STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8757--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
November 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DenDEKKER, FINCH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Higher Education -- recommitted to the Committee on High-
er Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requirements for
licensure of mental health practitioners and providing mental health
practitioners authority to give diagnosis
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 8401 of the education law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3 3. "Diagnosis" means the process of distinguishing, beyond a general
4 assessment, between similar mental, emotional, behavioral, developmental
5 and addictive disorders, impairments and disabilities within a psychoso-
6 cial framework on the basis of their similar and unique characteristics
7 consistent with accepted classification systems.
8 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 8402 of the education law, as added by
9 chapter 676 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
10 2. Practice of mental health counseling and use of the titles "mental
11 health counselor" and "licensed mental health counselor". (a) Only a
12 person licensed or exempt under this article shall practice mental
13 health counseling or use the title "mental health counselor". Only a
14 person licensed under this article shall use the title "licensed mental
15 health counselor" or any other designation tending to imply that the
16 person is licensed to practice mental health counseling.
17 (b) Mental health counselors who have obtained the diagnosis privilege
18 set forth in section eighty-four hundred two-a of this article may diag-
19 nose mental, emotional, behavioral, addictive and developmental disor-
20 ders and disabilities and of the psychosocial aspects of illness, inju-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11986-03-8
A. 8757--A 2
1 ry, disability and impairment undertaken within a psychosocial
2 framework.
3 § 3. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 3 of section 8402 of the
4 education law, paragraph (b) as added by chapter 676 of the laws of 2002
5 and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 130 of the laws of 2010, are
6 amended to read as follows:
7 (b) Education: Have received an education, including a master's or
8 higher degree in counseling from a program registered by the department
9 or determined by the department to be the substantial equivalent there-
10 of, which includes the completion of at least twelve credit hours of
11 clinical courses, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. A
12 person who has received a master's, or equivalent degree in counseling,
13 during which they did not complete all twelve credit hours of clinical
14 courses, may satisfy this requirement by completing any remaining equiv-
15 alent post-graduate clinical courses, in accordance with the commission-
16 er's regulations. The graduate coursework shall include, but not be
17 limited to, the following areas:
18 (i) human growth and development;
19 (ii) social and cultural foundations of counseling;
20 (iii) counseling theory and practice and psychopathology;
21 (iv) group dynamics;
22 (v) lifestyle and career development;
23 (vi) assessment and appraisal of individuals, couples and families and
24 groups;
25 (vii) research and program evaluation;
26 (viii) professional orientation and ethics;
27 (ix) foundations of mental health counseling and consultation;
28 (x) clinical instruction; and
29 (xi) completion of a minimum one year supervised internship or practi-
30 cum in mental health counseling;
31 (c) Experience: An applicant shall complete a minimum of three thou-
32 sand hours of post-master's supervised experience relevant to the prac-
33 tice of mental health counseling, two thousand hours of which shall
34 include diagnosis, psychotherapy, and assessment-based treatment plans,
35 satisfactory to the board and in accordance with the commissioner's
36 regulations. Satisfactory experience obtained in an entity operating
37 under a waiver issued by the department pursuant to section sixty-five
38 hundred three-a of this title may be accepted by the department,
39 notwithstanding that such experience may have been obtained prior to the
40 effective date of such section sixty-five hundred three-a and/or prior
41 to the entity having obtained a waiver. The department may, for good
42 cause shown, accept satisfactory experience that was obtained in a
43 setting that would have been eligible for a waiver but which has not
44 obtained a waiver from the department or experience that was obtained in
45 good faith by the applicant under the belief that appropriate authori-
46 zation had been obtained for the experience, provided that such experi-
47 ence meets all other requirements for acceptable experience;
48 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 8402-a to
49 read as follows:
50 § 8402-a. Diagnosis privilege. 1. Applicants licensed on January first
51 two thousand twenty-three or thereafter are authorized to diagnose, as
52 provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section eighty-four
53 hundred two of this article, and as defined in subdivision three of
54 section eighty-four hundred one of this article without meeting any
55 additional requirements.
A. 8757--A 3
1 2. Applicants for license as a mental health counselor who have been
2 issued a limited permit after successfully completing the requirements
3 of paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred two
4 of this article, which includes twelve credit hours of clinical courses,
5 are authorized to diagnose as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision
6 two of section eighty-four hundred two of this article, and as defined
7 in subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred one of this article,
8 while under supervision.
9 3. Those licensed prior to January first, two thousand twenty-three,
10 shall be granted the privilege to diagnose as provided in paragraph (b)
11 of subdivision two of section eighty-four hundred two of this article,
12 and as defined in subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred one
13 of this article, if the licensee fulfills the following requirements:
14 (a) Files an application with the department;
15 (b) Is licensed and registered as a mental health counselor; and:
16 (i) Provides verification of twelve credit hours of clinical course
17 work as defined by the department from a college or university accepta-
18 ble to the department; or
19 (ii) Provides verification of a minimum of two years of employment as
20 a licensed mental health counselor by a licensed supervisor or colleague
21 on forms acceptable to the department, in a program or service operated,
22 regulated, funded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the
23 office of children and family services, the office of temporary and
24 disability assistance, the department of corrections and community
25 supervision, the state office for the aging, the department of health,
26 or a local governmental unit as that term is defined in article forty-
27 one of the mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined
28 in section sixty-one of the social services law; or
29 (iii) Provides verification of being licensed as a licensed mental
30 health counselor for a minimum of two years; and
31 (1) Provides documentation of at least six credit hours of clinical
32 coursework as defined by the department from a college or university
33 acceptable to the department; or
34 (2) Provides documentation of at least twelve hours of continuing
35 education in clinical coursework subject to section eighty-four hundred
36 twelve-a of this article; and
37 (c) Pays a fee to the department of two hundred twenty dollars.
38 4. A privilege to diagnose issued under this section shall be valid
39 for the life of the holder, unless revoked, annulled, or suspended by
40 the board of regents. Such a privilege shall be subject to the same
41 oversight and disciplinary provisions as licenses issued under this
42 title.
43 § 5. Subdivision 2 of section 8405 of the education law, as added by
44 chapter 676 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
45 2. Practice of psychoanalysis and use of the titles "psychoanalyst"
46 and "licensed psychoanalyst". (a) Only a person licensed or exempt under
47 this article shall practice psychoanalysis or use the title "psychoana-
48 lyst". Only a person licensed under this article shall use the title
49 "licensed psychoanalyst" or any other designation tending to imply that
50 the person is licensed to practice psychoanalysis.
51 (b) Psychoanalysts who have obtained the diagnosis privilege as set
52 forth in section eighty-four hundred five-a of this article may diagnose
53 mental, emotional, behavioral, addictive and developmental disorders and
54 disabilities and of the psychosocial aspects of illness, injury, disa-
55 bility and impairment undertaken within a psychosocial framework.
A. 8757--A 4
1 § 6. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 3 of section 8405 of the
2 education law, paragraph (b) as added by chapter 676 of the laws of 2002
3 and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 130 of the laws of 2010, are
4 amended to read as follows:
5 (b) Education: Have received a master's degree or higher from a
6 degree-granting program registered by the department or the substantial
7 equivalent and have completed a program of study registered by the
8 department in a psychoanalytic institute chartered by the board of
9 regents or the substantial equivalent as determined by the department.
10 The program of study in a psychoanalytic institute shall include course-
11 work substantially equivalent to coursework required for a master's
12 degree in a health or mental health field of study and shall also
13 include the completion of at least twelve credit hours of clinical
14 courses. An individual who has completed a licensed psychoanalyst
15 program that did not include twelve credit hours of clinical courses may
16 satisfy this requirement by completing any remaining equivalent post-
17 graduate clinical courses, in accordance with the commissioner's regu-
18 lations. The coursework shall include, but not be limited to, the
19 following areas:
20 (i) personality development;
21 (ii) psychoanalytic theory of psychopathology;
22 (iii) psychoanalytic theory of psychodiagnosis;
23 (iv) sociocultural influence on growth and psychopathology;
24 (v) practice technique (including dreams and symbolic processes);
25 (vi) analysis of resistance, transference, and countertransference;
26 (vii) case seminars on clinical practice;
27 (viii) practice in psychopathology and psychodiagnosis;
28 (ix) professional ethics and psychoanalytic research methodology; and
29 (x) a minimum of three hundred hours of personal analysis and one
30 hundred fifty hours of supervised analysis;
31 (c) Experience: Have completed a minimum of [fifteen hundred] two
32 thousand hours of supervised clinical practice which shall include diag-
33 nosis, psychotherapy, and assessment-based treatment plans satisfactory
34 to the department and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
35 Satisfactory experience obtained in an entity operating under a waiver
36 issued by the department pursuant to section sixty-five hundred three-a
37 of this title may be accepted by the department, notwithstanding that
38 such experience may have been obtained prior to the effective date of
39 such section sixty-five hundred three-a and/or prior to the entity
40 having obtained a waiver. The department may, for good cause shown,
41 accept satisfactory experience that was obtained in a setting that would
42 have been eligible for a waiver but which has not obtained a waiver from
43 the department or experience that was obtained in good faith by the
44 applicant under the belief that appropriate authorization had been
45 obtained for the experience, provided that such experience meets all
46 other requirements for acceptable experience;
47 § 7. The education law is amended by adding a new section 8405-a to
48 read as follows:
49 § 8405-a. Diagnosis privilege. 1. Applicants licensed on January
50 first, two thousand twenty-three or thereafter are authorized to diag-
51 nose as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section eighty-
52 four hundred five of this article and further defined in subdivision
53 three of section eighty-four hundred one of this article without meeting
54 any additional requirements.
55 2. Applicants for license as a psychoanalyst who have been issued a
56 limited permit after successfully completing the requirements of para-
A. 8757--A 5
1 graph (b) of subdivision two of section eighty-four hundred five of this
2 article, which includes twelve credit hours of clinical courses are
3 authorized to diagnose as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision three
4 of section eighty-four hundred five of this article, and as defined in
5 subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred one of this article
6 while under supervision.
7 3. For those licensed prior to January first, two thousand twenty-
8 three, shall be granted the privilege to diagnose as provided in para-
9 graph (c) of subdivision one of section eighty-four hundred five of this
10 article, and further defined in subdivision three of section eighty-four
11 hundred one of this article if the licensee fulfills the following
12 requirements:
13 (a) Files an application with the department;
14 (b) Is licensed and registered as a psychoanalyst; and
15 (i) Provides verification of twelve credit hours of clinical course
16 work as defined by the department from a college, university, or insti-
17 tute acceptable to the department; or
18 (ii) Provides verification of a minimum of two years of employment as
19 a licensed psychoanalyst by a licensed supervisor or colleague on forms
20 acceptable to the department, in a program or service operated, regu-
21 lated, funded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the
22 office of children and family services, the office of temporary and
23 disability assistance, the department of corrections and community
24 supervision, the state office for the aging, the department of health,
25 or a local governmental unit as that term is defined in article forty-
26 one of the mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined
27 in section sixty-one of the social services law; or
28 (iii) Provides verification of being licensed as a licensed psychoana-
29 lyst for a minimum of three years; and
30 (1) Provides documentation of at least six credit hours of clinical
31 coursework as defined by the department from a college, university, or
32 institute acceptable to the department; or
33 (2) Provides documentation of at least twelve hours of continuing
34 education in clinical coursework subject to section eighty-four hundred
35 twelve-a of this article; and
36 (c) Pays a fee to the department of two hundred twenty dollars.
37 4. A privilege to diagnose issued under this section shall be valid
38 for the life of the holder, unless revoked, annulled, or suspended by
39 the board of regents. Such a privilege shall be subject to the same
40 oversight and disciplinary provisions as licenses issued under this
41 title.
42 § 8. Subdivision 2 of section 8409 of the education law, as amended by
43 chapter 485 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
44 2. Limited permits shall be for [two] three years; such limited
45 permits may be renewed, at the discretion of the department, for up to
46 two additional one year periods.
47 § 9. Section 8410 of the education law is amended by adding a new
48 subdivision 11 to read as follows:
49 11. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, nothing in
50 this section shall be construed to prohibit or limit the activities or
51 services provided under this article on the part of any person who, upon
52 the effective date of this subdivision, is in the employ of a program or
53 service, as defined in this article, for the period during which such
54 person maintains employment in such program or service. This section
55 shall not authorize the use of any title authorized pursuant to this
56 article by any such employed person, except as otherwise provided by
A. 8757--A 6
1 this article respectively. Provided however, that any person who
2 commences employment in such program or service on or after July first,
3 two thousand nineteen and performs services that are restricted under
4 this article shall be appropriately licensed or authorized under this
5 article.
6 § 10. The education law is amended by adding a new section 8412-a to
7 read as follows:
8 § 8412-a. Continuing education for diagnosis privilege. 1. Continuing
9 education required in clause two of subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b)
10 of subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred two-a of this arti-
11 cle shall:
12 (a) Be offered by a provider approved by the department pursuant to
13 paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred twelve
14 of this article; and
15 (b) In addition to meeting the standards set forth in paragraph (a) of
16 subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred twelve of this article,
17 be determined by the department as providing clinical content in the
18 following areas:
19 (i) Diagnosis in clinical practice;
20 (ii) Assessment based treatment; or
21 (iii) Clinical practice with general and special populations.
22 2. The department shall maintain a list of continuing education
23 approved by the department as meeting the requirements of this section.
24 3. A separate continuing education approval application fee, as deter-
25 mined by the department, shall be applied to providers seeking approval
26 of continuing education that meets the requirements of this section.
27 § 11. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
28 law, provided that section four of this act shall take effect January 1,
29 2023, provided further that effective immediately the state education
30 department may promulgate rules and regulations as shall be necessary to
31 implement the provisions of this act.
