Psychologist Licensure Requirements in Kansas

Kansas psychologists are licensed by the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board, or BSRB (http://www.ksbsrb.org/psychologists.htm). Licensure is based on education, examination, and postdoctoral supervised practice. A temporary license is available to those who have completed educational requirements.

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Education Requirements

Psychologists must have education at the doctoral level. Programs that are accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) are automatically approved so long as the required 24 semester hours of assessment and interventions coursework is done in residence at the university. (Candidates who began programs by March 10, 2006 are not held to the residency requirement.)

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Non-APA doctoral programs that are “psychological in nature” will be approved if they meet the standards found in 102-1-12 of state regulations (http://www.ksbsrb.org/pdf/statutes_regs/*This will open as a PDF).

The program must be housed in a regionally accredited university and have, as a stated goal, the training of psychologists. There must be a professional faculty of psychologists, with one core faculty member per 15 students.

The candidate will need a total of 90 semester hours of graduate work; there must be at least 60 semester hours of academic coursework excluding dissertation and practicums and internships.

The psychology student will need at least three semester hours of coursework in each of the following areas:

  • History and systems
  • Biological behavioral aspects
  • Social behavioral aspects
  • Cognitive and affective behavioral aspects
  • Research methodology and data analysis
  • Psychological measurement
  • Human development
  • Individual differences
  • Psychopathology
  • Principles and standards

Personality development can be credited toward the history and systems requirement. The human development requirement may include advanced child development, adult personality development, and gerontology. A candidate can view the application packet to see what course content may be credited toward each academic area.

Additionally, there must be nine semester hours of assessment and 15 semester hours of treatment interventions. The interventions requirement can be met through coursework in areas like clinical psychotherapy, family psychotherapy, and counseling skills.

All programs with the exception of industrial/ occupational psychology must include an 1,800 hour internship experience. This is to take place after all other requirements have been met, with the possible exception of the dissertation. The internship is to be an organized experience which provides training in a range of psychological duties. There should be four hours of supervision for every 40 hours of experience — the majority of it provided by licensed psychologists.

An applied psychology program (clinical, counseling, or school psychology) should include two semesters of practicum work.

Kansas allows up to 10 semester hours of coursework to be taken at the post-doctoral level in order to meet licensing requirements; post-doctoral coursework must be completed at a regionally accredited institution.

Post-doctoral practice is allowed to substitute for pre-doctoral practice if the student makes a substantial change in their area of focus.

Licensing Examination

Kansas psychologist candidates take one licensing examination: the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). The test can be attempted any time after the candidate has earned the doctoral degree and completed the first 1,800 hours of supervised practice. Board permission is required; this is obtained by submitting an application.

An approved candidate will receive information about registering for the examination. The candidate should be prepared to remit $600 to a third party.

The passing score is a scaled score of 500.

Supervised Professional Experience

Kansas requires 3,600 total hours of supervised practice. 1,800 hours of pre-doctoral internship are typically credited. At least 1,800 hours must be post-doctoral, earned under the supervision of a psychologist who has been licensed for a minimum of two years. It is acceptable to use a supervisor who is not employed by the same agency, but there are additional regulations to follow.

At least half the required post-doctoral hours must be spent in direct client service. Kansas credits intake assessment as well as psychotherapy, psychological testing, and consultation service; it is also acceptable to credit time spent in activities like scoring and analyzing an administered test. Kansas further stipulates that at least 180 hours be spent in nonclinical activities; this requirement could be met through research, psycho-education, or program evaluation or consultation.

Post-doctoral supervised practice must include an hour of direct supervision for every 20 hours of direct patient care. While Kansas mandates in-person supervision, up to ¼ of the required sessions may take place using telephone or electronic communication systems that protect client confidentiality; such methods are to be utilized when distance, or other circumstances, make face-to-face communication impractical.

No less than half of the experience is to be in the emphasis area that the graduate earned his or her degree in (for example, counseling psychology or industrial psychology). A psychology candidate cannot complete the post-doctoral requirement in less than 12 months.

Candidates may work under temporary licenses, good for two years. There is a 25 contact hour continuing education requirement for a temporary license holder. A temporary license of this type may be renewed for an additional two years.

The Application Process

Application forms are available on the BSRB site (http://www.ksbsrb.org/forms.htm#psychology). It is also possible to obtain them by writing the BSRB at 700 SW Harrison St, Ste 420, Topeka, KS 66603-3929.; candidates should specify which packet they need (e.g. ‘Licensed Psychologist’ or ‘Licensed Psychologist Reciprocity’).

There is just one packet for candidates applying for license by examination, but it may be submitted at different stages, depending on the applicant’s status. A candidate may submit it when preparing to begin supervised experience.

Official transcripts should be requested and submitted directly by the issuing institution. 1,800 hours of formal training (internship) is to be documented. The academic background form applies only to those candidates whose programs were not APA-accredited. Such candidates will also need to attach course descriptions or syllabi and descriptions of doctoral program requirements.

There is a $225 application fee. The temporary license costs an extra $150.

Out-of-State Licensees

There are two paths to endorsement in Kansas. The first is to hold a license in a state where licensing standards are at least on a par with Kansas’. The second is to hold a doctoral degree in psychology and practice actively for at least five years. The minimum requirement for ‘active practice’ is 15 hours a week for nine months out of the year. A psychologist applying by this pathway must have a license history that is free of serious disciplinary action.

Candidates applying through the standard pathway may be exempt from the requirement that 24 semester hours of treatment and assessment coursework be done in residence at the institution if the degree was conferred far enough in the past.

Additional Information Sources

If you are still in High School, hold a High School Diploma/GED, hold a bachelor’s degree, or hold a master’s degree check out suggested steps to take along the path to become a Licensed Psychologist in Kansas.

The BSRB can be reached by phone at 785-296-3240. A candidate can visit the BSRB site to see proposed changes in legislation or regulations (http://www.ksbsrb.org/proposedregulations.htm).

The Kansas Psychological Association (http://www.kspsych.org), an affiliate of the APA, is an additional professional resource, but does not handle licensing matters.