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by a licensed, experienced pshycologist
</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> Erm Sept? I know you've been around forever but Dr. Grohol is NOT licensed. Minor to some but rather important to others. I'll grant the experience but take exception to the license
Dr. John Grohol's Psych Central---Official Disclaimer </font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
I was trained and educated in graduate school as a clinical psychologist at Nova Southeastern University and have my doctorate in clinical psychology. I have worked at a VA, two community mental health centers, and a large university student counseling center doing therapy. I no longer do any sort of therapy, online or in real life, because I chose to pursue a career devoted to educating people about mental illness, the power of information online, online self-help groups and support, and professional development online.
I have never been licensed to practice (I did my clinical work over the course of four years while in graduate school), nor have I ever portrayed myself as having been licensed in any state, province, or country. All a license means is that a professional has had additional supervised clinical experience (in most states, yet one more year), and has passed national and state licensing exams of questionable utility and validity (there are no empirical studies to support the validity of state licensing examinations in most states). The most valid aspect of licensing is the state examination, which ensures a practicing, licensed therapist is aware of all the laws which cover him or her in that specific state (e.g., reporting suicide attempts, child or elder abuse, etc.). The Internet, however, is global in nature. So knowing a single state's laws isn't going to be all that helpful in the long-run for online practice. Licensure is largely intended for professionals who practice or intend to practice; I do not. I develop, maintain, and present on international mental health information services and continuing education online.
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