General Info & Requirements

§4980.02. PRACTICE OF MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND CHILD COUNSELING; APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES AND METHODS

For the purposes of this chapter, the practice of marriage and family therapy shall mean that service performed with individuals, couples, or groups wherein interpersonal relationships are examined for the purpose of achieving more adequate, satisfying, and productive marriage and family adjustments. This practice includes relationship and premarriage counseling.

The application of marriage and family therapy principles and methods includes, but is not limited to, the use of applied psychotherapeutic techniques, to enable individuals to mature and grow within marriage and the family, the provision of explanations and interpretations of the psychosexual and psychosocial aspects of relationships, and the use, application, and integration of the coursework and training required by §4980.37, 4980.40, and 4980.41.

§4996.9. CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK AND PSYCHOTHERAPY DEFINED

The practice of clinical social work is defined as a service in which a special knowledge of social resources, human capabilities, and the part that unconscious motivation plays in determining behavior, is directed at helping people to achieve more adequate, satisfying, and productive social adjustments. The application of social work principles and methods includes, but is not restricted to, counseling and using applied psychotherapy of a nonmedical nature with individuals, families, or groups; providing information and referral services; providing or arranging for the provision of social services; explaining or interpreting the psychosocial aspects in the situations of individuals, families, or groups; helping communities to organize, to provide, or to improve social or health services; or doing research related to social work.

Psychotherapy, within the meaning of this chapter, is the use of psychosocial methods within a professional relationship, to assist the person or persons to achieve a better psychosocial adaptation, to acquire greater human realization of psychosocial potential and adaptation, to modify internal and external conditions which affect individuals, groups, or communities in respect to behavior, emotions, and thinking, in respect to their intrapersonal and interpersonal processes.

§4999.20. SCOPE OF PRACTICE; TREATMENT OF COUPLES OR FAMILIES

The scope of practice for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs) is set forth in California Business and Professions Code section 4999.20 and Title 16, California Code of Regulations, Section 1820.5, both of which are available in the Board’s Statutes and Regulations handbook.

Section 4999.20. (a):

(1) "Professional clinical counseling" means the application of counseling interventions and psychotherapeutic techniques to identify and remediate cognitive, mental, and emotional issues, including personal growth, adjustment to disability, crisis intervention, and psychosocial and environmental problems, and the use, application, and integration of the coursework and training required by Sections 4999.32 and 4999.33. "Professional clinical counseling" includes conducting assessments for the purpose of establishing counseling goals and objectives to empower individuals to deal adequately with life situations, reduce stress, experience growth, change behavior, and make well-informed, rational decisions.

(2) "Professional clinical counseling" is focused exclusively on the application of counseling interventions and psychotherapeutic techniques for the purposes of improving mental health, and is not intended to capture other, nonclinical forms of counseling for the purposes of licensure. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonclinical" means nonmental health.

Section 4989.14: Scope of Practice

The practice of educational psychology is the performance of any of the following professional functions pertaining to academic learning processes or the education system or both:

(a) Educational evaluation.

(b) Diagnosis of psychological disorders related to academic learning processes.

(c) Administration of diagnostic tests related to academic learning processes including tests of academic ability, learning patterns, achievement, motivation, and personality factors.

(d) Interpretation of diagnostic tests related to academic learning processes including tests of academic ability, learning patterns, achievement, motivation, and personality factors.

(e) Providing psychological counseling for individuals, groups, and families.

(f) Consultation with other educators and parents on issues of social development and behavioral and academic difficulties.

(g) Conducting psychoeducational assessments for the purposes of identifying special needs.

(h) Developing treatment programs and strategies to address problems of adjustment.

(i) Coordinating intervention strategies for management of individual crises.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) enacts sweeping changes in how the healthcare professions handle the administrative details of their practices, and contains a broad and stringent framework, for the privacy and confidentiality of personally identifiable health information. This Federal statute was enacted as Public Law 104-191. Further information regarding this act can be found at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website.

The Administrative Simplification provisions of HIPAA (Title II of the Act) require HHS to establish national standards for electronic health care transactions, and national identifiers for providers, health plans, and employers. Covered entities must comply with the technical standards and data sets adopted by HHS. HIPAA also addresses the security and privacy of health data, and establishes stringent procedures, which covered persons and entities must follow, in obtaining and disclosing personally identifiable health information.

Licensing boards do not administer the provisions of HIPAA. Therefore, the Board cannot licensees with guidance, regarding HIPAA compliance. Licensees with HIPAA questions should seek answers through the following resources:

• HHS's website provides a great deal of information, including frequently asked questions.
• Another good source of information is the HIPAA website maintained by the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
• HHS's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) implements the HIPAA privacy regulations. Guidance about the privacy requirements may be found on OCR's website at www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.

• Under law, “telehealth” is the mode of delivering health care via information and communication technologies, including, but not limited to, telephone and/or internet
• Licensees may deliver health care, under their scope of practice, via telehealth, under certain conditions
• Licensees are responsible for understanding all applicable laws, to deliver health care via telehealth
• Failure to comply with any provisions regarding telehealth may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board

Detailed explanations regarding telehealth requirements, for licensees and registrants, are contained in the following statutes and regulations:

• California Code of Regulation Title 16 §1815.5: Standards of Practice for Telehealth
• Business and Professions Code §2290.5

This section applies to clients who are physically located in California.

• Individuals providing psychotherapy or counseling, either in person, via telephone, or via internet, must be licensed in California.

This section applies to clients who are physically located out-of-state.

• California licensees or registrants who wish to engage in telehealth with a client located in another jurisdiction need to check with that jurisdiction to determine its laws related to telehealth, and if licensure in that jurisdiction is required.  Several states currently consider a client located in their state to be under their jurisdiction.  Therefore, a practitioner needs to comply with that jurisdiction’s laws in order to avoid any potential violations of those laws.

Prior to the delivery of health care via telehealth, the provider initiating the use of telehealth shall:

• Inform the patient about the use of telehealth; AND
• Obtain, and document, verbal or written consent from the patient for this use

• All laws regarding the confidentiality of health care information and a patient's right to their medical information shall apply to telehealth interactions.

Additional information regarding telehealth is contained in the following statutes and regulations:

• California Code of Regulation Title 16 §1815.5: Standards of Practice for Telehealth
• Business and Professions Code §2290.5