Sheehan also noted that two-thirds of the industry are women, with many leaving the workforce in 2020 to take on childcare during the pandemic, when school closures were more common. Removing the financial barrier of paying off student loans can get many out of banking and back into the job market, she said.
“We have a lot of MSWs (masters of social work) and masters of psychology (masters of psychology) that are not in the market right now that may be intrigued to come back with the loan repayment program,” Sheehan said.
Garrett said the organization is seeing fewer and fewer applicants, despite an increase in advertising for job openings and higher salaries. CNS has also added more paid vacations, more flexible hours and has added to its benefits package.
“I don’t have an answer,” Garrett said. “I’m not sure where all the workers have gone.”
Complicating Michigan’s mental health sector is the introduction of a new test requirement for certification of psychologists with a master’s degree that has driven at least some out of the field.
Many master’s-level psychologists, who must work under the direction of a doctoral-level psychologist and are most often found in school and nonprofit settings, were operating under a temporary limited license in psychology and could renew that license. license in perpetuity. Under the new certification requirement, those with a TLLP must now take and pass the psychology professional practice exam within 18 months of receiving their temporary license and achieve a score of 450. Doctoral-level psychologists they must pass with 500 or more.
Lawmakers adopted the test rule in 2010, but the state did not cap the TLLP renewal limit in 2018.
Rhonda Ravenell worked as a school psychologist at Detroit Public Schools and Wayne County Public Schools before her TLLP expired in September 2020. She failed the new certification test and was forced to quit her job and move to Virginia as a counselor, where her education is acceptable in public schools
“The test went way beyond what I learned in school,” Ravenell told Crain’s late last year. “I was devastated. I loved working with children and my supervisors were always impressed with my work. I’m not interested in being a researcher or a doctor and most of us don’t need that training. But the state took my career away.”
But Kristen Abraham, director of the master’s program in clinical psychology at the University of Detroit Mercy, said the exam is in line with most other states and those who couldn’t pass the exam had plenty of time to adjust to the new requirement. .
“Anyone who’s gotten a master’s degree since 2010 should have known that,” Abraham said. “This should come as no surprise to anyone 11 years later. I don’t think test failure is a widespread problem, and the job of the licensing board is to protect patients. I think testing is a totally defensible move.” tool for the state to use.
It’s unclear if the exam has caused further shortages in the field, but shortages abound nonetheless.
