ANNA PINEDA, MS, LPA, CSP
LORI BENNETT, MA, CSP
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
PSYCHOMETRISTS CONFERENCE
2015
The professional past, present and
future for psychometrists
Y O U C A N ’ T T E L L W H E R E Y O U ’ R E G O I N G U N L E S S Y O U K N O W W H E R E Y O U H A V E B E E N
Dr. Carl Emil Seashore
Discussed how psychologists could act as technicians on an
interdisciplinary team
Set the stage for the psychometrist/psychologist working dynamic “Yet, as technician the psychologist is at the command of the
superintendent and other members of the staff for the routine work which he is peculiarly qualified, and this routine work is his main
business” – ‘The Position of the Psychologist in the State Institution” Bulletin of State Iowa Institutions, Volume 14, 1912
Dr. William A. Hunt Dr. Ward C. Halstead Dr. Ralph M. Reitan
Unknown?
1960’s to 1980’s
Different areas in general clinical psychology Increase in use over a 15 year period
The rise of clinical neuropsychology
Tremendous boost for psychometrists
International Neuropsychological Society (INS) - 1966 National Association of Neuropsychologists (NAN) - 1975 APA Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40) -
1980
In the 1989 Report of the Division 40 Task Force on Education,
Accreditation, and Credentialing, guidelines regarding the use of non-doctoral personnel in clinical neuropsychological assessment were established.
1990’s and 2000’s
Between 1989 and 1999, percentages have ranged
from 44% to 71% of neuropsychologists that enlist
the aid of an assistant to collect data (Sweet et al.,
2000)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1990 1993 2002 2010 PercentageP R O S A N D C O N S
Ethics and Controversy over the
use of psychometrists
Pro’s
Doctoral level professionals can assess more patients More time efficient manner for data collection
Provider time can be used for other assessment-related activities
Psychometrist utilization can increase provider salaries by over 85% (DeLuca & Putnam, 1993)
Neuropsychologists that utilized testing assistants had higher job satisfaction (Sweet et al, 2011)
Unbiased analysis
Cost savings for patients ???
Con’s
Concerns over the appropriate and standardized
training of unlicensed psychometrists without
graduate level training
Test misuse
Scoring errors
Test security
Awareness of the importance of building and
maintaining rapport
Tests were standardized with psychologists
Lack of learned clinical observational skills
Ethical and organization’s views
of psychometrists roles
Guidelines Regarding the Use of Non-Doctoral Personnel in Clinical Neuropsychological Assessment
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct of the APA (1992)
General Standard 1.22:
(a)“Psychologists delegate to their employees, supervisees, and
research assistants only those responsibilities that such persons can reasonably be expected to perform competently, on the basis of their education, training, or experience, either independently or with the level of supervision being provided”
(b) “psychologists provide the proper training and supervision to
their employees and take reasonable steps to see that such persons perform services responsibly, competently, and ethically.”
US – Individuals with Disabillities Education Act
1997
Arkansas -2001
Arkansas Board Examiners of Psychology added
Model Regulations - ASPPB
2002
34 of 53 in US and Canada have provisions of
master’s level licensure
New York - 2003
The Scope of Practice Law was passed in New York.
The law was then interpreted by an individual within
the State Education Department in a way that
disallowed the use psychometrists
Many organizations supported the New York State
Psychological Association (NYSPA) and the New York State Association of Neuropsychology (NYSAN) in many attempts to amend the Scope of Practice Law to fix this unintended consequence.
NYSAN had been unable to convince the New York State Dept. of Education to change its interpretation of the
NAN Position Paper - Puente et al. (2006)
Use, education, training and supervision of
psychometrists, National Academy of Neuropsychology official statement
10 item list of recommendations
“…training and supervision, test selection, data interpretation and analysis, report writing and consulation are the responsibility of the
neuropsychologist who is independently licensed…” p. 838, recommendation #2
Supervision is at a minimum the general term utilized by Medicare
Billing procedures
2006 a new American Medical Association,
Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) billing
codes for psychometrists were created:
(96119) neuropsychological testing per hour by a technician
Texas Administrative Code on using
psychometrists
(b) Unlicensed, Non-Exempt Individuals. Psychologists may employ unlicensed, non-exempt individuals only to perform services which do not constitute the practice of psychology or the activities and services of another licensed profession. Permissible duties include:
(1) Secretarial and clerical duties such as scheduling appointments or processing insurance forms;
(2) Data gathering, such as administering, proctoring, or scoring non-projective tests, obtaining histories or obtaining documentation for record keeping purposes, provided that it does not require psychological education or involve the provision of psychological services; and
(3) Technical, educational, or other duties that are adjunctive to and incorporated into the provision of psychological services such as providing educational
information or assisting a client's work with a computer, special equipment or special materials, provided that the duties do not require psychological education or involve the provision of psychological services or the services or activities of another licensed profession.
RULE §465.4 Employment of Individuals Not Licensed by Texas State Board-adopted in 1997
Psychometrist Organizations
and Certification
Concept began in 1994
A survey was sent to gather interest for the
organization and 98.5% were in favor
In 1995 the National Association of
Psychometrists (NAP) was formally incorporated
in the State of Minnesota.
NAP’s mission is to promote the education and
training of psychometrists as well as serve as a
venue for professional networking among
psychometrists and other professionals in the
field.
In 2003 the Psychometry Certification Committee (PCC) was officially formed as a NAP committee
In 2005 PCC was dissolved by NAP and was replaced with the Board of Certified Psychometrists (BCP)
BCP is a separate and autonomous organization dedicated to the continuation of psychometrist certification
Established as a non-profit organization in 2009
In 2005, the first Certified Specialist in Psychometry (CS) Exam was offered.
As of 2014, there are 185 Certified Specialists in Psychometry in the US and Canada. (BCP website) Must obtain 20 CEU’s every two years to retain their
certification
Canada
Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors,
Psychometrists and Psychotherapists (OACCPP)
Psychometrist/psychometricians work under a
International Psychometrists
South Africa:
Permitted to use certain psychological assessments where they
can select, administer, score and interpret and report on findings. Cannot use certain personality measures (e.g. Rorschach, MMPI-2), neuropsychological measures, or perform forensic assessments
Can bill for service and be independent practitioners
Can be registered under the Professional Board for Psychology
(under the Health Professions Council of South Africa)
Bachelor’s degree required
Latin America:
S T A R T H E R E
2007
Gender Female Male Education Bachelor's Master's OtherEducational levels
According to the 2012 NAP Salary
Some college= 1.2%
Bachelor’s degree= 54.1% Master’s degree=43.5% Doctorate= 1.2%
Employment sites
Majority of psychometrist respondents in a 2009
survey indicated they worked in a
hospital
(46%),
followed by a clinic setting (18%), and private
practice (18%), 4% Veteran’s
Administration/Government
2012 survey: 48% in a
hospital
, 14% Clinic, 14%
Private Practice, 14% Veteran’s
Administration/Government
Compensation
Salary ranges
In 2007 , most initial pay was $10 to $20 per hour
Year Average Hourly rate Average Gross Annual Income Average Contract rates (Per hr/per patient) 2009 $21.19 $41,685.90 $55.12/300 2012 $23.50 $49,809.06 $45/300
2009
Education Level Average Hourly Wage Average Gross Annual Income Bachelor’s $20.33 $40,159 Master’s $22.62 $43,725 Education Level Average Hourly Wage Average Gross Annual Income Bachelor’s $24.76 $49,400 Master’s $20.18 $51,1002012
Vocational growth
In-demand skills
According to O*Net (date of access 01/08/15) the term psychometrist is currently not represented, yet
neuropsychologists are a job that has been labeled as a “bright outlook” occupation which is an area that is to “grow rapidly in the next several years, will have large numbers of job
openings or are new and emerging occupations”
Increasing the need for psychometrists as neuropsychologists are increasing in numbers
Expanding practice and collecting data
Currently a salary survey but can’t make information
public
Initiation of acknowledgment in the US Government’s
directory of job titles and codes, O*Net
Diversifying the field to meet patients’ linguistic needs
Bilingual psychometrist model?
Collecting information regarding
Training history
Organizational and operation practices for psychometrists Tests utilized?
Languages spoken by patients and practices working with
bilingual/non English individuals
P S Y C H O M E T R I S T S R E A C H I N G O U T A N D
E D U C A T I N G T H E P U B L I C
Pilot
Rationale: To increase awareness of the psychometrist career for college students
Aim: To present 3 times over the course of the year
Supplies: Anna, PowerPoints (approximately 40 minutes long and tailored for each site), Surveys, Pens, Candy,
Informational brochures Outline
Background
Definition of job role
Education and training required
Neuropsychology overview
Presenter’s descriptions of personal interests in the field Salary comparisons
NAP introduction and benefits CSP certification
Possible local work sites Suggestions for preparation
SAMPLE SLIDE What is a psychometrist?
An individual that administers and scores
psychological and neuropsychological tests
under the supervision of a clinical psychologist
or clinical neuropsychologist.
Titles used
Psychometrist (correct term!) Psychology technician
Psychometrician/Neuropsychometrician (this term is
actually intended for professionals that create tests)
“tech” and “technician” (within the field)
Over 250 psychometrist members of the
National Association of Psychometrists plus
unknown numbers of those that are not
Clinical work Clerical work
Observation notes Training/supervising
others
Research collaboration Assisting with cortical
mapping and/or Wada testing
Patient reports
Professional presentations Therapy
Order testing and keeping inventory
Scheduling patients Insurance paperwork
Other titles for psychometrists:
1) Psychometricians 2) Neuropsychometricians 3) Psychological Assistant/Associate/Aides 4) Neuropsychology/Psycholo gy Technician 5) Testing Technician 6) Psychodiagnostic Assistant 7) Psychological Extenders 8) Paraprofessionals 9) Assessment specialist 10)Uncredentialed PersonnelUniversity of Texas at Arlington
March 30, 2015
UTA Psychology Society
College located in an urban area between Dallas and Ft. Worth; 35,000
students enrolled in 2014
Undergraduate degree, Experimental Psychology, Health and
Neuroscience, Industrial/Organizational
20 attendees with few questions
Via Facebook quote “It was really interesting! Love learning about new
psychology pathways or subfields”
Survey questions
Handed out at end of presentation
Age
Gender
Open response questions
What was something you learned today that was
important/relevant to you?
Is there any information that you were curious about that was
not covered in the presentation?
What are your current plans for your career (i.e. going on for
your PhD in Psychology, stopping after BA/MA, working for a non-profit, etc?
Baylor University
October 1, 2015 Psychology Club
Private Texas college located between Dallas and Austin with over 16,000 students
Undergraduate degrees (Pre-Psych); Clinical Psychology, School Psychology
14 attendees; 12 returned surveys Ages 18-21 and one unknown
For important information: 83% identified the possibility of a career with a Bachelor’s degree with many not aware that one could have a job in the field
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychometry
Sources
Brodsky, S. L. & Mixon, R.J. (1969). A survey of technician frequency and
activities in clinical neuropsychology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25 (2),
221-223.
Report of the Division 40 Task Force on Education, Accreditation, and
Credentialing (1989): Guidelines regarding the use of non-doctoral personnel in clinical neuropsychological assessment
Echemendia & Harris, 2004
Hall, J.D., Howertown, D.L., and Boling, A.U. (2005). The use of testing
technicians: Critical issues for professional psychology. International Journal of Testing, 5(4), 357-375.
Malek-Ahmadi, M., Erickson, T., Puente, A.E., Pliskin, N., Rock, R. (2012). The Use of Psychometrists in Clinical Neuropsychology: History, Current Status, and Future Directions. Applied Neuropschology, 19(), 26-31
Novotney, A. 2011. Psychological job forecast: Partly sunny. American
Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2011/03/cover-sunny.aspx
National Association of Psychometrists.
http://napnet.org/about/what-is-a-psychometrist/
Puente, A. E., Adams, R., Barr, W. B., Bush, S. S., & NAN Policy Planning
Committee, Ruff, R.M., Barth, J.T., Broshek, D., Koffler, S.P., Reynolds, C., Silver, C.H., Troster, A.I. (2006). The use, education, training and supervision of
neuropscyhological test technicians (psychometrists) in clinical practice. Official statement of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21 (8), 837-839.
Richardson, R. (2003). Epilepsy and surgical mapping, British Medical Bulletin, 65(1), 179-192.
Rivera Mindt , M., Byrd, D., Saez, P., & Manly, P. (2010). Increasing culturally competent neuropsychological services for ethnic minority populations: A call to action. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 24 (), 429-453.
Sweet, J.J., Meyer, D.G., Nelson, N.W., and Moberg, P.J. (2011). The TCN/AACN 2010 “Salary Survey”: Professional Practices, Beliefs and Incomes of U.S.
Neuropsychologists. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 25(1), 12-61.
Sweet, J.J., Moberg, P.J., Suchy, Y. (2000). Ten-Year Follow-up Survey of Clinical Neuropsychologists: Part II. Private Practice and Economics. The Clinical
Neuropsychologist, 14(4), 479-495.
Texas Administrative Code (1997), Title 22 Examining Boards, Part 21 Texas State
Board of Psychologists, Chapter 465 Rules of Practice, Section 465.4. Employment of Individuals Not Licensed by This Board, Retrieved from
