International Declaration on Core Competences in Professional Psychology

This International Declaration of Core Competences in Professional Psychology seeks to identify a set of internationally recognized and endorsed competences that can serve as the foundation for a coherent global professional identity and possibly an international recognition system for:

• equating professional preparation systems,
• program accreditation,
• professional credentialing,
• and regulation of professional competence and conduct.

The rationale and methods used to develop the Declaration are described in this Introduction, while the uses, need for local adaptation, and potential impact are described in the Preamble.

“Competence” was the theme selected by the Organizing Committee in planning the 5th International Congress on Licensure, Certification and Credentialing (Stockholm, July 2013). The Congress aimed to start a process:

“To promote the development of a global agreement on identifying the benchmark competencies that define professional psychology.”

This Congress was by invitation only:

• 150 invitations were issued
• 75 participants from 18 countries and 5 continents attended
• International associations represented included:
• International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)
• International Test Commission (ITC)
• International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS)

The Congress operated as a series of small group workshops interspersed with plenary sessions.

Adopted by:

• International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) – *15 June 2016*
• International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) – *25 July 2016*

Prior to the Congress:

• A “Foundation Document”, a “Statement”, and documentation on existing competence models were shared.
• A draft summary competence model was developed via content analysis of national models.

This summary model formed the basis of the final *International Declaration on Core Competences in Professional Psychology* (the Declaration). Access the documents: IPCP Website

The Congress resulted in the establishment of The International Project on Competence in Psychology (IPCP). Participants agreed to move beyond national differences and explore shared values and understandings.

Work Group Members came from:

• Norway, UK, Romania, South Africa, China, New Zealand, Colombia, Canada, and USA

Reference Group:

• 275 members from 77 countries

The Work Group:

• Held 5 multi-day meetings
• Published 3 Progress Reports shared for feedback
• Held open discussions at:
  • ICAP2014 (Paris)
  • ECP2015 (Milan)
  • Regional conferences: Kampala, Durban, Armenia-Colombia, and Beirut

The final consultations (Dec 2015) invited feedback from national and international associations — especially IAAP and IUPsyS.

The Declaration contains four parts:

• Introduction – development history and process
• Glossary of Terms – clarifies terminology
• Preamble – describes scope, purpose, and use
• Core Competences – outlines actual competences

Note:
The Declaration is *not a standard* and has no formal authority. It provides a framework for use, adaptation, and development of local education, accreditation, or certification practices.

Organizations are encouraged to endorse and integrate this Declaration into their systems to promote global coherence in professional psychology.