Effective Date of Rule: September 1, 2009.

     Purpose: Rules are needed to define licensing requirements and clarify the minimum supervision experience required to become a licensed psychologist, consistent with 2004 ESSB 6554. WAC 246-924-040 and 246-924-060 are repealed. Adds new sections WAC 246-924-049 Practicum, 246-924-053 Preinternship, 246-924-056 Internship, and 246-924-059 Post-doctoral supervised experience.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 246-924-040 and 246-924-060.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.83.50 [18.83.050].

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 07-17-175 on August 22, 2007.

     Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: WAC 246-924-053 was changed to require the goals of the preinternship experience be documented prior to the commencement of the preinternship experience. WAC 246-924-056 (2)(iii)(A) was changed to require that two or more psychologists must be available as a supervisor, one of whom must be licensed. This language was changed to be consistent with current national standards.

     A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Betty Moe, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47869, Olympia, WA 98504-7869, phone (360) 236-4912, fax (360) 236-4909, e-mail Betty.Moe@doh.wa.gov.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 6, Amended 0, Repealed 2.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: December 4, 2007.

Thomas W. Wall, Ph.D.

Board Chair

OTS-9451.10

NEW SECTION
WAC 246-924-043   Education and experience requirements for licensure.   (1) To obtain a license, applicants must complete:

     (a) A doctoral degree program as described in WAC 246-924-046.

     (b) A practicum of at least 300 hours as described in WAC 246-924-049; and

     (c) An experience requirement consisting of no fewer than two years supervised experience totaling 3000 hours that includes:

     (i) A minimum of 1500 hours of supervised experience that must be completed as an internship experience as outlined in WAC 246-924-056.

     (ii) The remaining 1500 supervised hours may be obtained through:

     (A) A preinternship as described in WAC 246-924-053;

     (B) A postdoctoral experience as described in WAC 246-924-059; or

     (C) A combination of preinternship and postdoctoral experience.

     (2) The order of supervised experience must be graduated from more intensive to less intensive supervision.

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     (1) The doctoral degree program must include:

     (a) At least forty semester hours, or sixty quarter hours, of graduate courses in curriculum areas described in subsection (2) of this section. Courses must be clearly identified by title and course content as being part of an integrated psychology program.

     (b) One year in residency as described in subsection (4) of this section;

     (c) Submission of an original dissertation which is psychological in nature and endorsed by the program; and

     (d) An organized, sequential and coordinated practicum and internship experience as described in WAC 246-924-049 and 246-924-056.

     (2) The curriculum requirements: The doctoral degree program must encompass a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate study or the equivalent. The applicant must complete courses in:

     (a) History and systems;

     (b) Research design and methodology; and

     (c) Statistics and psychometrics.

     (3) The applicant must complete three or more semester hours, or five or more quarter hours, of core study in each of the following content areas:

     (a) Biological bases of behavior for example: Physiological psychology, comparative psychology, neural bases of behavior, sensation and perception, and biological bases of development;

     (b) Cognitive-affective bases of behavior for example: Learning, thinking, motivation, emotion, and cognitive development;

     (c) Social bases of behavior for example: Social psychology, organizational theory, community psychology, and social development;

     (d) Individual differences for example: Personality theory and psychopathology;

     (e) Scientific and professional ethics;

     (f) History and systems of psychology;

     (g) Statistics and psychometrics;

     (h) Research design and methodology;

     (i) Techniques of data analysis;

     (j) Human development (developmental psychology, child development, adult development and aging);

     (k) Cultural and individual differences and diversity;

     (l) Psychopathology and dysfunctional behaviors;

     (m) Theories and methods of assessment and diagnosis-minimum of two courses;

     (n) Effective psychological intervention and evaluation of the efficacy of interventions-minimum of three courses; and

     (o) Psychopharmacology.

     Doctoral degree programs accredited by the American Psychological Association or the Canadian Psychological Association are recognized as having met the minimum education requirements.

     (4) Residency requirement:

     (a) The doctoral degree program must involve at least one continuous year of full-time residency at the institution which grants the degree or a minimum of 750 hours of student-faculty contact involving face-to-face individual or group educational meetings.

     (b) Educational meetings:

     (i) Must include both faculty-student and student-student interaction;

     (ii) Be conducted by the psychology faculty of the institution at least seventy-five percent of the time;

     (iii) Be fully documented by the institution and the applicant; and

     (iv) Relate substantially to the program components specified.

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     (1) Discussion of services provided by the student;

     (2) Selection of service plan for and review of each case or work unit of the student;

     (3) Discussion of and instruction in theoretical concepts underlying the work;

     (4) Discussion of the management of professional practice and other administrative or business issues;

     (5) Evaluation of the supervisory process by the student and the supervisor;

     (6) Discussion of coordination of services among the professionals involved in the particular cases or work units;

     (7) Discussion of relevant state laws and rules;

     (8) Discussion of ethical principles including principles applicable to the work;

     (9) Review of standards for providers of psychological services; and

     (10) Discussion of reading materials relevant to cases, ethical issues and the supervisory process.

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     (1) Before beginning the program, the student, the doctoral program, and the preinternship program must agree on and document the goals, the student's expectations, and the methods of the preinternship experience. The goals must meet the requirements of this section.

     (2) Every 20 hours of preinternship experience must include the following:

     (a) At least 2 hours of regularly scheduled, formal, face-to-face individual supervision that addresses the direct psychological services provided by the student; and

     (b) At least 2 hours of other learning activities such as case conferences, seminars on applied issues, conducting cotherapy with a staff person including discussion of the case, and group supervision.

     (3) At least sixty percent of the preinternship experience must be direct client contact providing assessment and intervention services.

     (4) The preinternship experience must be supervised by the person(s) responsible for the assigned casework.

     (a) At least seventy-five percent of the supervision must be by a licensed psychologist with two years post-license experience.

     (b) Up to twenty-five percent of the supervision may be completed by the following:

     (i) A psychiatrist(s) with three years experience beyond residency;

     (ii) A licensed mental health counselor(s) with five years post-license experience;

     (iii) A licensed marriage and family therapist(s) with at least five years post-license experience;

     (iv) A licensed advanced social worker(s) or licensed independent clinical social worker(s) with five years post-license experience; or

     (v) A doctoral level psychologist(s) with three years post-doctoral experience who is exempt from licensure under RCW 18.83.200 (1), (2), (3) or (4), if the supervision occurs in the exempt setting.

     (c) Supervision of the preinternship experience must include the following:

     (i) Discussion of services provided by the student;

     (ii) Selection of service plan for and review of each case or work unit of the student;

     (iii) Discussion of and instruction in theoretical concepts underlying the work;

     (iv) Discussion of the management of professional practice and other administrative or business issues;

     (v) Evaluation of the supervisory process by the student and the supervisor;

     (vi) Discussion of coordination of services among the professionals involved in the particular cases or work units;

     (vii) Discussion of relevant state laws and rules;

     (viii) Discussion of ethical principles including principles applicable to the work;

     (ix) Review of standards for providers of psychological services; and

     (x) Discussion of reading materials relevant to cases, ethical issues and the supervisory process.

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     (1) The internship must include at least 1500 hours of supervised experience and be completed within twenty-four months.

     (2) The internship program must:

     (a) Be accredited by the American Psychological Association; or

     (b) Be a member program of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers; or

     (c) Meet the following requirements:

     (i) Organization of the internship program.

     (A) The internship must have a written statement or brochure describing the goals and content of the internship, stating clear expectations and quality of student work, and made available to prospective interns.

     (B) A psychologist licensed by the appropriate state or provincial licensing authority must be clearly designated as responsible for the integrity and quality of the internship program.

     (C) Interns must use titles indicating their training status.

     (ii) Content of the internship program.

     (A) The internship must be designed to provide a planned sequence of training experiences focusing on breadth and quality of training. Supervision and training related to ethics must be ongoing.

     (B) At least twenty-five percent of the internship experience must be in direct client contact providing assessment and intervention services.

     (C) For every 40 hours of internship experience, the student must receive:

     (I) At least 2 hours of regularly scheduled, formal, face-to-face individual supervision that addresses the direct psychological services provided by the intern; and

     (II) At least 2 hours of other learning activities such as case conferences, seminars on applied issues, conducting cotherapy with a staff person including discussion of the case, and group supervision.

     (iii) Supervision of the internship experience.

     (A) The internship setting must have two or more psychologists available as supervisors, at least one of whom is licensed as a psychologist.

     (B) The internship experience must be supervised by the person(s) responsible for the assigned casework.

     (I) At least seventy-five percent of the supervision must be by a licensed psychologist with two years post-license experience.

     (II) Up to twenty-five percent of the supervision may be completed by the following:

     • A psychiatrist(s) with three years experience beyond residency;

     • A licensed mental health counselor(s) with five years post-license experience;

     • A licensed marriage and family therapist(s) with at least five years post-license experience;

     • A licensed advanced social worker(s) or licensed independent clinical social worker(s) with five years post-license experience; or

     • A doctoral level psychologist(s) with three years post-doctoral experience who is exempt from licensure under RCW 18.83.200 (1), (2), (3) or (4), if the supervision occurs in the exempt setting.

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     (1) Organization of the post-doctoral supervised experience.

     (a) The supervisor is ethically and legally responsible for all supervisee work covered by the supervision agreement. Therefore, the supervisor has authority to alter service plans and direct the course of psychological work.

     (b) Supervisees must use titles indicating their training status, such as "psychological resident," "psychological intern," or "psychological supervisee."

     (c) Clients must be informed of the identity and responsibilities of the supervisor and how they can speak directly to the supervisor.

     (d) Services rendered by the supervisee must not be represented to third parties as having been rendered by the supervisor. Insurance forms must be filled out indicating the nature of the supervisory relationship.

     (2) The supervisor and supervisee must have a written agreement for supervision, including:

     (a) The area(s) of professional activity in which supervision will occur;

     (b) Hours of supervision and/or ratio of supervision to professional activity;

     (c) Fees for supervision, if any;

     (d) Processes for supervision including mode(s) of supervision, expectations for recordkeeping, evaluation, and feedback;

     (e) Relevant business arrangements;

     (f) How the supervisee will represent himself or herself; and

     (g) How disagreements will be handled.

     (3) Mode of supervision.

     (a) The preferred mode of supervision is face-to-face discussion between the supervisor and the supervisee.

     (b) The nature of the supervision may depend on the following:

     (i) The theoretical orientation of the supervisor;

     (ii) The training and experience of the supervisee; and

     (iii) The duration of the supervisory relationship.

     (4) Some direct observation of the supervisee's work is required and the supervisor may use the following:

     (a) Detailed process notes and progress reports;

     (b) Audio and/or videotapes;

     (c) Client supplied information such as behavioral ratings; and

     (d) One-way mirror observation.

     (5) Supervised experience must be appropriate to the area(s) of professional activity the person intends to practice.

     (6) There must be at least one hour of individual supervision for every twenty hours of psychological work.

     (7) The supervisor and the supervisee must keep records of experience and supervision hours.

     (8) At the end of the supervision period, the supervisor must prepare and forward to the board a written evaluation, including the number of successfully completed supervised hours of psychological work and any hours not successfully completed.

     If any hours were not successfully completed, the board may require additional hours of supervision.

     (9) Supervision of the post-doctoral supervised experience.

     (a) At least fifty percent of the post-doctoral supervision must be provided by a licensed psychologist.

     (b) Up to fifty percent of the supervision may be provided by the following:

     (i) A licensed psychologist with two years post-license experience;

     (ii) A psychiatrist with three years of experience beyond residency;

     (iii) A licensed mental health counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed advanced social worker, or a licensed independent clinical social worker, if the supervisor has five years post-license experience;

     (iv) A doctoral level psychologist with three years post-doctoral experience who is exempt from licensure under RCW 18.83.200 (1), (2), (3) or (4), if the supervision occurs in the exempt setting.

     (10) Supervision must include the following:

     (a) Discussion of services provided by the student;

     (b) Selection, service plan, and review of each case or work unit of the student;

     (c) Discussion of and instruction in theoretical concepts underlying the work;

     (d) Discussion of the management of professional practice and other administrative or business issues;

     (e) Evaluation of the supervisory process by the student and the supervisor;

     (f) Discussion of coordination of services among the professionals involved in the particular cases or work units;

     (g) Discussion of relevant Washington laws and rules;

     (h) Discussion of ethical principles including principles applicable to the work;

     (i) Review of standards for providers of psychological services; and

     (j) Discussion of reading materials relevant to cases, ethical issues and the supervisory process.

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     The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:

WAC 246-924-040	Psychologists -- Education prerequisite to licensing.
WAC 246-924-060	Psychologists -- Experience prerequisite to licensing.

© Washington State Code Reviser's Office