About the American Board of Group Psychology
The member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology that certifies specialists in Group Psychology.
The American Board of Group Psychology (ABGP) is a member board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). ABPP oversees the standards and operations of its member boards — currently 17 specialty boards and two subspecialty boards.
The ABGP is responsible for establishing criteria related to the definition, education, training, competencies, and the examination leading to certification as a specialist in Group Psychology. The ABGP is governed by members board certified in group psychology and representative of the specialty on a national basis.
Board certification assures the public and the profession that the group psychologist specialist has successfully completed the educational, training, and experience requirements of the specialty including an examination designed to assess the competencies required to provide quality services in group psychology.
Specialties, by definition, are advanced levels of practice including doctoral and post-doctoral preparation.
Purposes and goals
From the ABGP Bylaws (October 15, 2009, amended March 2015):
- To serve the public and the profession by ensuring that psychologists certified by the ABPP in Group Psychology aspire to ethical standards and have completed the education, training, and experience requirements of this specialty, including an examination designed to assess the competencies required to provide quality Group Psychology services.
- To support those principles, policies and practices that seek attainment of the best in group psychology practice.
- To promote the value of group psychology and group psychotherapy.
- To function as a Member Specialty board in the ABPP and to coordinate with the American Academy of Group Psychology in promoting the specialty and recruiting candidates for the Specialty Board exam.
The American Board of Group Psychology is a merged Board, comprised of the ABGP and the American Academy of Group Psychology, with one Board of Trustees and identified ABGP and Academy Directors. Download the ABGP Bylaws (DOCX).
Have questions? We would be delighted to talk to you.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the ABGP — whether you are a graduate student or a late-career psychologist.