N.M. Stat. § 61-9A-3
Definitions. (Repealed effective July 1, 2028.)
As used in the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act:
A. "accredited institution" means a university or college accredited by an accrediting
agency of institutions of higher education;
B. "appraisal" means selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting instruments
designed to assess a person's aptitudes, attitudes, abilities, achievements, interests,
personal characteristics and current emotional or mental state by appropriately
educated, trained and experienced clinicians and the use of nonstandardized methods
and techniques for understanding human behavior in relation to coping with, adapting to
or changing life situations of a physical, mental or emotional nature; "appraisal" shall not
be construed to permit the performance of any act that a counselor or a therapist is not
educated, trained and licensed to perform;
C. "appropriate clinical supervision" means, as defined by rule, supervision provided
by a licensed:
(1)
professional clinical mental health counselor;
(2)
marriage and family therapist;
(3)
professional art therapist;
(4)
psychiatrist;
(5)
clinical psychologist;
(6)
clinical nurse specialist in psychiatry;
(7)
independent social worker with two years of mental health and supervised
clinical experience; or
(8)
alcohol and drug abuse counselor with three years of work experience in
the field of alcohol and drug abuse prior to providing supervision;
D. "appropriate clinical supervisor for substance abuse associate" means a person
who has education and experience specific to the career track of the associate and has
training in transmitting knowledge, skills and attitudes through a relational process that
includes direct oversight of the clinical work;
E. "approved clinical supervisor" means a person who is a licensed professional
clinical mental health counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed
professional art therapist, licensed psychiatrist, licensed clinical psychologist, clinical
nurse specialist in psychiatry or licensed independent social worker and provides
supervision to a licensed mental health counselor or therapist;
F. "art therapy" means the rendering of art therapy principles whereby
communication is facilitated through therapeutic counseling and art media. This
involves the application of the principles of human development and psychological
theories, which are implemented in the full spectrum of models of assessment and
treatment, including psychodynamics and cognitive, interpersonal and other therapeutic
means to individuals, couples, families, groups and communities for the promotion of
optimal mental health;
G. "board" means the counseling and therapy practice board;
H. "client contact hours" means the face-to-face time spent with a client to appraise,
assess, evaluate, diagnose, treat psychopathology and provide counseling services;
I. "clinical counseling" means the rendering of counseling services involving the
application of principles of psychotherapy, human development, learning theory,
diagnosis, treatment and the etiology of mental illness and dysfunctional behavior to
individuals, couples, families or groups for the purpose of assessing and treating
psychopathology and promoting optimal mental health;
J. "consultation" means the voluntary, nonsupervisory relationship between
professionals or other pertinent persons, in application of scientific counseling, guidance
and human development principles and procedures to provide assistance in
understanding and resolving a current or potential problem that the consultee may have
in relation to a third party, be it an individual, group, family or organization;
K. "counselor training and education" means a process that prepares counselors
and therapists in both didactic and clinical aspects of counseling;
L. "course" means an integrated, organized course of study, which encompasses a
minimum of one school semester or equivalent hours;
M. "counseling" means the application of scientific principles and procedures in
therapeutic counseling, guidance and human development to provide assistance in
understanding and solving a mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational,
spiritual or career development and adjustment problem that a client may have;
N. "counseling-related field" as defined by rule, means a degree in guidance
counseling, mental health-community counseling or agency counseling; psychology,
clinical psychology or counseling psychology; human services; family services; human
and family studies; art therapy; or art education with an emphasis in art therapy;
O. "department" means the regulation and licensing department or the division of
the department designated to administer the counseling and therapy practice board;
P. "diagnosis and treatment planning" means assessing, analyzing and providing
diagnostic descriptions of mental, emotional or behavioral conditions; exploring possible
solutions; and developing and implementing a treatment plan for mental, emotional and
psychosocial adjustment or development. "Diagnosis and treatment planning" shall not
be construed to permit the performance of any act that counselors or therapists are not
educated, trained and licensed to perform;
Q. "evaluation" means the act of making informed decisions based on the use and
analysis of pertinent data;
R. "internship" means a distinctly defined, pre-graduate, supervised clinical
experience in which the student refines, enhances and integrates professional
knowledge with basic counselor or therapist skills appropriate to the student's program
and preparation for postgraduate professional placement;
S. "licensure" means the process by which a state agency or government grants
permission to an individual to engage in a given profession and to use the designated
title of that profession after the applicant has attained the minimal degree of
competency necessary to ensure that the public health, safety and welfare are
reasonably well protected;
T. "marriage and family therapy" means the assessment, diagnosis and treatment
of nervous and mental disorders, whether cognitive, affective or behavioral, within the
context of marriage and family systems;
U. "mental disorder" means any of several conditions or disorders that meet the
diagnostic criteria contained in the diagnostic and statistical manual of the American
psychiatric association or the world health organization's international classification of
mental disorders;
V. "practicum" means a distinctly defined, supervised clinical experience in which
the student develops basic counselor or therapist skills and integrates professional
knowledge, which practicum is completed prior to or concurrent with an internship;
W. "program" means a structured sequence of curricular and clinical experiences
housed within an academic unit;
X. "referral" means evaluating and identifying the needs of a client to determine the
advisability of referrals to other specialists, advising the client of such judgments and
communicating as requested or deemed appropriate to such referral sources;
Y. "research" means a systematic effort to collect, analyze and interpret quantitative
or qualitative data that describe how social characteristics, behavior, emotions,
cognition, disabilities, mental disorders and interpersonal transactions among
individuals, couples, families and organizations interact;
Z. "standard" means a minimal criterion that must be met; and
AA. "substance abuse-related field" means a degree in guidance counseling, mental
health-community counseling, agency counseling, psychology, clinical psychology,
counseling psychology, human services, family services, human and family studies,
social work, art therapy or art education with appropriate clinical background and two
hundred seventy-six clock hours in education or training in alcohol and drug abuse
counseling.