Building a Career in Police & Public Safety Psychology
Presented by: Heather McElroy, PhD, ABPP
1 Hour / 1 CE
On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training
This on-demand professional training program on Building a Career in Police & Public Safety Psychology is presented by Heather McElroy, PhD, ABPP.
The American Board of Professional Psychology recognizes police and public safety psychology as a specialty area of psychological practice. This program provides an overview of the specialty area of psychology, describing its key domains, including assessment, operations, and consultation. Dr. Heather McElroy, a board-certified specialist in police and public safety psychology, built a career and a business in this specialty area of practice. She describes her career path from graduate school through board certification and the development of her own business. Learn about this niche area of practice and how you can prepare to become a specialist in this increasingly-needed domain.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- 1 Describe the steps involved in pursuing a career as a police and public safety psychologist
- 2 Identify 3 different domains of police and public safety psychology and their primary components
- 3 Describe the relevant considerations for this specialty, including which organizations to join based on your specific interests
Presented By Heather McElroy, PhD, ABPP
Heather McElroy, PhD., ABPP, Board Certified Police and Public Safety Psychologist
Dr. Heather McElroy is a Board Certified Police and Public Safety Psychologist with over 15 years of experience working exclusively with public safety agencies conducting psychological pre-employment screening, fitness for duty evaluations, critical incident debriefing, hostage negotiation, and wellness training. She has been POST certified as a Peace Officer since 2011, and she served as chair of the International Association of Chiefs Of Police Psychological Services Section. She is currently the Education Chair of the Police and Public Safety Section of the Public Service Division of the American Psychological Association and currently serves on the Ethics Committee of the IACP. She serves as a mentor in the early career minority police psychology mentorship group to encourage minority development into leadership positions within the field of police psychology. Her course instruction experience includes training for the National Internal Affairs Investigator’s Association, Georgia Internal Affairs Investigator’s Association, the Georgia Association of Chief’s of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. She has also published articles in Police Chief magazine related to psychological fitness for duty and co-authored a book chapter titled, Social Climate Change and the Modern Police Department: Millennials, Marijuana, and Mass Media.
Training Outline
Key topics covered in this training include:
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Describe Police and public safety psychology and provide an overview of some of the domains, including assessment, operations, and consultation.
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Dr. Heather McElroy, a board-certified specialist in police and public safety psychology, describes her career path from graduate school through board certification and the development of her own business.
We are proud to partner with
American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP)
We are proud to partner with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP) for this training. ABPPSP became a fully affiliated specialty board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) on October 21, 2011. Police and Public Safety Psychology is concerned with assisting law enforcement and other public safety personnel and agencies in carrying out their missions and societal functions with optimal effectiveness, safety, health, and conformity to laws and ethics. It consists of the application of the science and profession of psychology in four primary domains of practice: assessment, clinical intervention, operational support, and organizational consultation.
CE Sponsorship Information
Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here.
American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).
Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.