Licensed Behavioral Practitioner

All of your graduate course work needed to meet the academic requirements must be awarded by a regionally accredited college or university, recognized by the United States Department of Education.

In order to qualify for LBP licensure you must have at least a masters degree from a program in psychology and the program must be intended to prepare a scientist-practitioner in the field of psychology at the masters level and meet all the following criteria:

• The masters program must be clearly identified as a psychology program. Such a program must specify in a pertinent institutional catalogue, its intent to educate and train students in the field of psychology at the master’s level.
• The pertinent institutional catalogue must state the structure and content of the curriculum of the program
• The program must have faculty who hold graduate degrees in psychology or closely related fields

At least sixty (60) semester credit hours or ninety (90) quarter credit hours of graduate counseling-related course work, including internship, must be earned.

You must have at least one (1) or more courses of at least three (3) semester credit hours or four (4) quarter credit hours per course in each of the following core behavioral areas:

• Assessment and Diagnosis - at least six (6) semester hours. Psychological theory, research, and methods concerning the measurement and assessment of an individual's behavioral or psychological functioning, such as the assessment of psychopathology, personality characteristics, intellectual functioning, skills and interests, and neuropsychological functioning
  
• Intervention - at least nine (9) semester hours. Psychological theory, research, and methods regarding empirically validated treatment modalities for the remediation, treatment, or prevention of behavior disorders, adjustment problems, and psychopathology, or other disturbances in psychological functioning
  
• Experimental foundations – at least six (6) semester hours. Psychological theory, research, and methods concerning the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of psychological research, or concerning the general principles and processes for the core areas of experimental psychology
  
• Psychopathology - at least six (6) semester hours. Psychological theory, research, and methods concerning the descriptive characteristics, diagnosis, and etiology of psychopathology, or mental and behavioral disorders of children and adults
  
• Personality and Social Psychology – at least six (6) semester hours. Psychological theory, research, and methods concerning the psychological or behavioral development and functioning of the individual and group differences. Three (3) of these hours shall be in a course in multicultural issues or cultural bases of behavior
  
• Professional orientation/ethics – at least (3) semester hours. Objectives of professional behavioral health services organizations, codes of ethics, legal aspects of practice, standard of preparation and the role of persons providing direct behavioral health services.
  
• Biological bases of behavior – at least three (3) semester hours. Physiological, or genetic underpinnings of behavior.
  
• Practicum/internship - Organized practica/internships with at least three hundred (300) clock hours in behavioral health services with planned experiences providing classroom and field experience with clients under the supervision of college or university approved behavioral health services professionals.

The remaining courses needed to meet the sixty (60) graduate hour requirement shall be in any of the knowledge areas listed above.