Texas leads push for faster certification of mental health professionals

Aspiring Texas psychologists hope to earn certification and start work faster under a new licensing examination that would be created by the state. The plan, which is catching the eye of other states, calls for Texas boards to conduct state certification tests, eliminating the need for more expensive and time-intensive national certification tests.

This year, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists moved to begin researching the cost of a cheaper state exam instead of requiring applicants to take a new $450 “skills” test offered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.

Sarah Lorenz, a licensed professional counselor in Texas, told the state board last month that Texas is facing a severe shortage of mental health providers and dropping an additional test will not do enough to help.

“We need to fix this provider shortage crisis,” Lorenz said, suggesting that the state might even need to lower the threshold for a passing score to get more people into the profession.

The health care industry overall is facing an issue with licensing as various studies have found the length and expense of certification have adverse consequences.

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