Amended in Assembly August 7, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 11, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 9, 2014

Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1012

Introduced by Senator Wyland

February 13, 2014

An act to amend Sections 4980.43 and 4999.46 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1012, as amended, Wyland. Healing arts: licensure requirements.

Existing law, the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Act, provides for the licensure or registration and regulation of marriage and family therapists and interns by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law requires each applicant for licensure to complete a certain number of hours of experience prior to applying for licensure. Existing law provides that the provision only applies to hours of experience gained on and after January 1, 2010.

Existing law also 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 a trainee to receive at least one hour of direct supervisor contact for every 5 hours of client contact in each setting. 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 are credited during any single week.

This bill would instead allow a trainee or an individual with a qualifying degree to be credited with no more than 6 hours of supervision during any single week for supervision hours gained on or after January 1, 2009.

begin insert

Existing law establishes certain criteria for the settings in which supervision hours may be credited to a trainee, including, among other things, a prohibition against settings that are private practices owned by a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed physician and surgeon, or a professional corporation of any of those licensed professions.

end insert begin insert

The bill would also include a private practice owned by a licensed professional clinical counselor in the list of prohibited settings described above.

end insert

Existing law, the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of licensed professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law sets forth the number of hours of experience required for licensure, including supervised clinical mental health experience related to the practice of professional counseling. Existing law provides that no more than 5 hours of supervision may be credited during any single week.

This bill would instead allow no more than 6 hours of supervision to be credited during any single week for supervision hours gained on or after January 1, 2009.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

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

4980.43.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(6) No hours of experience may be gained more than six years
prior to the date the application for examination eligibility was
filed, except that up to 500 hours of clinical experience gained in
the supervised practicum required by subdivision (c) of Section
4980.37 and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d)
of Section 4980.36 shall be exempt from this six-year requirement.

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

(A) Direct supervisor contact.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(B) Client centered advocacy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(1) A trainee shall receive an average of at least one hour of
direct supervisor contact for every five hours of client contact in
each setting. No more than six hours of supervision, whether
individual or group, shall be credited during any single week.

(2) An individual supervised after being granted a qualifying
degree shall 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. No more than six hours of
supervision, whether individual or group, shall be credited during
any single week.

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

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

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

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

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

(8) The six hours of supervision that may be credited during
any single week pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to
supervision hours gained on or after January 1, 2009.

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

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

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

(C) Is not a private practice owned by a licensed marriage and
family therapist, begin insert a licensed professional clinical counselor, end insert a
licensed psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed
physician and surgeon, or a professional corporation of any of
those licensed professions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEC. 2.  

Section 4999.46 of the Business and Professions Code,
as amended by Section 55 of Chapter 473 of the Statutes of 2013,
is amended to read:

4999.46.  

(a) To qualify for the licensure examinations specified
in subdivision (c) of Section 4999.52, applicants shall complete
clinical mental health experience under the general supervision of
an approved supervisor as defined in Section 4999.12.

(b) The experience shall include a minimum of 3,000 postdegree
hours of supervised clinical mental health experience related to
the practice of professional clinical counseling, performed over a
period of not less than two years (104 weeks), which shall include:

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

(2) Not less than 1,750 hours of direct counseling with
individuals, groups, couples, or families in a setting described in
Section 4999.44 using a variety of psychotherapeutic techniques
and recognized counseling interventions within the scope of
practice of licensed professional clinical counselors.

(3) Not more than 500 hours of experience providing group
therapy or group counseling.

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

(5) Not less than 150 hours of clinical experience in a hospital
or community mental health setting, as defined in Section 1820 of
Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations.

(6) Not more than a combined total of 1,250 hours of experience
in the following related activities:

(A) Direct supervisor contact.

(B) Client centered advocacy.

(C) Not more than 250 hours of experience administering tests
and evaluating psychological tests of clients, writing clinical
reports, writing progress notes, or writing process notes.

(D) Not more than 250 hours of verified attendance at
workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences directly
related to professional clinical counseling that are approved by the
applicant’s supervisor.

(c) No hours of clinical mental health experience may be gained
more than six years prior to the date the application for examination
eligibility was filed.

(d) An applicant shall register with the board as an intern in
order to be credited for postdegree hours of experience toward
licensure. Postdegree hours of experience shall be credited toward
licensure, provided that the applicant applies for intern registration
within 90 days of the granting of the qualifying degree and is
registered as an intern by the board.

(e) All applicants and interns shall be at all times under the
supervision of a supervisor who shall be responsible for ensuring
that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling performed is
consistent with the training and experience of the person being
supervised, and who shall be responsible to the board for
compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the
practice of professional clinical counseling.

(f) Experience obtained under the supervision of a spouse or
relative by blood or marriage shall not be credited toward the
required hours of supervised experience. Experience obtained
under the supervision of a supervisor with whom the applicant has
had or currently has a personal, professional, or business
relationship that undermines the authority or effectiveness of the
supervision shall not be credited toward the required hours of
supervised experience.

(g) Except for experience gained pursuant to subparagraph (D)
of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b), supervision shall include at
least one hour of direct supervisor contact in each week for which
experience is credited in each work setting.

(1) No more than six hours of supervision, whether individual
or group, shall be credited during any single week. This paragraph
shall apply to supervision hours gained on or after January 1, 2009.

(2) An intern shall receive at least one additional hour of direct
supervisor contact for every week in which more than 10 hours of
face-to-face psychotherapy is performed in each setting in which
experience is gained.

(3) For purposes of this section, “one hour of direct supervisor
contact” means one hour of face-to-face contact on an individual
basis or two hours of face-to-face contact in a group of not more
than eight persons in segments lasting no less than one continuous
hour.

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

(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4999.46 of the Business and Professions Code,
as amended by Section 56 of Chapter 473 of the Statutes of 2013,
is amended to read:

4999.46.  

(a) To qualify for the licensure examination specified
by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4999.53, applicants
shall complete clinical mental health experience under the general
supervision of an approved supervisor as defined in Section
4999.12.

(b) The experience shall include a minimum of 3,000 postdegree
hours of supervised clinical mental health experience related to
the practice of professional clinical counseling, performed over a
period of not less than two years (104 weeks), which shall include:

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

(2) Not less than 1,750 hours of direct counseling with
individuals, groups, couples, or families in a setting described in
Section 4999.44 using a variety of psychotherapeutic techniques
and recognized counseling interventions within the scope of
practice of licensed professional clinical counselors.

(3) Not more than 500 hours of experience providing group
therapy or group counseling.

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

(5) Not less than 150 hours of clinical experience in a hospital
or community mental health setting, as defined in Section 1820 of
Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations.

(6) Not more than a combined total of 1,250 hours of experience
in the following related activities:

(A) Direct supervisor contact.

(B) Client centered advocacy.

(C) Not more than 250 hours of experience administering tests
and evaluating psychological tests of clients, writing clinical
reports, writing progress notes, or writing process notes.

(D) Not more than 250 hours of verified attendance at
workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences directly
related to professional clinical counseling that are approved by the
applicant’s supervisor.

(c) No hours of clinical mental health experience may be gained
more than six years prior to the date the application for examination
eligibility was filed.

(d) An applicant shall register with the board as an intern in
order to be credited for postdegree hours of experience toward
licensure. Postdegree hours of experience shall be credited toward
licensure, provided that the applicant applies for intern registration
within 90 days of the granting of the qualifying degree and is
registered as an intern by the board.

(e) All applicants and interns shall be at all times under the
supervision of a supervisor who shall be responsible for ensuring
that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling performed is
consistent with the training and experience of the person being
supervised, and who shall be responsible to the board for
compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the
practice of professional clinical counseling.

(f) Experience obtained under the supervision of a spouse or
relative by blood or marriage shall not be credited toward the
required hours of supervised experience. Experience obtained
under the supervision of a supervisor with whom the applicant has
had or currently has a personal, professional, or business
relationship that undermines the authority or effectiveness of the
supervision shall not be credited toward the required hours of
supervised experience.

(g) Except for experience gained pursuant to subparagraph (D)
of paragraph (6) of subdivision (b), supervision shall include at
least one hour of direct supervisor contact in each week for which
experience is credited in each work setting.

(1) No more than six hours of supervision, whether individual
or group, shall be credited during any single week. This paragraph
shall apply to supervision hours gained on or after January 1, 2009.

(2) An intern shall receive at least one additional hour of direct
supervisor contact for every week in which more than 10 hours of
face-to-face psychotherapy is performed in each setting in which
experience is gained.

(3) For purposes of this section, “one hour of direct supervisor
contact” means one hour of face-to-face contact on an individual
basis or two hours of face-to-face contact in a group of not more
than eight persons in segments lasting no less than one continuous
hour.

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

(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.