The Council of Rehabilitation Psychology Postdoctoral Training Programs is a membership body open to any and all postdoctoral training programs that prepare professional psychologists for practice in the field of Rehabilitation Psychology. The Council seeks to facilitate maximum training program participation while also encouraging and supporting best practices.

Definition of Rehabilitation Psychology

Specialty definition from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP):

"Rehabilitation Psychology is a specialty area within professional psychology which assists the individual with an injury or illness which may be chronic, traumatic and/or congenital, including the family, in achieving optimal physical, psychological and interpersonal functioning. The focus of Rehabilitation Psychology is on the provision of services consistent with the level of impairment, disability and handicap relative to the personal preferences, needs and resources of the individual with a disability. The rehabilitation psychologist consistently involves interdisciplinary teamwork as a condition of practice and services within a network of biological, psychological, social, environmental and political considerations in order to achieve optimal rehabilitation goals."

CRPPTP believes that attainment of the ABRP/ABPP Diploma in Rehabilitation Psychology is the clearest evidence of competence as a Rehabilitation Psychologist, assuring that all of these criteria have been met.

Our mission and vision

Mission Statement

To promote high quality, consistency, and excellence in the education and training of Rehabilitation Psychologist practitioners

Vision Statement

The purpose of the CRPPTP is to promote the advancement of Rehabilitation Psychology training at the postdoctoral / residency level.  The Council seeks to promote postgraduate psychology training that  results in the production of competent Rehabilitation Psychologists who are able to assist individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions, their families, and rehabilitation teams, to maximize health and welfare, independence and choice, functional abilities, social role participation, and to minimize secondary health complications.

Our history

In 2011 representatives from a wide variety of training programs in Rehabilitation Psychology convened at a consensus conference in Baltimore, Maryland.  This body met specifically to develop consensus guidelines for competency specification and measurement in postdoctoral training in Rehabilitation Psychology. The focus was on postdoctoral training because this is where specialization in Rehabilitation Psychology occurs (c.f., Cox, Cox & Caplan, 2013, pages 5, 7). Full details of the Conference methods and participants are described in Stiers et al. (2012). In brief, 46 conference participants were chosen to include representatives of Rehabilitation Psychology training and practice communities, psychology accreditation and certification bodies, and persons involved in medical education practice and research.

The Conference had three goals.

  1. To define the structures, processes, and outcomes of Rehabilitation Psychology postdoctoral training programs (reported in Stiers et al., 2012).

  2. To define the competencies to be developed and assessed in Rehabilitation Psychology postdoctoral training programs (reported in Stiers et al., 2015).

  3. To organize a national council of Rehabilitation Psychology postdoctoral training programs

Stiers W, Hanson S, Turner A, Stucky K, Barisa M, Brownsberger M, Van Tubbergen M, Ashman T, Kuemmel A. (2012.) Guidelines for Postdoctoral Training in Rehabilitation Psychology. Rehabilitation Psychology, 57(4):267–279.

Stiers W, Barisa M, Stucky K, Pawlowski C, Van Tubbergen M, Turner A, Hibbard M, Caplan B. (2015.) Guidelines for Competency Development and Measurement in Rehabilitation Psychology Postdoctoral Training. Rehabilitation Psychology, 60(2):111-122.

 

The purpose of the training council  is to  support the development and advancement of Rehabilitation Psychology training.  CRPPT first met and elected officers in 2013 and obtained 501 C(3) non-profit corporation status in 2015.

Our objectives and values

Objectives

  • Develop and communicate coherent and consistent policies and procedures that promote high quality, consistency, and excellence in the education and training of Rehabilitation Psychology practitioners, and to promote competence in their practice

  • Review and recognize programs in compliance with the Guidelines for Structure and Process of Postdoctoral Training in Applied Rehabilitation Psychology and the Guidelines for Competency Development and Measurement in Postdoctoral Training in Rehabilitation Psychology developed at the Baltimore Conference on Post-Doctoral Training in Rehabilitation Psychology (April, 2011).  

  • Offer assistance to programs that are not in compliance with the training guidelines to meet the training guidelines, if they so desire.

  • Develop a set of general conceptual and operational documents which can assist Rehabilitation Psychology postdoctoral training programs in their organization and management.

  • Provide a forum for consultation and discussion of common issues among postdoctoral training programs in Rehabilitation Psychology to enhance collaboration and cooperation.

  • Disseminate information about postdoctoral training in Rehabilitation Psychology to other organizations within psychology, to potential trainees, and to the general public

  • Develop a partnership with other professional organizations involved in policy formation, planning and coordination of education and training standards relevant to accreditation and certification procedures for postdoctoral training programs in Rehabilitation Psychology, including the Commission on Accreditation, the American Board of Professional Psychology, the American Psychological Association, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, the Council of Specialties, the Council of Chairs of Training Councils, and the Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology.

Values

  • Commitment to professionalism and excellence in training programs, training faculty, and trainees

  • Understanding of and respect for diversity in faculty, residents, patients, and others in a manner that reflects psychology's ethical principles and professional standards.

Our stance of board certification

CRPPTP stance on Board Certification in Rehabilitation Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP)

The mission of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) is to increase consumer protection through the examination and certification of psychologists who demonstrate competence in approved specialty areas in professional psychology. A specialty diploma certified through ABPP assures the public that a provider has successfully completed the education and training requirements of the specialty to provide quality services within that specialty. ABPP provides this assurance by having specialty boards carry out a formal examination process unique to the specialty. ABPP certification via a specialty board is a demonstration of clinical competence to practice in a specialty of professional clinical psychology.

The American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology (ABRP) is the ABPP specialty board devoted to examining and certifying providers who specialize in the practice of Rehabilitation Psychology. CRPPTP recognizes that board certification through ABRP offers consumer protection in the delivery of ethical, professional, and competent Rehabilitation Psychology services.  ABPP was incorporated in 1947 and ABRP was incorporated as the certifying board for competence in Rehabilitation Psychology in 1995. It has been a member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) since 1997.

Member programs in CRPPTP provide comprehensive high quality residency training in Rehabilitation Psychology. These training programs commit to offering a competency-based curriculum for residency training in Rehabilitation Psychology and trainee resources that position graduates of CRPPTP for specialty clinical practice and success in achieving board certification in Rehabilitation Psychology through ABPP/ABRP.

Bylaws

To see CRPPTP 's bylaws, click here.

Ethical Principles

For an overview of ethics in rehabilitation settings, see the below reference.

Kerkhoff, T. & Hanson, S. (2013). Ethics Field Guide: Applications to Rehabilitation Psychology (Academy of Rehabilitation Psychology Series) 1st Edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

CRPPTP is also committed to the Ethical Principles established by the American Psychological Association (APA).