Are you into biting? Hitting? Scratching?

How about a little drooling? Spitting? Regurgitation ?

Okay, so there is really nothing sexy about this…. But we do have a great opportunity for those of you interested in human services

Long, long ago (before most of use were born), Dr. Malott dreamt up the Behavior Analysis Training System (BATS) BATS was composed of many subsystems. Those subsystems all worked towards the well-being of the overall system. The overall system worked towards the well-being of humanity (and the well-being of a few graduate and undergraduate students). One of these subsystems was the Professional Psychology Practicum (PPP) This system was designed to provide Master’s students with the necessary experience to earn the Temporary Limited License in Psychology

Great! But….why would I want a license in psychology?

The Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association states: “Psychologists provide services, teach, and conduct research only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, or appropriate professional experience.”

So basically, don’t do anything until you’ve had the proper education, training, and supervision! But….I still don’t understand what this has to do with a license…

Well, the licensing regulations of the state of Michigan require that you have: One course in Assessment, One Course in Therapy And A 500-hour supervised applied practicum Before you are allowed to receive a Master’s level license in psychology

So the licensing board of Michigan only provides a license to those people who have the proper education, training, and supervision! This ensures that everyone who has a license in Michigan has complied with the Ethics Code.

Why do I need the state of Michigan’s endorsement? Can’t I just tell my clients that I have the necessary education, training, and supervision?

Most clients rely on insurance coverage to pay for psychological services AND Most insurance companies will not provide reimbursement for services not provided by a licensed psychologist SO If you want to get paid, you’ll probably want to have a license…that is unless you plan on working for only financially elite clients…

And chances are, the financially elite clients are NOT going to seek services from someone who just says they have the necessary education, training and supervision. They are going to want the piece of paper…the license to back up your claims.

Now you’re telling us that in addition to completing regular graduate work, we also have to find a way to do all this licensure stuff? How are we going to find a way to do all of that?

Glad you asked! Because I designed the Professional Psychology Practicum to serve the needs of Master’s students interested in getting a license…

…that means that any of my Master’s students in my Behavior Analysis Training System can get a license… It’s an integrated option in my Master’s program!

What about that supervision requirement? Does Dr. Malott provide the supervision?

Unfortunately, only a fully licensed psychologist can provide the supervision… So I leave all the official supervision up to our fully licensed psychologist, Dr. James Kaye

I am Dr. Kaye I provide the supervision so all the PPP students can get their license!

However, I do provide valuable suggestions during supervision meetings! And I oversee the educational requirements for my licensure candidates

Wow, that sounds great! It is awesome to think that Dr. Malott put this all together!

Why thanks!

Now that we have sold you on the need for a license, let’s introduce you to the client populations that you will be working with in PPP: Croyden Avenue School—Autistic Impaired and Developmentally Disabled Clients This is a classroom at Croyden

Population #3: Young Adult Program: Emotionally Impaired and/or Developmentally Disabled Clients. Young Adult Program

Community Mental Health: Clients are assigned based on individual preferences. Emphasis is placed on intellectual and personality assessment experience. Community Mental Health

We included all those sites so that our students would have a wide variety of client experience Our hope is to help our students develop killer resumes so that they can get killer jobs when they graduate!

That sounds great, but what if I want to specialize in a particular population like autism or developmental disabilities?

General Track with Licensure General Track without Licensure Autism/DD Track with Licensure Autism/DD Track without Licensure PPP offers four different tracks!

If you choose to specialize in Autism/ Developmental Disabilities, then all of your practicum experience is concentrated in that area!

Can I do anything to prepare myself for the graduate practicum?

Sure! You can apply for grad school at WMU and join Dr. Malott’s BATS program!

This definitely sounds like a great opportunity! Who do I contact to get involved?

Jessie Her contact information is included on the business cards passed out today. Contact Jessie! She is the PPP senior systems manager.

Undergraduate Research Assistants Join PPP and… Thanks for watching! …help save the world with behavior analysis, one client at a time.

Thank You! Any Questions?