Why history matters: the critical importance of the 1998 ‘Houston Conference Guidelines’ for clinical neuropsychology training as a subspecialty

The historical underpinnings of the Houston Conference Guidelines (HCG) specifying educational, supervision, and training standards for clinical neuropsychology are reviewed from a personal perspective. This viewpoint comes from developing and directing doctoral and post-doctoral level training programs in clinical neuropsychology that followed the HCG at two major universities from 1977 to 2018, directly observing the importance of such specialization training for the field of clinical neuropsychology. The criteria outlined in the original HCG have proven their importance and the test of time for creating the structure that defines the clinical neuropsychology discipline, including who can designate their training as meeting these defining criteria for the practice of clinical neuropsychology. Through the lens of history, the rationale is outlined as to why these standards need to remain as originally specified in the HCG document.