Bill Text: HI HB2321 | 2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Mental Health Counselors.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-13 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Eli, Har excused (2). [HB2321 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-HB2321-Amended.html
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2321 |
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020 |
H.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 453D-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) This chapter shall not apply to:
(1) A person doing work within the duties of the
person's profession that overlaps with the practice of mental health
counseling; provided that no such person shall use a title stating or implying
that the person is a "licensed mental
health counselor" or "mental health counselor", or describe or refer to the
person's services as mental health counseling;
(2) Any person who is a duly recognized member of
the clergy; provided that the person functions only within the person's
capacity as a member of the clergy; and provided further that the person does
not represent the person to be a "licensed
mental health counselor" or "mental health counselor", or describe or refer to the
person's services as mental health counseling;
(3) Any student enrolled in an accredited
educational institution in a recognized program of study leading towards
attainment of a graduate degree in mental health counseling or other
professional field; provided that the student's activities and services are
part of a prescribed course of study supervised by the accredited educational
institution and the student is identified by an appropriate title, including
but not limited to "mental health
counseling student" or "trainee", "clinical psychology student" or "trainee", "social work student"
or "trainee", "marriage and
family counseling student" or
"trainee", or any title that clearly indicates training status;
(4) Any individual who uses the title of "mental health counselor intern" for the purpose of obtaining clinical experience in
accordance with [section 453D‑7(a)(3);] section 453D-7(a)(2);
(5) Any person employed by a federal, state, or
county government agency in a counseling position, but only at those times when
the employee is carrying out the duties and responsibilities as a counselor in
governmental employment; or
(6) Any person who is obtaining supervised
clinical experience for licensure as a psychologist, social worker, marriage
and family therapist, or as another licensed professional; provided that the
person's title indicates a trainee or intern status; and provided further that
the person does not purport to be a "licensed
mental health counselor" or "mental health counselor"."
SECTION 2. Section 453D-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§453D-7 Application for licensure as a mental health counselor. (a) An applicant shall be issued a license by the department if the applicant provides satisfactory evidence to the department that the applicant is qualified for licensure pursuant to the requirements of this chapter and meets the following qualifications:
(1) [A] Receipt
of a master's degree or doctoral degree from an accredited educational
institution in counseling or in an allied field related to the practice of
mental health counseling that includes, or is supplemented by,
graduate level course work in counseling comprising a minimum of forty-eight
semester hours or seventy-two quarter hours in the following course areas, with
a minimum of three semester hours or five quarter hours in each course area as
indicated below:
(A) Human growth and development, including but not limited to the study of life span development, strategies to facilitate that development and transitions, theories of learning and personality development, and human behavior to include crisis, disabilities, addictive behavior, and environmental factors;
(B) Social and cultural foundations, including but not limited to the study of issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society, including characteristics of diverse groups that may include but are not limited to age, race, religious or sexual preference, physical disability, ethnicity and culture, gender, socioeconomics, intellectual ability, and individual, family, and group strategies with diverse populations;
(C) Counseling
theories and applications, including but not limited to counseling and
consultation, including both individual and systems perspectives, interviewing,
assessment, and counseling skills, as well as applying principles, methods, and
theories of counseling, treatment and counseling of mental and emotional
disorders, and educational techniques aimed at preventing [such] these
disorders with individuals and families;
(D) Group theory and practice, including but not limited to principles of group dynamics, group process, group leadership styles, theories and methods of group counseling, and the application of theory to the group processes;
(E) Career and lifestyle development, including but not limited to the study of vocational development theories and decision-making models, assessment instruments, and techniques, types, sources, and uses of occupational and educational information systems, career development applications, and career counseling processes, techniques, and resources;
(F) Appraisal of human
behavior, including but not limited to assessment and diagnosis of disorders
with an emphasis on [DSM-IV] DSM categories[,] and an
understanding of these disorders relative to the counseling context;
(G) Tests and measurements, including but not limited to theoretical and historical bases for assessment techniques, and assessment methods, including analysis of various types of tests to select, administer, interpret, and use assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling;
(H) Research and
program evaluation, including but not limited to research design and methods,
statistical analysis, principles, practices, and application of needs
assessment, and program evaluation; [and]
(I) Professional
orientation and ethics, including but not limited to the history of the helping
profession, professional roles and functions, ethical standards,
confidentiality, professional organizations, and the public policy process,
including advocacy on behalf of the profession and its clientele; and
(J) At
least two academic terms of supervised mental health practicum intern
experience for graduate credit of at least six semester hours or ten quarter
hours in a mental health counseling setting, with a total of three hundred
hours of supervised client contact. The
practicum experience shall be completed under the clinical supervision of a
person who is licensed as a mental health counselor, psychologist, clinical
social worker, advanced practice registered nurse with a specialty in mental
health, marriage and family therapist, or physician with a specialty in
psychiatry;
[(2) At least two
academic terms of supervised mental health practicum intern experience for
graduate credit of at least six semester hours or ten quarter hours a mental
health counseling setting with three hundred hours of supervised client
contact; the practicum experience shall be completed under the clinical supervision
of a person who is licensed as a mental health counselor, psychologist,
clinical social worker, advanced practice registered nurse with a specialty in
mental health, marriage and family therapist, or physician with a specialty in
psychiatry;
(3)] (2) Completion of not less than three thousand
hours of post-graduate experience in the practice of mental health counseling,
with one hundred hours of face-to-face clinical supervision that shall be
completed in no less than two years and in no more than four years, under the
clinical supervision of a person who is a licensed mental health counselor,
psychologist, clinical social worker, advanced practice registered nurse with a
specialty in mental health, marriage and family therapist, or physician with a
specialty in psychiatry[; and].
In collaboration with the supervisor, the applicant may elect to fulfill
some or all of the supervision requirements through face-to-face supervision
that is conducted electronically through a videoconference service that
complies with all federal and state privacy, security, and confidentiality
laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996;
provided that the applicant shall review the laws and rules of other
jurisdictions to determine the impact, if any, that electronic supervision may
have on licensure by endorsement or reciprocity in other states prior to
electing electronic supervision; and
[(4) Passed] (3) Passage of the National Counselor
Examination for Licensure and Certification.
(b)
An individual [who:] shall be deemed to have met the
requirements of this section if the individual:
(1) Holds current, unencumbered certification as a national certified counselor or a national certified rehabilitation counselor prior to the effective date of this chapter;
(2) Has passed the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification, National Clinical Mental Health Counselors Examination of the National Board for Certified Counselors, or Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification examination after January 1, 2000, and before July 1, 2005; and
(3) Within one year of
the effective date of this chapter, applies for licensure and pays the
applicable license fee[, shall be deemed to have met the requirements of
this section].
(c) For an applicant who graduated from an accredited educational institution as specified in subsection (a)(1) before July 1, 2007, the department shall also deem acceptable:
(1) For practicum
intern experience, written certification from an official of the institution of
higher education attesting that the applicant has completed the academic terms,
graduate credit hours, and supervised client contact hours in subsection [(a)(2)]
(a)(1)(J) and that the applicant's practicum intern experience is
equivalent to a mental health graduate level practicum program; and
(2) For post-graduate
experience, written certification from an officer and the clinical supervisor
of the agency at which the applicant has earned experience attesting that the
applicant has completed the hours of experience and supervision in subsection [(a)(3)]
(a)(2), within the time frame set forth in that subsection, and that the
applicant's post-graduate experience is equivalent to the practice of mental
health counseling.
The license requirements for clinical supervisors
under subsections [(a)(2)] (a)(1)(J) and [(a)(3)] (a)(2)
shall not apply to this subsection."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Mental Health Counselor; License Requirement; Practicum Internship Experience; Post-graduate Experience Supervision
Description:
Clarifies that the practicum internship experience requirement is to be included with the course work in counseling requirement for mental health counselors. Permits applicants to fulfill all or part of their face-to-face clinical supervision requirement by a videoconference service. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD2)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.