Accreditation of Master's Programs in Health Service Psychology

In 2018, after nearly 70 years of debate about the education and training and scope of practice of individuals with master's degrees in health service psychology (HSP; i.e., clinical, counseling, school) the American Psychological Association (APA) agreed to pursue accreditation of master's programs in LISP. Key events in the history of discourse about master's education and training in HSP will be described to better understand the complexity behind the decision to pursue master's program accreditation. In the absence of APA having established an accreditation system for psychology master's programs other systems will be described that have been developed to accredit/approve clinical. counseling, and school psychology programs. These accrediting organizations will be articulated in the context of structures that regulate postsecondary education in the United States and support quality education and training. Finally, a description of steps moving forward will be provided and implications for education and training.