The Professionalization of Psychology in the Philippines

Since the late 1970’s, the pervading legislative bodies in the Philippines have been debating the professionalization of the practice of psychology in the Philippines. It has been a long and arduous journey because on March 16, 2010, Republic Act No. 10029 was signed into law by the president of the Philippines. Known as the Philippine Psychology Act of 2009, this law recognizes the practice of psychology in the republic, legalizing both Psychologists and Psychometricians as professions. (To view the law in its entirety, see http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2010/ra_10029_2010.html)


The law defines what it refers to as the “practice of psychology” as the “delivery of psychological services that involve the application of psychological principles and procedures for the purpose of describing, understanding, predicting and influencing the behavior of individuals or groups, in order to assist in the attainment of optimal human growth and functioning (Article III, Section 3 (b)).” These services include a range of work that covers assessment procedures, interventions, and program development and evaluation. These services can be administered to individuals, couples, or groups of people.


So, in what ways does this law make any difference in the practice of psychology in the Philippines? For me, there are essentially four areas that are clearly addressed by professionalizing the practice of psychology, and they are as follows:
1. Legitimizing the practice of psychology. The law legitimizes the practice of psychology in the Philippines. It acknowledges the profession of psychologists and psychometricians.
2. Establishing minimum competencies. A minimum standard in the practice of the profession is established. Apart from academic achievement, licensure also requires passing qualifying national examinations. After receiving licensure, continuing education will also be required, which will ensure that those practicing continue to grow and develop professionally.
3. Defined ethical professional behavior. The profession will be regulated, and a code of ethics common to everyone will be followed. This ensures that people who practice psychology are legally bound to follow the same rules that guide ethical and professional conduct.
4. Guaranteed privacy for clients. Legal rights to privileged communication with psychologists and psychometricians are guaranteed. This protects the privacy of clients seeking the services of psychologists and psychometricians. Simply put, what a client shares to his/her psychologist or psychometrician is private and is inadmissible in court proceedings unless there is informed consent to release such information.

In order to qualify in taking the licensure examinations as a Psychologist, the applicant must have at least a Master’s degree in the field of psychology and 200 hours of supervised clinical experience. And for Psychometricians, the requirement is a bachelor’s degree in psychology. By definition, a Psychometrician can only work under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist.

The law stipulates that the professional regulatory board will be convened 60 days from the signing of the law. This board comprises a chairperson and 2 members, who will be appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of nominees proposed by the national organization of psychologists, which is presumably the Psychological Association of the Philippines (also known as the PAP, see http://www.pap.org.ph/).