21 NCAC 54 .2704. HSP‑P REQUIREMENTS

(a)  To be certified as a health services provider psychologist (HSP-P), a licensed psychologist holding permanent North Carolina licensure shall be qualified by education as defined in Paragraph (b) of this Rule and shall have completed two years of supervised experience, of which at least one year shall be post‑doctoral.  These two years of experience shall meet the criteria specified in Paragraphs (c) and (d) of this Rule, or in Paragraph (e) of this Rule.  An applicant shall submit a completed, notarized application form and provide documentation of meeting health services provider requirements.

(b)  An applicant shall demonstrate that he/she is qualified by education to provide health services by meeting one of the following criteria:

(1)           is currently approved for listing, or is currently listed, in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology;

(2)           is a diplomat in good standing of the American Board of Professional Psychology in a health services specialty area;

(3)           is a graduate from a doctoral program which was accredited at the time of the applicant's graduation by the American Psychological Association in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, School Psychology, or Combined Professional‑Scientific Psychology; or

(4)           has an academic foundation in the provision of health services as defined in Rule .2701(a) of this Section which meets the following requirements:

(A)          The applicant's doctoral program, or formal postdoctoral program of re-specialization, in psychology shall be an organized training program which has established a clear intent, through the structure of the program and in institutional publications, to train individuals to provide health services in psychology as defined in G.S. 90-270.2(4) and Rule .2701(a) of this Section.

(B)          Within the applicant's doctoral training program, or formal postdoctoral program of re-specialization, in health services in psychology, course work shall have been completed in the areas of assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and psychopathology.  The applicant shall further establish that he or she has completed relevant course work that has provided training in diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, remediation, or prevention of one or more of the following areas:

(i)            mental, emotional, and behavioral disorder, disability, and illness;

(ii)           substance abuse;

(iii)          habit and conduct disorder; or

(iv)          psychological aspects of physical illness, accident, injury, and disability.

(C)          Pursuant to final Board approval, an applicant shall be considered to have been trained in the provision of health services in psychology if the applicant establishes that requirements set forth in Parts (b)(4)(A) and (b)(4)(B) of this Rule have been met through a doctoral program, or formal postdoctoral program of re-specialization, in any one of the following areas of specialization in psychology:  applied behavior analysis in psychology, applied developmental psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, rehabilitation psychology, or school psychology.

(D)          An applicant who holds a doctoral degree in psychology, who applies for licensure as a Licensed Psychologist, and who holds a master's or specialist degree in psychology that provides training in the provision of health services shall not be eligible for HSP-P certification if the applicant's doctoral program, or formal postdoctoral re-specialization program, in psychology does not also provide training in the provision of health services as set forth in Parts (b)(4)(A) and (b)(4)(B) of this Rule.  If the applicant has a doctoral degree in an area of psychology that does not provide training in the provision of health services, that applicant shall not be eligible for HSP-P certification even if the applicant establishes that course work in the areas listed in Part (b)(4)(B) was completed or if the applicant has completed an applied training experience (i.e., practicum, internship, residency, postdoctoral fellowship, etc.) in the provision of health services without having completed a planned and directed doctoral or formal postdoctoral training program in health services in psychology.

(E)           An applicant who has completed a doctoral program that establishes in institutional publications an intent to train individuals for careers in administration, research, teaching, academia, and other areas not involving training in the provision of health services in psychology shall not be considered to have been provided an academic foundation in the provision of health services and shall not be approved for HSP-P certification.

(F)           Only that course work taken at an institution of higher education as defined in G.S. 90-270.2(5) shall be considered by the Board to establish that an applicant has an academic foundation in the provision of health services.

(c)  Except as provided in Paragraph (e) of this Rule, an applicant shall demonstrate one year of supervised experience which meets the following requirements for an organized health services training program:

(1)           The training shall be a planned and directed program in the provision of health services, in contrast to "on the job" training, and shall provide the trainee with a planned, programmed sequence of training experience.

(2)           The training site shall have a written statement or brochure which describes its training program and is made available to prospective trainees.

(3)           Trainees shall be designated as "interns," fellows," or "residents," or hold other designation which clearly indicates training status.

(4)           The training shall be completed within 24 months.

(5)           The training shall consist of at least 1500 hours of practice.

(6)           At least 25% of the training shall be spent in the provision of direct health services, as defined in Rule .2701(a) of this Section, to patients or clients seeking assessment or treatment.

(7)           Up to 25% of the training may be comprised of research activities.

(8)           There shall be a minimum of two doctorally trained licensed, certified, or license eligible psychologists at the training site as supervisors who have ongoing contact with the trainee.

(9)           The training shall be under the direction of a licensed, certified, or license eligible doctorally trained psychologist who is on the staff of the training site, who approves and monitors the training, who is familiar with the training site's purposes and functions, who has ongoing contact with the trainee, and who agrees to assume responsibility for the quality, suitability, and implementation of the training experience.

(10)         The training shall provide a minimum of two hours per week of individual face‑to‑face discussion of the trainee's practice, with the specific intent of overseeing the health services rendered by the trainee.  Supervision may be provided in part by psychiatrists, social workers, or other mental health professionals qualified by the training site, but at least 50 percent of supervision shall be provided by licensed, certified, or license‑eligible doctorally trained psychologists.

(11)         In additional to individual supervision, the training site shall provide a minimum of two hours per week of instruction which may be met by group supervision, assigned reading, seminars, and similarly constituted organized training experiences.

This specified year of supervised experience may be obtained at a predoctoral level, provided that an additional year of supervised experience as defined in Paragraph (d) of this Rule is obtained at a post‑doctoral level.  Internships accepted for listing in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology and internships accredited by the American Psychological Association in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or School Psychology shall be deemed to meet the requirements in this Paragraph.

(d)  An applicant shall demonstrate one year of supervised experience which meets the following requirements:

(1)           The experience shall consist of a minimum of one calendar year and include 1500 hours of supervised experience.

(2)           The experience shall be completed within a consecutive four‑year period.

(3)           The supervision shall be for the direct provision of health services in psychology, as defined in Rule .2701(a) of this Section, by the applicant to individuals or groups of clients/patients.

(4)           At least one hour per week of formal, face‑to‑face, individual supervision shall have been provided, except that individual supervision provided up until January 1, 1996, may have been provided in two, two‑hour sessions per month.

(5)           The supervisor shall have been an appropriately licensed or certified psychologist, whose license or certificate was in good standing, in the state where the practice occurred.

(6)           The supervisor, at the time of supervision, shall not have been in a dual relationship with the supervisee, e.g., spouse, other close relative, close personal friend, or therapist.

This specified year of supervised experience may be obtained at a predoctoral level, provided that an additional year of supervised experience as defined in Paragraph (c) of this Rule is obtained at a post‑doctoral level.

(e)  An applicant who holds a provisional license as a Licensed Psychologist in North Carolina on the effective date of this Rule shall not be required to have had one year of supervised experience which meets the requirements of an organized health services training program as specified in Paragraph (c) of this Rule, but shall have completed two years of supervised experience, of which at least one year shall be post‑doctoral, as defined in Paragraph (d) of this Rule.

(f)  An applicant who documents that he/she meets any one of the following criteria shall be deemed to meet all requirements of this Rule for certification as a health services provider psychologist (HSP‑P): 

(1)           is currently approved for listing, or is currently listed, in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology;

(2)           is a diplomate in good standing of the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or School Psychology;

(3)           is a graduate from a doctoral program which was accredited at the time of the applicant's graduation by the American Psychological Association in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, School Psychology, or Combined Professional‑Scientific Psychology and which included an internship accredited by the American Psychological Association, and who completes a postdoctoral year of supervised experience as defined in either Paragraph (c) or (d) of this Rule;

(4)           is a graduate from a doctoral program which was fully accredited at the time of the applicant's graduation by the American Psychological Association in School Psychology and which included an internship meeting the guidelines of the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs as documented by the program chair, and who completes a postdoctoral year of supervised experience as defined in either Paragraph (c) or (d) of this Rule;

(5)           is a graduate who received a doctoral degree prior to 1979 from a program which included course work which demonstrates an academic foundation in the provision of health services as defined in Rule .2701(a) of this Section, and which included the equivalent of a one year supervised internship in an American Psychological Association accredited program providing health services, in a Veterans Administration setting providing health services, or at a site providing health services which was specifically acceptable to the applicant's doctoral training program, and who completes a postdoctoral year of supervised experience as defined in either Paragraph (c) or (d) of this Rule; or

(6)           is approved for licensure under senior psychologist requirements specified in 21 NCAC 54 .1707 and demonstrates that at least 25 percent of his/her qualifying practice has been in the provision of direct health services, as defined in Rule .2701(a) of this Section.

(g)  An applicant applying under Subparagraph (f)(1) of this Rule, and who has not yet been approved for listing in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, shall be permitted to file an affidavit verifying that he/she qualifies for listing in the Register.  Upon receipt of this affidavit, the Board may issue a health services provider certificate, conditioned upon receipt of a letter from the Register within 60 days of receipt of the affidavit which confirms approval for, or listing in, the Register.  An extension of the 60 days may be granted upon showing that additional time is needed for application review by the National Register of Health Service Providers.

(h)  An applicant for health services provider certification who knowingly provides false or fraudulent information to the Board with respect to his/her application, or who fails to provide the notification from the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology where required, shall be subject to disciplinary action by the Board, including revocation of licensure and the health services provider certificate.

 

History Note:        Temporary Adoption Eff. December 19, 1994 for a period of 180 days or until the permanent rule becomes effective, whichever is sooner;

Authority G.S. 90‑270.9; 90‑270.15(a)(3); 90‑270.15(a)(22); 90‑270.20(b);

RRC Objection due to lack of statutory authority Eff. May 18, 1995;

Eff. June 21, 1995;

Amended Eff. August 1, 2000; August 1, 1996; January 1, 1996.