Neurofeedback Certification by Prior Experience
NEUROFEEDBACK CERTIFICATION BY PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Overview of Clinical Neurofeedback Certification by Prior Experience
**ALL APPLICANTS FOR CERTIFICATION BY PRIOR EXPERIENCE MUST BE LICENSED**
Certification in neurofeedback is strictly limited to EEG biofeedback or brainwave training.
This opportunity is reserved for a select group of licensed health care professionals who can demonstrate extensive education and experience in neurofeedback and have served as leaders through their various contributions to the field. We recognize that these professionals have gone beyond the basics and should be expected to fulfill requirements that exceed our traditional entry-level certification process.
Upon completion of these requirements, you will earn the designation Board Certified in Neurofeedback or BCN™.
Requirements
Applications for BCIA Certification in Neurofeedback by Prior Experience are only for those who can demonstrate all the following:
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License/Credential for independent practice - A current license, issued by the state/region in which you practice, is required and must be from one of the following clinical health care fields: psychology; medicine; dentistry; nursing (RN); physical, respiratory, recreational, and occupational therapy; social work; counseling; rehabilitation; chiropractic; speech pathology; or sports medicine. It is up to each professional to understand how neurofeedback may be legally included as part of their professional work.
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Accredited post-professional education - A minimum of 100 hours is required with courses that completely cover the 36-hours of BCIA Blueprint of Knowledge statements, taken by a BCIA Accredited Didactic Training Program. The remaining 64 hours may be completed by taking courses at an accredited continuing education venue related to any blueprint area(s). We require that the majority of these hours be within the past 10 years. Accredited continuing education refers to: courses taken from regionally accredited academic institutions, courses accredited by the national body of a BCIA-accepted health care profession (e.g., APA, AMA), or workshops given at the following recognized organization’s annual meetings: AAPB, BFE, ANSA, and ISNR.
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3,000 patient hours using neurofeedback over at least 5 years - Highlight this work on your CV and submit a written statement of clinical practice documenting a minimum of 3,000 clinical hours of direct patient/client care over at least 5 years using neurofeedback to treat pre-diagnosed medical of psychological disorders. Please see sample statement. It is required that the majority of this work be done within the past 10 years. Your statement of clinical practice should include: timeframe using neurofeedback in your clinical practice, the diagnoses you treat, setting (private practice, hospital, etc.), and the approximate number of patient/clients in that time frame. Please refer to the samples of a written statement of practice and recommendation letter.
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Verification of Clinical Practice- Submit at least three letters from other professionals who have read and can verify your statement of clinical practice providing direct patient/client care using neurofeedback- assisted assessment and treatment procedures. It is strongly recommended that at least one letter should be from a BCIA certificant. Letters must be current and received by BCIA directly from the author, in hard copy with original signature. Please see the sample statement of clinical practice and sample recommendation letter for more information.
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Neuroanatomy, neurophysiology or physiological psychology coursework or other submission that demonstrates formally learning about the brain and the central nervous system as used in your specific neurofeedback applications.
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Mentoring with another professional for at least 25 contact hours that demonstrates a formal guidance in learning the application of clinical skills. This was to be accomplished when you were first learning to add this modality to your clinical work. Additional information regarding mentoring can be found in our Neurofeedback Mentoring Handbook.
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Validation Exam must be completed once your application has been accepted and approved. You will have 1-year to make arrangements to complete the validation exam. There is no expected pass score. We will use the information gathered on a "per item" basis to provide psychometric data.
Filing an Application
Candidates may file an application at any time during the certification process. The signature area includes your agreement to abide by the BCIA Professional Standards and Ethical Principles of Biofeedback and follow the appropriate rules and regulations of your profession and state. To be accepted, applications must include: the signature, proof of current license to practice in a health care field in accordance with BCIA standards, and payment appropriate fees.
Fees
Fees include $150 filing fee which must be paid at the time the application is submitted plus a $300 certification fee, a total of $450. The filing fee will be reduced to $50 if an applicant can document current enrollment in an advanced degree program at a regionally accredited academic institution in a BCIA-approved health care field. Total fees for current students in this category amount to $350. If this is your second BCIA certification (in addition to either BCIA Biofeedback or PMDB), the total fees for dual certification are $250 ($150 filing fee + $100 certification fee).
BCIA offers a structured fee schedule to suit the financial realities in different countries and regions. Please use this link to see if your country may use a different fee structure.
All fees are non-refundable and must be in US funds and paid by check, money order, or credit card.
Validation Exam for CPE Candidates in Neurofeedback
**YOU MUST HAVE A VALID APPLICATION ON FILE BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THE EXAM!**
The exam may be taken at any time after approval of your application; however, we recommend it as the last requirement in the certification process. The examination is offered in English only and is based on the Blueprint of Knowledge Statements. The exam consists of 100 multiple-choice items sourced from the Core Reading List. The number of exam items from a blueprint area correspond to the number of hours in that rubric; the smaller the rubric, the fewer questions will be in the exam from that content area. For more information, please refer to Neurofeedback Exam 101.
You must complete the exam; however, because you are considered an expert, we are not asking you to take the exam with an anticipated passing score. You are considered a validator and we are using your expertise to validate current and new exam items.
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Currently, the certification exam may be taken only using the online proctoring service who employs cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor exam security. For more information on how to plan for a special exam, please refer to Exam FAQ.
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Should you need additional time or special accommodation due to language or other circumstance, please contact the office at [email protected].
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Use the Exam Registration Form to register for the exam. **APPLICATION FOR EXAM AND ALL FEES MUST BE PAID AT LEAST 1 WEEK PRIOR TO PREFERRED EXAM DATE**
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What if I need to reschedule? You are required to contact both the proctoring service and BCIA to let us know of your change of plans. Once your situation is resolved, you must reconnect with the proctoring service to find a new date and send that information to BCIA to ensure that we will have the exam open on that date and time. Should cancellation become habitual, we will charge a $25 cancellation fee.
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Upon confirmation of observed cheating behavior, the candidate will be disqualified. The disqualified candidate will be so notified, and the respective score(s) disregarded. Readmission for examination will be considered after a period of two years when the candidate will have to reapply, pay all fees, and acceptance will be contingent upon review of credentials and requirements using criteria for admission applicable at the time of review.
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