SB 494
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AN ACT
RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE; CHANGING
THE SCOPES OF PRACTICE; REVISING REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE;
AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE COUNSELING AND THERAPY
PRACTICE ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 61-9A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 49, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"61-9A-5. SCOPES OF PRACTICE.--
A. For the purpose of the Counseling and Therapy
Practice Act, a person is practicing as a professional mental
health counselor, professional clinical mental health
counselor, marriage and family therapist, professional art
therapist, registered independent mental health counselor,
registered mental health counselor, licensed mental health
counselor, licensed associate marriage and family therapist,
alcohol and drug abuse counselor, alcohol abuse counselor,
drug abuse counselor or substance abuse associate if the
person advertises, offers to practice, is employed in a
position described as professional mental health counselor,
professional clinical mental health counselor, marriage and
family therapist, professional art therapist, registered
independent mental health counselor, alcohol and drug abuse
counselor, alcohol abuse counselor, drug abuse counselor or
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substance abuse counselor associate, or holds out to the
public or represents in any manner that the person is
licensed or registered to practice as a counselor or
therapist enumerated in this section in this state.
B. "Practice of professional clinical mental
health counseling" means the application of mental health,
psychotherapeutic and human development principles through a
therapeutic relationship to:
(1) achieve the mental, emotional, physical,
social, moral, educational, spiritual or career-related
development and adjustment of the client throughout the
client's life;
(2) diagnose, evaluate, prevent and treat
mental, emotional or behavioral disorders and associated
distresses that interfere with mental health;
(3) conduct appraisal, assessments and
evaluations to establish treatment goals and objectives; and
(4) plan, implement and evaluate treatment
plans using counseling treatment interventions and
strategies.
C. "Practice of professional art therapy" means
the licensed practice of counseling or therapy services to
individuals, families or groups, of services that use art
media as a means of expression and communication to:
(1) achieve the mental, emotional, physical,
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social, moral, educational, spiritual or career-related
development and adjustment of the client throughout the
client's life;
(2) diagnose, evaluate, prevent and treat
mental, emotional or behavioral disorders and associate
distresses that interfere with mental health;
(3) conduct appraisal, assessments and
evaluations to establish treatment goals and objectives; and
(4) plan, implement and evaluate treatment
plans using counseling or therapy treatment interventions and
strategies.
D. "Practice of marriage and family therapy" means
the licensed practice of marriage and family therapy services
delivered to persons, couples and families treated singly or
in groups within the context of family systems to:
(1) achieve the mental, emotional, physical,
social, moral, educational, spiritual or career-related
development and adjustment of the client throughout the
client's life;
(2) diagnose, evaluate, prevent and treat
mental, emotional or behavioral disorders and associate
distresses that interfere with mental health;
(3) conduct appraisal, assessments and
evaluations to establish treatment goals and objectives; and
(4) plan, implement and evaluate treatment
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plans using marriage and family therapy treatment
interventions and strategies.
E. "Practice of licensed professional mental
health counselor, licensed mental health counselor,
registered independent counselor and licensed associate
marriage and family therapist under an appropriate clinical
supervisor" consists of rendering counseling services, which
may include evaluation, assessment, consultation, diagnosing,
development of treatment plans, case management counseling
referral, appraisal, crisis intervention education, reporting
and record keeping to individuals, couples, families or
groups as defined by rule.
F. The scopes of practice of alcohol and drug
abuse counseling, or both, consists of rendering treatment
and intervention services specific to alcohol and other drug
use disorders to persons, couples, families or groups. The
services may include evaluation, assessment, diagnosis of
chemical abuse and chemical dependency disorders only,
consultation, development of treatment plans, case
management-counseling, referral, appraisal, crisis
intervention, education, reporting and record keeping.
Nothing in this scope of practice shall be construed as
preventing licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselors from
providing screening and referrals for mental health
disorders. However, assessment, treatment and diagnosis for
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such disorders is not within the scope of practice of this
license. The practice of these activities will be limited to
the individual's level of training, education and supervised
experience. The alcohol and drug abuse counselor may provide
therapeutic services that may include treatment of clients
with co-occurring disorders or dual diagnosis in an
integrated behavioral health setting in which a
multidisciplinary team has developed a multidisciplinary
treatment plan that is co-authorized by an independently
licensed counselor or therapist. The treatment of a mental
health disorder must be supervised by an independently
licensed counselor or therapist.
G. The scope of practice of a substance abuse
associate under the supervision by an appropriate supervisor
is limited to supervised work in a public or private
institution. The associate may be involved in taking social
histories or conducting home studies. The associate utilizes
the basic problem-solving process of gathering information,
assessing that information at a beginning professional level
and developing an intervention plan. The associate may
implement the plan and conduct follow-ups pertaining
specifically to alcohol and drug abuse counseling. The
associate may provide client education and assist a licensed
counselor-therapist with group or individual counseling
sessions. A substance abuse associate shall not practice
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independently as a private practitioner."
Section 2. Section 61-9A-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 49, Section 13, as amended) is amended to read:
"61-9A-13. PROFESSIONAL ART THERAPIST--REQUIREMENTS FOR
LICENSURE.--
A. The board shall issue a license as a
professional art therapist to a person who files a completed
application accompanied by the required fees and who submits
satisfactory evidence that the applicant:
(1) has reached the age of twenty-one;
(2) demonstrates professional competency by
passing an examination as prescribed by the board;
(3) holds a master's or doctoral degree in
art therapy, counseling or counseling-related field from an
accredited institution or nationally approved art therapy
program with a total of no less than forty-eight graduate
semester hours or seventy-two quarter hours in the art
therapy core curriculum;
(4) meets the art therapy core curriculum as
defined by rule;
(5) has completed a minimum of two years
post-graduate professional experience, three thousand client
contact hours and one hundred hours of post-graduate
face-to-face experience under appropriate supervision. Seven
hundred clinical client contact hours may be from the
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applicant's internship or practicum program beyond the
requirements in Paragraph (3) of this subsection.
Supervision shall be under a New Mexico-licensed professional
art therapist or certified board therapist for at least fifty
percent of the working hours; and
(6) is of good moral character with conduct
consistent with the code of ethics.
B. Effective July 1, 2005, applicants must meet
the art therapy core curriculum, as defined by rule."
Section 3. Section 61-9A-14.2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
1999, Chapter 161, Section 15, as amended) is amended to
read:
"61-9A-14.2. ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE COUNSELOR--
REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE.--Effective July 1, 2005, the
board shall license as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor a
person who files a completed application accompanied by the
required fees and who submits satisfactory evidence that the
applicant, as defined by rule:
A. is of good moral character with conduct
consistent with the code of ethics;
B. has reached the age of twenty-one;
C. demonstrates professional competency by passing
the required examinations prescribed by the board; and
D. has one of the following combinations of
education and experience:
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(1) an associate degree in counseling, a
counseling-related field or a substance abuse-related field
from an accredited institution, and education and training
that includes two hundred seventy-six clock hours with ninety
hours in each of the fields of alcohol and drug abuse
counseling, six hours of professional ethics, three years and
three thousand client contract hours under appropriate
supervision of experience in the practice of alcohol and drug
abuse counseling and two hundred hours of face-to-face
supervision;
(2) a baccalaureate degree in counseling, a
counseling-related field or a substance abuse-related field,
as defined by rule, from an accredited institution and
education and training that includes two hundred seventy-six
clock hours with ninety hours in each of the fields of
alcohol and drug abuse counseling and six hours of
professional ethics, two years and two thousand client
contact hours under appropriate supervision of experience in
the practice of alcohol and drug abuse counseling and one
hundred hours of face-to-face supervision; or
(3) a master's degree in counseling, a
counseling-related field or a substance abuse-related field,
as defined by rule, from an accredited institution, and
education and training that includes two hundred seventy-six
clock hours with ninety hours in each of the fields of
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alcohol and drug abuse counseling and six hours of
professional ethics, one year and one thousand client contact
hours under appropriate supervision of experience in the
practice of alcohol and drug abuse counseling and fifty hours
of face-to-face supervision hours."
Section 4. A new Section 61-9A-14.3 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:
"61-9A-14.3. ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE COUNSELOR--
REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANDFATHERED LICENSURE.--
A. Effective July 1, 2007 through July 1, 2010,
the board shall license as an alcohol and drug abuse
counselor a person who holds a current certified alcohol and
drug abuse counselor certification issued between
July 1, 1996 and July 1, 2010 and files a completed
application accompanied by the required fees and submits
satisfactory evidence that the applicant:
(1) is of good moral character with conduct
consistent with the code of ethics;
(2) has reached the age of twenty-one;
(3) has submitted evidence of having
participated in a total of six thousand client contact hours
and three hundred supervised face-to-face hours; and
(4) has completed two hundred seventy-six
clock hours of education or training that includes ninety
hours in each area of the fields of alcohol and drug abuse
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counseling and six hours of training in professional ethics
acquired within two years of receipt of the application.
B. An applicant who meets the requirements of
Subsection A of this section will not be required to complete
an examination."