Scope Of Practice

(1) The scope of practice of a Certified Psychological Assistant is prescribed and limited by Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 11 and the rules set forth in this chapter and Chapter 1180-01. (2) A certificate issued by the Board specifies certification as a Certified Psychological Assistant. (3) Certified Psychological Assistants shall limit their practices to the use of those techniques, and to providing services to those populations, for which they have formal education, formal professional training and supervised experience, and for which they hold certification. Because no education, professional training, supervised experience and practicum in psychotherapy or other therapeutic intervention activities is prescribed in the statute, the scope of practice for Certified Psychological Assistants is specifically restricted to psychological assessment, psychological testing, and related activities, with no Certified Psychological Assistant allowed to engage in psychotherapy or any other form of therapeutic intervention. The supervised practice of a Certified Psychological Assistant, may include, but is not limited to: (a) Participates in psychological evaluations and clinical assessments of patients/clients utilizing a wide variety of assessment techniques and instruments thereby providing psychological data; (b) Administers psychological testing, monitors mental status of patients and participates in treatment teams which evaluate, develop, implement, and document patient’s treatment progress; (c) Assists with classification information on patients and recommendations on service needs, identification and recommendation of services for the handicapped, and crisis intervention; (d) Screens patients for appropriate treatments; (e) Provides educational/information services for patients; (f) Participates in both basic and applied research endeavors and contributes to the basic fund of psychological knowledge; (g) May assist in psychological screening of employees; and (h) May supervise/direct the work of clerical/related staff in the performance of their duties as assigned. RULES GOVERNING CERTIFIED PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANTS CHAPTER 1180-04 (4) Certified Psychological Assistants, who have had appropriate education, training and supervised practice experience, may render to individuals or to the public for remuneration any service involving the application of recognized principles, methods, and procedures of the science and profession of psychology as defined in paragraph three (3) above and only under the direct employment and qualified supervision of a Psychologist with HSP designation or a Senior Psychological Examiner; or the employment of a community mental health center or state governmental agency and the qualified supervision of a Psychologist with HSP designation or a Senior Psychological Examiner. (a) Supervision must meet minimum standards and a supervisor of record must be made known to the Board. Supervision conducted via face-to-face video conferencing equipment and/or technology is acceptable, assuming compliance with subparagraphs (4)(a) through (4)(g) of this rule. “Face-to-face” means (a) can see one’s face and (b) occurring in real time via video conferencing equipment and/or technology. No more than seventy-five (75) percent of supervision can be obtained through video conferencing. 1. Before supervision of Certified Psychological Assistants may occur, a Board- supplied form shall be submitted to the Board’s administrative office. Such form shall be signed by the supervisor, and shall list: (i) Those Certified Psychological Assistants whom the Psychologist or Senior Psychological Examiner supervises and for whom they are the supervisor of record; or (ii) A Certified Psychological Assistant must list their primary supervisor(s) if engaging in activities requiring supervision. 2. The Board-supplied form may be obtained by contacting the Board’s administrative office, or by downloading it from the Board’s web page on the Internet. (b) Qualified supervision requires that a licensed Psychologist or Senior Psychological Examiner, qualified by experience and training to practice the overall supervised activity or activities, provide supervision on a regular and frequent basis. The supervising Psychologist for Certified Psychological Assistants delivering health services must also be designated as a HSP. (c) The supervising psychologist or Senior Psychological Examiner shall limit the number of supervisees in order to assure an adequate ratio of supervision hours to practice hours consistent with professional standards and guidelines which insure the welfare of the supervisees and their clients. (d) The supervising Psychologist shall limit their supervision of Certified Psychological Assistants to psychological assessment activities. The supervising Psychologist should not supervise the Certified Psychological Assistant for psychotherapy or other forms of intervention. (e) Specific case monitoring and skill training requires significant supervisory contact and must be in addition to overall administrative supervision. 1. Supervision is to be conducted primarily on a one-on-one basis and shall be in addition to any group seminar or group consultations which are also deemed appropriate. Thus, supervision will require considerable one-on-one contact and time with respect to each client. Records of the supervision process must be maintained by the supervisor covering the number of hours of supervision RULES GOVERNING CERTIFIED PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANTS CHAPTER 1180-04 activities, the number and duration of one-on-one supervisory meetings, and documentation of clients discussed at each supervisory session. 2. A supervisor, at the time of supervision, must not be in a dual relationship with the supervisee, e.g., be a spouse, other close relative, or treating therapist. (f) The supervising Psychologist or Senior Psychological Examiner has responsibility to require that the Certified Psychological Assistant complete continuing education to maintain continued competence. (g) In all cases the specific terms of the supervisory arrangement are the responsibility of the supervising Psychologist or Senior Psychological Examiner upon whom it is incumbent to assure supervisory time and service delivery. Likewise, it is the responsibility of the supervisee to obtain supervision. The supervisor must consider the education, training, experience, and ongoing performance of the supervisee. The arrangements for supervision must be agreed to by both the supervisor and the supervisee. The supervising Psychologist or Senior Psychological Examiner of record must protect the welfare of the client and assure compliance with Tennessee law and professional ethics. (5) The Board shall consider that an individual, either certified or uncertified, is violating these limits of practice if the individual’s conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) Claiming expertise or using techniques or procedures of assessment or treatment for which the practitioner has not completed appropriate academic course work or supervised training experience; (b) Knowingly assigning, permitting or hiring any unqualified person(s) to perform functions of assessment or treatment or delegating the provisions of psychological services to unqualified person(s); (c) Aiding, abetting, assisting, or hiring any individual to violate or circumvent any law or duly promulgated rule intended to guide the conduct of psychological services; or (d) Providing or claiming to provide the services listed in paragraph (4) without supervision by a Psychologist with HSP designation or Senior Psychological Examiner.