A 8183: Provides alternate education and experience requirements for mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychoanalysts licensed prior to 06/24/2027, to be issued privilege to diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans; removes fees for application for such diagnostic privileges.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8183 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY May 5, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requirements for certain mental health practitioners to be issued privilege to diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 8401-a 2 of the education law, as added by chapter 230 of the laws of 2022, are 3 amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to read as follows: 4 (d) Experience: [(i)] Have completed at least two thousand hours of 5 supervised, direct client contact that shall include, but not be limited 6 to, diagnosis, psychotherapy and the development of assessment-based 7 treatment plans, as defined in section eighty-four hundred one of this 8 article, satisfactory to the department. 9 [(ii) Subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall not apply to a mental 10 health counselor, marriage and family therapist, or psychoanalyst who 11 was licensed prior to June twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-four, and 12 who provides attestation, on a form prescribed by the department, from a 13 supervisor in a facility setting or other supervised setting approved by 14 the department under supervision in accordance with the commissioner's 15 regulations, that such licensee has at least three years of experience 16 engaged in direct client contact that shall include diagnosis, psychoth- 17 erapy and the development of assessment-based treatment plans. Such 18 licensee shall submit an application to the department within three 19 years of the effective date of this section.] 20 (e) Fee: Pay a fee of one hundred [seventy-five] dollars for issuance 21 of a privilege to diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans. 22 (f) Alternate requirements for certain practitioners. Notwithstanding 23 paragraphs (c) and (d) of this subdivision, a mental health counselor, 24 marriage and family therapist, or psychoanalyst licensed prior to June EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11683-01-5 
 A. 8183 2 1 twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-seven, shall be granted the privilege 2 to diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans if such mental 3 health counselor, marriage and family therapist, or psychoanalyst: 4 (i) files an application with the department; 5 (ii) is licensed and registered as a mental health counselor, marriage 6 and family therapist, or psychoanalyst, and: 7 (1) provides verification of twelve credit hours of clinical course- 8 work as defined by the department from a college or university accepta- 9 ble to the department; 10 (2) provides verification of a minimum of two years of employment as a 11 licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, or 12 psychoanalyst by a licensed supervisor or colleague on forms acceptable 13 to the department, in a program or service operated, regulated, funded, 14 or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of children 15 and family services, the office of temporary and disability assistance, 16 the department of corrections and community supervision, the state 17 office for the aging, the department of health, or a local governmental 18 unit as such term is defined by section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law, 19 or a social services district as defined by section sixty-one of the 20 social services law; or 21 (3) provides verification of being licensed as a mental health counse- 22 lor, marriage and family therapist, or psychoanalyst for a minimum of 23 two years, and: 24 (A) provides documentation of at least six credit hours of clinical 25 coursework as defined by the department from a college or university 26 acceptable to the department; or 27 (B) provides documentation of at least twelve hours of continuing 28 education in clinical coursework subject to section eighty-four hundred 29 twelve-a of this article; and 30 (iii) pays the fee as required under paragraph (e) of this subdivi- 31 sion. 32 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.