The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. (ABPN) is a nonprofit corporation that was founded in 1934 following conferences of committees appointed by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Neurological Association, and the then Section on Nervous and Mental Diseases of the American Medical Association. This action was taken as a method of identifying the qualified specialists in psychiatry and neurology.
View this chart to learn how the Board is affiliated with other educational, medical and professional organizations. Learn more about how the ABPN defines board-certified psychiatrists, neurologists and child neurologists on the General Public FAQs.
The ABPN is one of 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Since 1935, when its first examination was delivered, the ABPN has been serving the public interest and promoting excellence in the practices of psychiatry and neurology through its certification and maintenance of certification processes. These processes are designed to identify qualified specialists through rigorous credential and training requirements and successful completion of board examinations for psychiatry, neurology, or neurology with special qualification in child neurology. ABPN committees are dedicated to developing exams that assess the current scientific knowledge and clinical expertise of physicians in order for them to achieve and maintain Board certification.
Additionally, over the past several decades, the ABPN (sometimes in collaboration with other member boards) has sought from the ABMS and gained approval for recognition of 15 subspecialties, as listed below:
ABMS Approval
First Examination
Subspecialty
*
1959
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
1989
1991
Geriatric Psychiatry
1990
1992
Clinical Neurophysiology
1991
1993
Addiction Psychiatry
1992
1994
Forensic Psychiatry
1998
2000
Pain Medicine
1999
2001
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
2003
2005
Psychosomatic Medicine
2003
2005
Vascular Neurology
2005
2008
Neuromuscular Medicine
2005
2007
Sleep Medicine
2006
2008
Hospice and Palliative Medicine
2011
2013
Epilepsy
2011
2014
Brain Injury Medicine
2018
2021
Neurocritical Care
*Certificates were issued prior to 1972 when ABMS recognition procedures were established.
As mandated by the ABMS, the ABPN continues making progress in the development of its Continuing Certification (CC) Program. CC programs are designed to help assure the public that our diplomates practice their specialties to the highest standards through four measurable components: professional standing, self-assessment and lifelong learning, assessment of knowledge, judgment and skills, and improvement in medical practice.
ABPN
