Verified professionals are licensed or credentialed by the appropriate regulatory organization. https://georgetownsuncryo.com/
27th November 2024Psychology Today offers a wide variety of mental health professionals—including, but not limited to, psychologists, psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, art therapists, and occupational therapists.
While every Psychology Today professional provides legitimate mental health services to members of the public, many have an additional seal on their profiles indicating that they have been “Verified by Psychology Today.”
What Does the “Verified by Psychology Today” Seal Mean?
The “Verified by Psychology Today” seal indicates that a professional’s license or primary credential has been fact-checked by the Psychology Today team. The professional’s name, contact details, and license or accreditation (that is, their membership in an accredited professional body) are up to date and in good standing. The professional is not currently subject to any restrictions that prevent them from practicing.
Most regional governments in North America maintain online databases of licensed mental health providers. Using information provided by the professional, the staff will use these databases to confirm the provider’s license number, name, contact information, when the license became active, its expiration date, and whether the professional is subject to any license restrictions that prevent them from practicing (for example, behavior complaints or failure to complete required continuing education courses). If the state in which the provider practices does not have an online database, the provider may provide Psychology Today with a copy of their license to obtain the “Verified” seal.
Psychology Today re-verifies credentials whenever they expire and are renewed. How often this occurs varies by the professional’s location and specific type of credential. We conduct routine reviews of licenses based on certain states’ expiration schedules, which usually occur every two to five years. Therapists may also manually update their license information on the directory upon renewal, at which point Psychology Today will re-verify that all the information is correct to maintain the professional’s verification seal.
Certain types of mental health professionals provide services for which their country or state does not currently offer professional licenses or certifications. Potential examples include art therapists, pastoral counselors, and treatment centers. Psychology Today imposes certain educational and supervision requirements, which vary by region. If the professionals are qualified to provide the services they offer and meet our requirements for the region they’re listing in, they may be selectively included in the directory but will not display the verification seal.
Psychology Today Directory Verification Outside North America
The process for verifying professionals in other countries is similar to that in the U.S., though the U.S. has more governmental oversight.
In the U.S., mental health professionals are regulated by state governments; outside the U.S., governmental regulation is less common. Instead, mental health professionals are more likely to be regulated by professional associations, boards, or other non-governmental bodies. For example, in the UK, counselors may be accredited through professional bodies such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, while clinical psychologists are likely to be regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council.
Like state licensing boards in the U.S., these professional associations typically maintain databases of their registered members. Psychology Today uses these databases to check the information provided by a professional to determine if a verification seal is warranted. As in the U.S., these credentials typically need to be renewed periodically; Psychology Today will re-verify the professional’s credential whenever it expires and is renewed.