Today@Sam Article

SHSU Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology Alumni Achieve National Recognition

Feb. 12, 2025
SHSU Media Contact: Mikah Boyd

By Mary Conroy

Since accepting its first student cohort in the late 1990s, the faculty of Sam Houston State University’s doctoral program in clinical psychology have made every effort to train the highest caliber of practicing clinicians, particularly in the area of forensic psychology—its traditional emphasis.

Both the program’s current and distal data have continued to demonstrate a march toward excellence. An indicator of this success is the notable achievements of four SHSU graduates during the most recent American Board of Forensic Psychology (ABFP) certification. The ABFP, a division of the American Board of Professional Psychology, conducted its semiannual final testing process for board certification in November 2024. At that time, the board examined 10 applicants and granted certification to six of them, including recent SHSU doctoral recipients Dana Formon, Jessica Hart, Laurel Mattos and Elise Yenne.

"This achievement is particularly special,” said Mary Alice Conroy, distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Psychological Services Center. “With candidates from across the country working toward this final board exam, four of the six new diplomates came from SHSU. I’m not sure if any other academic program has accomplished something like this."

Board certification is the highest academic distinction for which a practicing psychologist can strive, and can be awarded only to doctoral-level psychologists who are licensed to practice. It frequently requires applicants to work over approximately three years beyond licensure, pass a written examination, submit two work samples for board review and undergo a three-hour board examination by a panel from ABFP. In recent years the final pass rate has varied from 57% to 62%. 

"Becoming board certified is the culmination of a 10-year journey that started out at SHSU. My time at Sam laid a solid foundation of knowledge and skills. More importantly though, it provided me with an invaluable professional and personal community that has long outlasted my time in Huntsville,” Yenne said. “Going through the ABPP process was challenging, but having support and encouragement from my fellow SHSU alums made the process feel much less daunting and far more meaningful."

To put this achievement into perspective, there are over 106,000 licensed doctoral-level psychologists in the country, and only 352 have completed the entire board certification process to be certified by ABFP, placing the four SHSU diplomates among the elite in their field. 

They are now expected to serve as role models and mentors for the next generation of clinical forensic practitioners while also serving the courts and legal establishment with consultation and data from the scientific endeavors of the psychology field. Following this certification, they will join the other 13 SHSU psychology graduates who have achieved this distinction since the program began.    

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