The problem of psychologist certification: A comparative analysis of international experience

Abstract

As the war in Ukraine poses a significant threat to national mental health, professional psychological support has become more crucial than ever for Ukrainians. The need to regulate the profession and establish a safe environment for consumers of psychological services has led to the implementation of psychologist licensing and certification. In Ukraine, this system is imperfect and requires optimisation, one of the ways to achieve which is to study and adapt the best international experience. In light of this, the aim of this article was to examine the characteristics of psychologist certification in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and China to identify prospects for developing the psychologist certification system in Ukraine. The methodological tools used included the dialectical method, as well as systemic, informational, theological, and functional approaches, which allowed for the presentation of the features of certification in the current conditions of professionalisation of psychological activities. It has been established that certification has historically been one of the methods for measuring competence in professional psychology. For this purpose, professional associations create voluntary certification systems. The features of the most developed psychologist certification systems (USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom) were examined, and an attempt was made to compare them with similar certification models in the European Union and China. Common requirements for psychologist certification in these countries were identified, including requirements for the content and duration of specialised education; requirements for supervised psychological practice; requirements for professional development in both practical and research areas; and requirements for the moral and ethical qualities of the psychologist. Conceptualising and measuring psychologist competence is an ongoing dynamic process as the field of psychological practice continues to evolve. The practical value of the results lies in their potential use to identify ways to improve the national psychologist certification system and the possibilities for transitioning from voluntary certification to mandatory certification