Notes for Post-Docs

Who can hire an ABD or Post-Doctoral student?

15/3(c) Individuals, corporations, partnerships and associations may employ practicum students, interns or postdoctoral candidates seeking to fulfill educational requirements or the professional experience requirements needed to qualify for a license as a clinical psychologist to assist in the rendering of services, provided that such employees function under the direct supervision, order, control and full professional responsibility of a licensed clinical psychologist in the corporation, partnership or association.

Read from the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations

Do I have to be supervised? Can I hire my own supervisor?

15/3 Section 4. Application of Act.

(a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the activities of and services of a student, intern or resident in psychology seeking to fulfill educational requirements or the experience requirements in order to qualify for a license under this Act… provided that such activities and services are under the direct supervision, order, control and full professional responsibility of a licensed clinical psychologist and provided that such student, intern, or resident be designated by a title "intern" or "resident" or other designation of trainee status.

Supervised experience in which the supervisor receives monetary payment or other considerations from the supervisee or in which the supervisor is hired by or otherwise employed by the supervisee shall not be accepted by the Department as fulfilling the practicum, internship or 2 years of satisfactory supervised experience requirements for licensure…

Read Tthe Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act from the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations

What do I have to do to be licensed?

(15/10. Qualifications of applicants - Examination) Section 10.
…The Department… shall issue a license as a clinical psychologist to any person who pays an application fee and who:

…
(3a) is a graduate of a doctoral program in clinical, school or counseling psychology either accredited by the American Psychological Association or approved by the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology…, and has completed 2 years of satisfactory supervised experience in clinical, school or counseling psychology at least one of which is an internship and one of which is postdoctoral…

(b) … has completed at least one course in each of the following 7 content areas…: scientific and professional ethics, biological basis of behavior, cognitive-affective basis of behavior, social basis of behavior, individual differences, assessment, and treatment modalities… (See Section 1400.20 Licensure Qualifications Subsection 2) for more details)

(4) Has passed an examination authorized by the Department to determine his or her fitness to receive a license…

A year of supervised experience is defined as not less than 1,750 hours obtained in not less than 50 weeks based on 35 hours per week for full-time work experience. Full-time supervised experience will be counted only if it is obtained in a single setting for a minimum of 6 months. Part-time and internship experience will be counted only if it is 18 hours or more a week for a minimum of 9 months and is in a single setting. The internship experience required under Section 10, subsection 3(a) and 3(b) of this Act shall be minimum of 1,750 hours completed within 24 months.

Programs leading to a doctoral degree require minimally the equivalent of 3 full-time academic years of graduate study…

Read The Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act from the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations