To pass the Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP) you need help, a strategy. You can’t just walk into a test center, sit down, and pass this exam without preparing.
How important is the EPPP?
The EPPP is one of the most important tests a psychologist will sit for.
It doesn’t matter how well you did in your graduate school classes. It doesn’t matter how well you did on the comprehensive exams. Or how brilliant his thesis defense was. Or how many journals accepted papers based on his dissertation. You may have been the star in your internship. Your internship director may have featured you as the model intern. However, despite everything…
If you don’t pass the EPPP…
If you do not pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, you will have very limited practice opportunities in the US or Canada. Practically, you will not be able to practice anywhere without passing it. At least not in any state or province that has a psychology board that is a member of the Association of State and Provincial Boards of Psychology (ASPPB). The only exceptions to the requirement to pass this exam are Prince Edward Island and Quebec. However, even Quebec requires applicants from outside the province to pass the exam before they are allowed to practice.
The list of professional activities that restrict you when you do not have a license is long: You cannot have private patients. You can’t get reimbursed from the insurance company. You may not print “Licensed Psychologist” on your business cards. Many employers require you to have a license. Basically, if you can’t pass the EPPP, you will have wasted years of graduate school and thousands of dollars in education, and all the sacrifices you made.
The EPPP defined
The EPPP is the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. Any psychologist who wants to hang out in any state in the US or almost any province in Canada must successfully complete it.
Who does the EPPP?
An organization in Montgomery, AL creates and markets the EPPP to state and provincial psychology boards.
Content of the EPPP
The EPPP contains these 8 domains: Ethical, legal and professional aspects, Treatment, intervention and prevention, Social and multicultural bases of behaviour, Biological bases of behaviour, Assessment and diagnosis, Cognitive-affective bases of behaviour, Research methods and statistics, and Growth and development throughout life.
PPE Administration
The EPPP is made up of two hundred twenty-five multiple-choice questions. The examinee has exactly four hours and fifteen minutes to finish the exam.
The exam is administered by computer. The examinee locates and reports for the exam at a Prometric testing center.
It’s natural to assume that having earned a Ph.D. or PsyD in psychology, passed an accredited graduate program in psychology, completed an internship, and defended a dissertation or research project, you’ll be able to easily pass the exam. Or maybe pass it with a little refresher. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Why the EPPP questions are difficult
In the EPPP, examinees must choose the “best” answer, not necessarily the “correct” one. The wording is often reversed. Questions can specify “all are true except” or “all are false except”. Discerning small differences between the answers on this psychology test can be very challenging.
The exam questions require that you not only be familiar with each of the eight domains, but also demonstrate the application of that knowledge.
It is unrealistic to believe that you can minimally prepare for the EPPP, or prepare in the same way that you have in the past for the exams. It is also unrealistic to minimally prepare and simply plan to continually retake the test until you pass the test. There are many reasons for this.
EPPP Registration Expenses
One of the reasons why further testing is unrealistic is the high cost. Each EPPP administration costs you $450. Each session at the Prometric Test Center to take the psychology exam costs $68.
State and provincial psychology boards require payment of administrative and licensing fees before you are allowed to take the exam. You must obtain an Examination Clearance letter from your psychology board before the ASPPB will allow you to register for the psychology examination. Psychology board costs related to licensing and taking the exam, depending on where you live, can run upwards of a thousand dollars.
How many times can I take the EPPP?
Another reason why it is unrealistic to take the EPPP repeatedly is that there are limitations on how many times you can take it. The ASPPB restricts you to taking the test four times a year, while your local psychology board may restrict you further. After a certain number of unsuccessful attempts at the practice psychology exam, many psychology boards require you to convince them why you should be allowed to try to pass the exam again. Before you can take the exam again, the psychology board may require you to do additional class work, gain more experience, or undergo supervision (for example).
All of these additional requirements can significantly increase the time it takes for you to pass the EPPP.
Financial costs of re-testing in the EPPP
EPPP recoveries are not free. You must pay the full fee to ASPPB ($450) and Prometric ($68) each time you sit for the exam. Your psychology board will also charge you additional administrative fees to reapply for another authorization letter to retake the test. In total, the process of taking and passing this test is quite expensive.
How to pass the EPPP
So, in short, passing the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology is a difficult task that requires special preparation. However, help is available. Websites, such as How to Pass the EPPP Without Even Trying! They exist to facilitate the process. With careful preparation, an understanding of the exam structure, appropriate exam study materials, and EPPP-specific exam-taking strategies, you can and will pass the exam.