professional
counseling you get licensure and then are able to
practice.
 This is the same for art therapy and substance
abuse counseling-this does not mean you can’t
back to school.
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 Art Therapy
Program of choice should be accredited by American
Art Therapy Association and possibly the APA
In order to work as an Art Therapist throughout much
of the country you need have a Master’s Degree.
You need to have a Bachelor’s Degree with usually a
3.0 GPA overall.
At least 12 semester hours of course work in
psychology (including general, developmental, and
abnormal psychology)
At least 18 semester hours in studio art (including
drawing, 3-D art form, and painting) It is imperative
that the applicant evidence a range of experience
using a variety of art materials and processes.
An art portfolio of at least 10 pieces
 Art
Therapy
 Previous
mental health related volunteer
experience that involves using art
therapeutically is recommended.
 School of Visual Arts trains students in a
Humanistic approach-does anyone remember
humanistic theory?
 Schools in our area that offer an M.A. in Art
Therapy:
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Hofstra, George Washington Univ., LIUBrooklyn, Pratt Institute-Brooklyn, and
School of Visual Arts
 Substance
Abuse Counseling
Need a Bachelor’s degree in with a major in
Psychology, a GPA of at least 3.0, and to take the
dreaded GRE’s.
 To be licensed in NJ a student needs a Master’s
Degree with:
 3000 hours of supervised work experience,
 at least 300 hours of supervised practical
training in all core course areas
 Participation in at least 30 alcohol and drug
abuse self-help meetings
 Successful completion of an oral and written
examination
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 Substance
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Abuse Counseling
Students must remember that most programs are
45-48 graduate credits
Schools that offers a Master’s Degree in
Substance Abuse Counseling are:
 The
New School for Social Research,
Montclair State University, Monmouth
University, College of NJ, Centenary
College, and Kean
 Psychiatric
 Most
Nursing
nurses are RN’s or LPN’s but those who
are truly psychiatric nurses are MSN’s-in
other words they have a Master’s Degree in
Nursing.
 In order to be accepted to a psychiatric
nursing program, a student must be a
licensed nurse in the state in which they are
applying
 However, most states require the same things
for licensure so transferring a license is not
difficult.
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 In
Psychiatric Nursing
order to enter program, students must
have had at least a 3.0 GPA
 Have completed a basic statistic course as an
undergraduate
 Need at least one year of work in the field,
preferably in mental health
 Upon graduation from any program, the
student will take a license exam and will be
able to prescribe medication and supervise a
mental health unit, work in a clinic, or open
private practice.
 Nursing
Schools that offer psychiatric nursing
degrees in our area
 CUNY-Hunter
College
 SUNY at Buffalo and Stony Brook
 University of Pennsylvania
 UMDNJ
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Because of the dramatic rise in autism in NJ, schools
have now begun training Master’s students in Applied
Behavioral Analysis.
What is applied behavioral analysis?
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Applied" means practice, rather than research or
philosophy. "Behavior analysis" may be read as "learning
theory," that is, understanding what leads to (or doesn't
lead to) new skills.
ABA is just as much about maintaining and using skills as
about learning. It may seem odd to use the word
"behavior" when talking about learning to talk, play, and
live as a complex social animal, but to a behaviorist all
these can be taught, so long as there are intact brain
functions to learn and practice the skills. That is the
essence of the recovery hypothesis--for many children,
the excesses and deficits of autism result largely from a
learning 'blockage,' which can be overcome by intensive
teaching.
 Applied
Behavioral Analysis
 Why look at this? Well in NJ we have the
largest population of autistic children in
the country. 1 in 60 boys are diagnosed
and 1in 100 children overall are
diagnosed with autism!
 So there are a lot of jobs opening up in
this area!
Applied Behavioral Analysis-Brand new at
Caldwell College
 A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.3
 Bachelor's Degree or higher, preferably in a
related field such as psychology, education, or
special education
 Official undergraduate/graduate transcripts
 Satisfactory scores on the general Graduate
Record Exam (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test
(MAT) (Students who already have a Master's
degree are exempt from this requirement)
 Two letters of recommendation for graduate
study
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 Applied
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Behavioral Analysis-Brand new
at Caldwell College
Writing sample: a research-based paper in
psychology or education of at least ten pages
that was previously submitted as part of an
undergraduate or graduate course. Other subject
matter may be considered if the candidate has
had limited prior psychology or education work.
 Any
questions?
 Something else you may be interested in?