The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4188

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 1, 2019
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. DenDEKKER, CUSICK, RODRIGUEZ, THIELE, McDONOUGH,
  DiPIETRO, ABBATE, SANTABARBARA, COLTON,  HEVESI,  ORTIZ,  BLANKENBUSH,
  RAIA,  SIMON, PHEFFER AMATO, DICKENS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  BARCLAY, BUCHWALD, GALEF, HAWLEY -- read  once  and  referred  to  the
  Committee on Higher Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to clarifying the author-
  ization to practice for mental health practitioners

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 8402  of  the  education  law,  as
added by chapter 676 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  Definition  of the practice of mental health counseling. The prac-
tice of the profession of mental health counseling is defined as:
  (a) the evaluation, assessment,  DIAGNOSIS,  amelioration,  treatment,
modification,  or  adjustment  to  a disability, problem, or disorder of
behavior, character, development, emotion, personality or  relationships
by  the  use  of verbal or behavioral methods with individuals, couples,
families or groups in private practice, group,  or  organized  settings;
[and]
  (b) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and
psychotherapy to identify, evaluate, DIAGNOSE and treat dysfunctions and
disorders for purposes of providing appropriate mental health counseling
services; AND
  (C)  DIAGNOSIS  IN  THE  CONTEXT  OF LICENSED MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING
PRACTICE IS  THE  PROCESS  OF  DISTINGUISHING  BETWEEN  SIMILAR  MENTAL,
EMOTIONAL,  BEHAVIORAL,  DEVELOPMENTAL, AND ADDICTIVE DISORDERS, IMPAIR-
MENTS AND DISABILITIES WITHIN A PSYCHOSOCIAL FRAMEWORK ON THE  BASIS  OF
THEIR  SIMILAR AND UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS CONSISTENT WITH ACCEPTED CLAS-
SIFICATION SYSTEMS.
  § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 8403 of the education law, as  added  by
chapter 676  of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD07796-01-9

A. 4188                             2

  1.  Definition  of  the  practice  of marriage and family therapy. The
practice of the profession of marriage and family therapy is defined as:
  (a)  the  assessment,  DIAGNOSIS  and  treatment of nervous and mental
disorders, whether affective, cognitive or behavioral, which results  in
dysfunctional  interpersonal  family  relationships  including,  but not
limited  to  familial   relationships,   marital/couple   relationships,
parent-child  relationships,  pre-marital  and  other personal relation-
ships;
  (b) the use of mental health counseling, psychotherapy and therapeutic
techniques  to  evaluate  and  treat  marital,  relational,  and  family
systems, and individuals in relationship to these systems;
  (c)  the  use  of mental health counseling and psychotherapeutic tech-
niques to treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders and  ailments
within  the context of marital, relational and family systems to prevent
and ameliorate dysfunction; [and]
  (d) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and
psychotherapy to identify [and], evaluate, DIAGNOSE AND  TREAT  dysfunc-
tions  and  disorders for purposes of providing appropriate marriage and
family therapy services; AND
  (E) DIAGNOSIS IN THE CONTEXT OF LICENSED MARRIAGE AND  FAMILY  THERAPY
PRACTICE  IS  THE  PROCESS  OF  DISTINGUISHING  BETWEEN  SIMILAR MENTAL,
EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIORAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND ADDICTIVE  DISORDERS,  IMPAIR-
MENTS  AND  DISABILITIES WITHIN A PSYCHOSOCIAL FRAMEWORK ON THE BASIS OF
THEIR SIMILAR AND UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS CONSISTENT WITH ACCEPTED  CLAS-
SIFICATION SYSTEMS.
  §  3.  Subdivision 1 of section 8404 of the education law, as added by
chapter 676 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  1. Definition of the practice of creative arts therapy.  The  practice
of the profession of creative arts therapy is defined as:
  (a)  the  assessment, evaluation, DIAGNOSIS and the therapeutic inter-
vention and treatment, which may be either primary, parallel or  adjunc-
tive,  of  mental,  emotional,  developmental  and  behavioral disorders
through the use of the arts as approved by the department; [and]
  (b) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and
psychotherapy to identify, evaluate, DIAGNOSE and treat dysfunctions and
disorders for purposes of providing appropriate  creative  arts  therapy
services; AND
  (C)  DIAGNOSIS  IN THE CONTEXT OF LICENSED CREATIVE ARTS THERAPY PRAC-
TICE IS THE PROCESS OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SIMILAR MENTAL, EMOTIONAL,
BEHAVIORAL, DEVELOPMENTAL,  AND  ADDICTIVE  DISORDERS,  IMPAIRMENTS  AND
DISABILITIES WITHIN A PSYCHOSOCIAL FRAMEWORK ON THE BASIS OF THEIR SIMI-
LAR  AND  UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS CONSISTENT WITH ACCEPTED CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEMS.
  § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 8405 of the education law, as  added  by
chapter 676 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  Definition of the practice of psychoanalysis.  The practice of the
profession of psychoanalysis is defined as:
  (a) the observation, description,  evaluation,  [and]  interpretation,
DIAGNOSIS  AND  TREATMENT  of  dynamic unconscious mental processes that
contribute to the formation of personality  and  behavior  in  order  to
identify and resolve unconscious psychic problems which affect interper-
sonal  relationships and emotional development, to facilitate changes in
personality and behavior through the use of verbal and nonverbal  cogni-
tive  and  emotional communication, and to develop adaptive functioning;
[and]

A. 4188                             3

  (b) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and
psychotherapy to identify, evaluate, DIAGNOSE and treat dysfunctions and
disorders for purposes of providing appropriate psychoanalytic services;
AND
  (C)  DIAGNOSIS  IN  THE CONTEXT OF LICENSED PSYCHOANALYSIS PRACTICE IS
THE PROCESS OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SIMILAR MENTAL, EMOTIONAL,  BEHAV-
IORAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND ADDICTIVE DISORDERS, IMPAIRMENTS AND DISABILI-
TIES  WITHIN  A PSYCHOSOCIAL FRAMEWORK ON THE BASIS OF THEIR SIMILAR AND
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS CONSISTENT WITH ACCEPTED CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS.
  § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.