Supervised Professional Experience, Section 337.025, RSMo, for the Delivery of Nonhealth Psychological Services

PURPOSE: This rule defines the supervised professional experience requirements for nonhealth service providers under section 337.025, RSMo. (1) Postdoctoral experience for those applicants who have not completed a program in one or more of the American Psychological Association designated health service provider delivery areas, as defined in 20 CSR 22351.015(10), and/or for those who do not intend to engage in the delivery of psychological health services shall be governed by the following: (A) Completion of Educational Requirements. All supervised professional experience must be acquired subsequent to the completion of all educational requirements as defined in section 337.027, RSMo. For the purposes of this rule, an applicant shall be deemed to have met the educational requirements when all degree and core course requirements, as defined in 20 CSR 22352.005, have been completed. Degree requirements have been met when indicated by conferral of the formal degree or at the time when all degree requirements established by the recognized educational institution for the degree have been met with the sole exception that the degree has not been formally conferred and the institution so certifies in writing to the committee; (B) Amount of Time. Postdoctoral supervised professional experience shall consist of a minimum of fifteen hundred (1500) hours of professional experience in the delivery of psychological services obtained in no fewer than twelve (12) or more than twenty-four (24) calendar months. This experience must be accumulated at a rate of no fewer than twenty (20) hours per week nor more than fifty (50) hours per week; (C) Organized Training Program. Postdoctoral supervised professional experience must be obtained in an organized psychological training program for the delivery of psychological services. The organized psychological training program shall include all of the following: 1. Provides direct training and experience in the delivery of psychological services appropriate to and consistent with the supervisee’s education, training, experience and intended practice; 2. Provides exposure to and interaction with a variety of professionals and disciplines relevant to the delivery of psychological services; 3. Does not include a private practice setting in which the applicant operates, manages, has an ownership interest or administrative responsibility in the private practice; and 4. Provides a minimum of five (5) hours per week of professional learning activities. These professional learning experiences must be clearly established and agreed upon by the supervisee and supervisor at the initiation of post-degree supervision and may include any of the following: A. Project meetings and consultations with other professionals relevant to the supervisee’s intended area of psychological practice; B. Readings from journals and books relevant to the supervisee’s intended area of psychological practice; C. Attendance or presentation of workshops, seminars, in-services or lectures on topics relevant to the supervisee’s intended area of practice; D. Coordinating and presenting research relevant to the supervisee’s intended area of practice; or E. Teaching of a graduate or undergraduate course in psychology at a recognized educational institution accredited by one (1) of the regional accrediting associations approved by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation; (D) Supervision. The psychological activities of the applicant shall be performed pursuant to the primary supervisor’s order, control, and full professional responsibility. The primary supervisor shall maintain a continuing relationship with the applicant and shall meet with the applicant a minimum of one (1) hour per month in face-to-face individual supervision. A portion of the supervision may be delegated by the primary supervisor to one (1) or more secondary supervisor(s) who shall then retain order, control and full professional responsibility for that portion of the applicant’s work being performed under their supervision which supervisor shall then meet with the applicant a minimum of one (1) hour per week in face-to-face individual supervision. If there is only one (1) supervisor the meetings shall be a minimum of one (1) hour per week. Group supervision is not acceptable for supervised experience under this regulation; (E) Supervisor Requirements. 1. The primary and all secondary supervisors, if any, must be licensed psychologist(s) or such other qualified professional(s), if preapproved, by the committee. 2. No supervisor, whether primary or secondary, may be a relative of the applicant, such as a spouse, parent, child, sibling of the whole- or half-blood, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, stepparent, stepchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law. 3. No supervisor, whether primary or secondary, may be under discipline by any licensing board or jurisdiction at any time during the period of supervised professional experience. 4. No supervisor, whether primary or secondary, shall have more than four (4) persons obtaining post-degree supervised professional experience for licensure under supervision at any one (1) time. Any supervisor wishing to petition the committee for additional supervisees may do so through a written request. 5. All supervisors, whether primary and/or secondary, must certify to the committee at the completion of the applicant’s postdoctoral supervised professional experience that the supervisee has complied with the requirements for supervised professional experience through the use of the attestation forms provided by the committee; (F) Supervisor/Supervisee Relationship. 1. All professional activities and psychological services provided by the supervisee must be performed pursuant to the supervisor’s(s’) order, control, and full professional responsibility. The supervisor, whether primary and/or secondary, must be vested with administrative authority over matters affecting the delivery of the psychological services being accorded under the supervision of a particular supervisor, whether primary and/or secondary, so that the ultimate responsibility for the welfare of the public and/or any client is maintained by the supervising psychologists. 2. The supervisor(s) shall maintain a continuing relationship with the supervisee. The supervisor(s) and supervisee should have frequent professional interactions. Group supervision is not acceptable for supervised professional experience under this rule. The supervisee must complete at least forty-eight (48) hours of weekly supervision sessions. 3. Unless otherwise approved by the committee for good cause, all work products prepared by the supervisee must be reviewed, approved and cosigned by the appropriate supervisor; (G) Variances. Supervisees seeking a variance in the acceptance of the supervision requirements shall make application to the committee which may be handled on a caseby-case basis; (H) Prior Review. The committee, upon request, will review a supervisee’s plan of post-degree supervised professional experience to determine if that supervision is acceptable under this rule. All requests shall be submitted on the forms provided by the committee and accompanied by the prior review fee for post-degree supervision. A prior review of educational credentials must be conducted prior to or simultaneously with a request of proposed plan of post-degree supervised professional experience. All requests must be submitted to the committee thirty (30) days prior to a regularly scheduled committee meeting; and (I) Representation. 1. Throughout the period of postdoctoral supervised professional experience, the supervisee must represent him/herself to consumers of psychological services consistent with 20 CSR 2235-1.015. 2. Any individual, whether such individual be provisionally licensed or be unlicensed, who is working under the supervision of a licensed psychologist shall not be listed in telephone listings as providing psychological services. 3. Any individual, whether such individual be provisionally licensed or unlicensed, who is working under the supervision of a licensed psychologist shall list the primary supervising psychologist’s name and license number on all professional correspondence (for example, testing reports and progress reports) and advertisements or notices (for example, brochures) of his/her professional services. AUTHORITY: sections 337.025 and 337.050.9, RSMo 2000.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 235-2.050. Original rule filed Feb. 4, 1992, effective Dec. 3, 1992. Amended: Filed July 26, 1999, effective Feb. 29, 2000. Moved to 20 CSR 2235-2.050, effective Aug. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed July 9, 2008, effective Jan. 30, 2009. *Original authority: 337.025, RSMo 1977, amended 1989, 1998 and 337.050.9, RSMo 1977, amended 1981, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999.