TITLE 16 OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
LICENSING
CHAPTER 22 PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PSYCHOLOGIST ASSOCIATES
PART 12 PSYCHOLOGIST ASSOCIATES: EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS OF PRACTICE
16.22.12.l ISSUING AGENCY: Regulation and Licensing Department, State Board of Psychologist Examiners.
[16.22.12.1 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.1 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.2 SCOPE: The provisions of Part 12 apply to all applicants and licensees who apply or are licensed as psychologist associates in New Mexico.
[16.22.12.2 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.2 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This part is adopted pursuant to the Professional Psychologist Act Sections 61-9-6, 61-9-11-1 NMSA 1978.
[16.22.12.3 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.3 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[16.22.12.4 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.4 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: November 15, 2006, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[16.22.12.5 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.5 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.6 OBJECTIVE: This part sets forth the conditions of practice for psychologist associates and defines the professional relationship with doctoral-level supervision.
[16.22.12.6 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.6 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.7 DEFINITIONS: [RESERVED]
[Refer to 16.22.1.7 NMAC]
16.22.12.8 CONDITIONS OF PRACTICE FOR PSYCHOLOGIST ASSOCIATES:
A. Supervision by a licensed psychologist or board-certified psychiatrist.
(1) Psychologist associates who engage in the practice of psychology shall be supervised by a licensed psychologist or a board-certified psychiatrist, except in the area of psychological or cognitive testing. The supervising psychologist must be licensed in New Mexico as a psychologist with the New Mexico board of psychologist examiners, be in good standing and have no history of rule violations. If the psychologist associate conducts psychological, cognitive testing, the psychologist associate shall be supervised in this area of practice by a licensed psychologist. The psychologist shall explicitly agree to supervise the psychologist associate.
(2) The supervisor shall assume professional and ethical responsibility for the work of the psychologist associate performed in the course of their professional relationship.
(3) The supervisor shall provide supervision only in those areas of practice in which the supervisor is qualified to render services.
(4) The supervisor shall not provide supervision to one who is their administrative superior(s) or is a member of his or her family.
(5) The supervisor shall keep records of supervision. Such records shall be kept separately from the client’s records and shall include dates of supervision, without reference to the client’s name. Such records shall be submitted to the board on an biennial basis as a condition of the renewal process.
(6) The supervisor shall not exploit the psychologist associate for financial gain or with excessive work demands. The supervisor shall make every effort to avoid exploitation of the psychologist associate by an agency with which the supervisor and psychologist associate are affiliated.
(7) Financial arrangements between the supervisor and the psychologist associate shall be clear and shall not interfere with or compromise the ethical, professional, and legal responsibilities each party has to the client or patient and to each other. Psychologist associates may bill clients or patients independently from the supervisor, provided that this arrangement does not interfere with or compromise those responsibilities.
B. Nature of supervision from licensed supervisor.
(1) Supervision of a psychologist associate shall cover all aspects of the psychologist associate’s work and shall include at least two hours a month of one-to-one supervision between the psychologist associate and the supervisor. If the psychologist associate who is supervised by a board-certified psychiatrist also conducts psychological or cognitive testing in his practice, the psychologist associate must be supervised by a licensed psychologist at least two additional hours per month in this area of practice.
(2) The client or patient shall always be informed about the nature of the professional relationship that exists between the supervisor and the psychologist associate. The client shall be informed of his/her right to meet with the supervisor upon request and that the supervision of the psychologist associate by the supervisor may involve a review of the content of the evaluation documents and intervention plans.
C. Supervisory agreement with licensed supervision.
(1) The psychologist associate and his supervisor shall file a letter of agreement signed by all parties setting forth the terms of the supervisory arrangements. This agreement shall be updated and provided to the board as a condition of the biennial renewal of the psychologist associate’s license. If there is no change in the agreement, a letter informing the board that there is no change, signed by both parties, shall accompany the biennial renewal of the psychologist associate’s license.
(2) Both the supervisor and the psychologist associate shall notify the board in writing within 30 days of termination if the supervisory agreement is terminated or the supervisory relationship ends for any reason. Most importantly, termination of the supervisory relationship shall be accomplished in a context of primary concern for the clients receiving care.
D. Ethical responsibilities of psychologist associates.
(1) The psychologist associate shall assume legal, ethical, and professional responsibility for the welfare of the client or patient, including client or patient diagnosis, intervention, and outcome of intervention.
(2) The psychologist associate shall provide services only in those areas of practice for which he is qualified.
E. Disclosure requirements. Any person licensed as a psychologist associate who advertises or solicits services to the general public shall specifically state: “Licensed psychologist associate - supervised practice.”
[16.22.12.8 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.8 NMAC, 11/15/2006; A, 7/1/2018; A, 02/10/2022]
16.22.12.9 EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
A. An applicant who received a master’s degree prior to July 1, 1985, shall hold a master’s degree from a department of psychology in a school or college as defined in the Professional Psychologist Act or a master’s degree which is primarily psychological in nature from a school or college whose program had substantially equivalent requirements as those set forth in this rule.
B. An applicant who received a master’s degree after July 1, 1985, shall hold a master’s degree from a department of psychology, counseling psychology, or school psychology in a school or college as defined in the Professional Psychologist Act.
C. The applicant shall show that his program of graduate studies included a minimum of three graduate semester hours (six graduate quarter hours) directly related to psychological theory in three of the nine following content areas (no course may be counted for more than two areas):
(1) biological aspects of behavior: physiological psychology, comparative psychology, neuropsychology, sensation and perception, psychopharmacology, biological bases of development;
(2) cognitive and affective aspects of behavior: learning, thinking, motivation, emotion, and cognitive development;
(3) social aspects of behavior: social psychology, group processes, community psychology, social development, organizational and systems theory;
(4) human development: developmental psychology, human development, lifespan development, and developmental psychopathology;
(5) individual differences: personality theory, human development, and abnormal psychology;
(6) professional and scientific ethics and standards: professional and ethical problems in clinical, counseling, or school psychology, legal, ethical, and professional issues in psychotherapy or counseling;
(7) research design, methodology, statistics, and data analysis: research methods in clinical, counseling, or school psychology; research design in psychology; statistical analysis in psychology; multivariate statistical methods;
(8) cultural competence, as deemed satisfactory to the board, multicultural counseling, counseling the culturally different, feminist psychology, counseling gay and lesbian populations, treating persons with disabilities;
(9) methods of assessment and diagnosis: psychological assessment, clinical diagnosis, and intellectual and personality assessment.
D. The applicant shall have completed at least two semesters (or four quarter hours) of clinical, counseling, or school psychology practicum.
[16.22.12.9 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.9 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.10 [RESERVED]
[16.22.12.10 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.12.10 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.11 DEMONSTRATION OF COMPETENCE
A. Description of examination and general information. All persons applying for licensure shall be examined by the board. The examination consists of two parts:
(1) a written examination, called the EPPP, that demonstrates professional competence;
(2) an online jurisprudence examination constructed, administered, and graded by the board and its designees, which assesses knowledge, ethical standards, New Mexico laws, and the board regulations as they apply to psychologists and their clients or patients.
B. Passing scores.
(1) The passing score on the EPPP taken before January 1, 1993 is 140 (seventy percent) or taken after January 1, 1993 is the score equal to or greater than the passing score recommended by ASPPB.
(2) The passing score for the jurisprudence examination will be as determined by the board. Applicants will be notified within 30 days following the jurisprudence examination of their test results.
(3) If the score of either the EPPP or the jurisprudence examination meets the requirement for licensure as a psychologist associate but the other score does not, the examination passed will not have to be retaken.
[16.22.12.11 NMAC - Rp, 16.22.8.11 NMAC, 11/15/2006]
16.22.12.12 APPLICATION PROCESS
A. Initial application procedure. To open an initial application file, the applicant shall submit the following:
(1) a completed and signed application;
(2) the application fee as required by the board;
(3) official transcripts directly from the institution’s office of the registrar; and
(4) three letters of reference.
B. If the application is not complete, the applicant will be notified of all deficiencies within thirty 30 days of the board’s receipt. The application process shall be completed within 30 days of the receipt at the board office of all materials listed in Subsection A of 16.22.12.12 NMAC. The applicant must have all documents in the board office at least 60 days prior to taking the examination for professional practice in psychology (EPPP).
C. Complete applications will be reviewed by the board and a notification of approval, denial or need for additional information will be issued to the applicant within 30 days.
D. The written examination for licensure is the EPPP, developed by the association of state and provincial psychology boards (ASPPB) and administered by the professional examination service (PES). An applicant shall be eligible to take the EPPP three times within the 18 months following the date the applicant was notified of the board’s approval of their application.
(1) If the applicant does not pass the EPPP any of the three times it is administered within eighteen 18 months, the applicant shall submit a new initial application.
(2) Upon the submission of the new application, the rules and regulations in effect at the time the new initial application is received will be used to determine whether an applicant meets the requirements for licensure.
E. The applicant shall take and pass an online jurisprudence examination after the board has received his EPPP score from the ASPPB reporting service, indicating that the applicant received a passing score pursuant to the act.
F. During the first year of licensure, an applicant shall furnish evidence to the board that demonstrates an awareness and knowledge of New Mexico cultures.
[16.22.12.12 NMAC - N, 03/21/2009]
HISTORY OF 16.22.12 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC History:
Rule No. 5, Conditions of Practice for Psychologist Associate filed 4/24/1995.
Rule No. 5, Requirements for Certification Psychologist Associate filed 11/1/1983.
NMBPE Rule 3, Requirements for Licensure Psychologist Associate filed 12/28/1989.
Rule No. 3, Educational Requirements-Psychologist filed 4/24/1995.
History of Repealed Material:
16 NMAC 22.8, Educational Requirements and Conditions of Practice for Psychologist Associates, Repealed 4/16/2000
16.22.12 NMAC, Education Requirements and Conditions of Practice for Psychologists Associates - Repealed 11/15/2006