Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Senate BillNo. 1012


Introduced by Senator Wyland

February 13, 2014


An act to amend Section 4980.43 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to marriage and family therapists.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1012, as amended, Wyland. Marriage and family therapists: trainees.

Existing law, the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, provides for the licensure or registration of and regulation of marriage and family therapists and interns by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law imposes, as part of the licensure prerequisites for marriage and family therapists, certain supervised-experience requirements whereby a prospective licensee is required to work a specified number of hours in a clinical setting under the supervision of experienced professionals. Existing law requires an individual supervised after being granted a qualifying degree to receive at least one additional hour of direct supervisor contact for every week in which more than 10 hours of client contact is gained in each setting, provided however, that no more than 5 hours of supervision shall be credited during any single week.

This bill wouldbegin delete remove the restriction that prohibitsend deletebegin insert instead allowend insert an individual with a qualifying degreebegin delete from beingend deletebegin insert to beend insert credited with no more thanbegin delete 5end deletebegin insert 6end insert hours of supervision during any single week.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 4980.43 of the Business and Professions
2Code
is amended to read:

3

4980.43.  

(a) Prior to applying for licensure examinations, each
4applicant shall complete experience that shall comply with the
5following:

6(1) A minimum of 3,000 hours completed during a period of at
7least 104 weeks.

8(2) Not more than 40 hours in any seven consecutive days.

9(3) Not less than 1,700 hours of supervised experience
10completed subsequent to the granting of the qualifying master’s
11or doctoral degree.

12(4) Not more than 1,300 hours of supervised experience obtained
13prior to completing a master’s or doctoral degree.

14The applicant shall not be credited with more than 750 hours of
15counseling and direct supervisor contact prior to completing the
16master’s or doctoral degree.

17(5) No hours of experience may be gained prior to completing
18either 12 semester units or 18 quarter units of graduate instruction
19and becoming a trainee except for personal psychotherapy.

20(6) No hours of experience may be gained more than six years
21prior to the date the application for examination eligibility was
22filed, except that up to 500 hours of clinical experience gained in
23the supervised practicum required by subdivision (c) of Section
244980.37 and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d)
25of Section 4980.36 shall be exempt from this six-year requirement.

26(7) Not more than a combined total of 1,000 hours of experience
27in the following:

28(A) Direct supervisor contact.

29(B) Professional enrichment activities. For purposes of this
30chapter, “professional enrichment activities” include the following:

31(i) Workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences
32directly related to marriage and family therapy attended by the
33applicant that are approved by the applicant’s supervisor. An
34applicant shall have no more than 250 hours of verified attendance
35at these workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences.

36(ii) Participation by the applicant in personal psychotherapy,
37which includes group, marital or conjoint, family, or individual
38psychotherapy by an appropriately licensed professional. An
P3    1applicant shall have no more than 100 hours of participation in
2personal psychotherapy. The applicant shall be credited with three
3hours of experience for each hour of personal psychotherapy.

4(8) Not more than 500 hours of experience providing group
5therapy or group counseling.

6(9) For all hours gained on or after January 1, 2012, not more
7than 500 hours of experience in the following:

8(A) Experience administering and evaluating psychological
9tests, writing clinical reports, writing progress notes, or writing
10process notes.

11(B) Client centered advocacy.

12(10) Not less than 500 total hours of experience in diagnosing
13and treating couples, families, and children. For up to 150 hours
14of treating couples and families in conjoint therapy, the applicant
15shall be credited with two hours of experience for each hour of
16therapy provided.

17(11) Not more than 375 hours of experience providing personal
18psychotherapy, crisis counseling, or other counseling services via
19telehealth in accordance with Section 2290.5.

20(12) It is anticipated and encouraged that hours of experience
21will include working with elders and dependent adults who have
22physical or mental limitations that restrict their ability to carry out
23normal activities or protect their rights.

24This subdivision shall only apply to hours gained on and after
25January 1, 2010.

26(b) All applicants, trainees, and registrants shall be at all times
27under the supervision of a supervisor who shall be responsible for
28ensuring that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling performed
29is consistent with the training and experience of the person being
30supervised, and who shall be responsible to the board for
31compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the
32practice of marriage and family therapy. Supervised experience
33shall be gained by interns and trainees only as an employee or as
34a volunteer. The requirements of this chapter regarding gaining
35hours of experience and supervision are applicable equally to
36employees and volunteers. Experience shall not be gained by
37interns or trainees as an independent contractor.

38(1) If employed, an intern shall provide the board with copies
39of the corresponding W-2 tax forms for each year of experience
40claimed upon application for licensure.

P4    1(2) If volunteering, an intern shall provide the board with a letter
2from his or her employer verifying the intern’s employment as a
3volunteer upon application for licensure.

4(c) Except for experience gained pursuant to subparagraph (B)
5of paragraph (7) of subdivision (a), supervision shall include at
6least one hour of direct supervisor contact in each week for which
7experience is credited in each work setting, as specified:

8(1) A trainee shall receive an average of at least one hour of
9direct supervisor contact for every five hours of client contact in
10each setting.

11(2) An individual supervised after being granted a qualifying
12degree shall receive at least one additional hour of direct supervisor
13contact for every week in which more than 10 hours of client
14contact is gained in each setting.begin insert No more than six hours of
15supervision, whether individual or group, shall be credited during
16any single week.end insert

17(3) For purposes of this section, “one hour of direct supervisor
18contact” means one hour per week of face-to-face contact on an
19individual basis or two hours per week of face-to-face contact in
20a group.

21(4) Direct supervisor contact shall occur within the same week
22as the hours claimed.

23(5) Direct supervisor contact provided in a group shall be
24provided in a group of not more than eight supervisees and in
25segments lasting no less than one continuous hour.

26(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), an intern working in a
27governmental entity, a school, a college, or a university, or an
28institution that is both nonprofit and charitable may obtain the
29required weekly direct supervisor contact via two-way, real-time
30videoconferencing. The supervisor shall be responsible for ensuring
31that client confidentiality is upheld.

32(7) All experience gained by a trainee shall be monitored by the
33supervisor as specified by regulation.

34(d) (1) A trainee may be credited with supervised experience
35completed in any setting that meets all of the following:

36(A) Lawfully and regularly provides mental health counseling
37or psychotherapy.

38(B) Provides oversight to ensure that the trainee’s work at the
39setting meets the experience and supervision requirements set forth
P5    1in this chapter and is within the scope of practice for the profession
2as defined in Section 4980.02.

3(C) Is not a private practice owned by a licensed marriage and
4family therapist, a licensed psychologist, a licensed clinical social
5worker, a licensed physician and surgeon, or a professional
6corporation of any of those licensed professions.

7(2) Experience may be gained by the trainee solely as part of
8the position for which the trainee volunteers or is employed.

9(e) (1) An intern may be credited with supervised experience
10completed in any setting that meets both of the following:

11(A) Lawfully and regularly provides mental health counseling
12or psychotherapy.

13(B) Provides oversight to ensure that the intern’s work at the
14setting meets the experience and supervision requirements set forth
15in this chapter and is within the scope of practice for the profession
16as defined in Section 4980.02.

17(2) An applicant shall not be employed or volunteer in a private
18practice, as defined in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of
19subdivision (d), until registered as an intern.

20(3) While an intern may be either a paid employee or a
21volunteer, employers are encouraged to provide fair remuneration
22to interns.

23(4) Except for periods of time during a supervisor’s vacation or
24sick leave, an intern who is employed or volunteering in private
25practice shall be under the direct supervision of a licensee that has
26satisfied the requirements of subdivision (g) of Section 4980.03.
27The supervising licensee shall either be employed by and practice
28at the same site as the intern’s employer, or shall be an owner or
29shareholder of the private practice. Alternative supervision may
30be arranged during a supervisor’s vacation or sick leave if the
31supervision meets the requirements of this section.

32(5) Experience may be gained by the intern solely as part of the
33position for which the intern volunteers or is employed.

34(f) Except as provided in subdivision (g), all persons shall
35register with the board as an intern in order to be credited for
36postdegree hours of supervised experience gained toward licensure.

37(g) Except when employed in a private practice setting, all
38postdegree hours of experience shall be credited toward licensure
39so long as the applicant applies for the intern registration within
P6    190 days of the granting of the qualifying master’s or doctoral
2degree and is thereafter granted the intern registration by the board.

3(h) Trainees, interns, and applicants shall not receive any
4 remuneration from patients or clients, and shall only be paid by
5their employers.

6(i) Trainees, interns, and applicants shall only perform services
7at the place where their employers regularly conduct business,
8which may include performing services at other locations, so long
9as the services are performed under the direction and control of
10their employer and supervisor, and in compliance with the laws
11and regulations pertaining to supervision. Trainees and interns
12shall have no proprietary interest in their employers’ businesses
13and shall not lease or rent space, pay for furnishings, equipment,
14or supplies, or in any other way pay for the obligations of their
15employers.

16(j) Trainees, interns, or applicants who provide volunteered
17services or other services, and who receive no more than a total,
18from all work settings, of five hundred dollars ($500) per month
19as reimbursement for expenses actually incurred by those trainees,
20interns, or applicants for services rendered in any lawful work
21setting other than a private practice shall be considered an
22employee and not an independent contractor. The board may audit
23applicants who receive reimbursement for expenses, and the
24applicants shall have the burden of demonstrating that the payments
25received were for reimbursement of expenses actually incurred.

26(k) Each educational institution preparing applicants for
27licensure pursuant to this chapter shall consider requiring, and
28shall encourage, its students to undergo individual, marital or
29conjoint, family, or group counseling or psychotherapy, as
30appropriate. Each supervisor shall consider, advise, and encourage
31his or her interns and trainees regarding the advisability of
32undertaking individual, marital or conjoint, family, or group
33counseling or psychotherapy, as appropriate. Insofar as it is deemed
34appropriate and is desired by the applicant, the educational
35institution and supervisors are encouraged to assist the applicant
36in locating that counseling or psychotherapy at a reasonable cost.



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