24.189.607    REQUIRED SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE

(1) Acceptable supervised experience must involve the practice of psychology and must have been performed competently at a professional level in order to be considered satisfactory in scope and quality. The supervised practice of psychology that occurs without the board's preapproval and outside of the activities and services exempted under 37-17-104, MCA, is the unlicensed practice of psychology, which is a disciplinary matter.

(a) Experience limited to essentially repetitious and routine tasks at the preprofessional level will not be accepted, e.g., administering and scoring structured tests, as in a practicum course, computing statistics, assisting an instructor in psychology courses, or personal therapy. Such experiences are primarily preparatory to the practice of psychology.

(b) Experience of any kind gained prior to the completion of all requirements for the master's degree in psychology or its equivalent shall not be acceptable.

(c) Satisfactory examples of professional experience include tasks that depend upon the application of skills, concepts, and principles made available during the applicant's formal professional education and include:

(i) administering and interpreting psychological tests and providing clients or patients assistance in solving their professional or personal problems for a total of no less than 25 percent of one year (a minimum of 400 hours);

(ii) supervising graduate-level practicum for a total of no more than 25 percent of one year (a maximum of 400 hours); and

(iii) designing original research projects, analyzing and reporting research data, and teaching one or more courses in psychology for a total of no more than 50 percent of one year (a maximum of 800 hours).

(2) Required supervised experience shall include two calendar years (a minimum of 3200 hours) of supervised experience.

(a) One year of experience may be predoctoral, occurring after the master's degree and obtained during an internship in an approved training program for the doctoral degree in psychology. The predoctoral internship must be American Psychology Association (APA) approved or substantially equivalent to an APA internship.

(b) One year of experience (a minimum of 1600 hours) must be postdoctoral. Each year of required supervised experience that occurs over more than 12 consecutive months (e.g., due to medical reasons) will be considered for board approval on a case-by-case basis. Postdoctoral supervised experience may not commence until all doctoral degree requirements are completed and the board has approved the proposed supervision. Completion of doctoral degree requirements may be established by a certified transcript or communication from an appropriate institutional official, such as the registrar or the dean of the graduate school.

(3) An applicant for postdoctoral supervised experience shall obtain from and submit to the board a supervision proposal form. The form must indicate an agreement acceptable to the board between the applicant and the supervisor, and certify the existence of a supervisory relationship as defined in this rule, for a specified period. The board shall notify the applicant in writing of the acceptability of the supervision proposal. Regardless of the terms of any supervision agreement, board-approved supervised experience is subject to the rules and statutes governing the practice of psychology and, except as otherwise permitted under these rules, terminates no later than the date that is two years following the date the supervised experience begins.

(4) The 1600 hours of postdoctoral supervision must:

(a) consist of a minimum of one hour of face-to-face (personal) supervision per week throughout the period of supervision;

(b) be obtained over a period of no more than two calendar years. Postdoctoral supervised experience may not continue beyond two years, except that the board may review and approve written requests for additional time in which to complete the postdoctoral supervision in situations where personal or professional matters may necessitate an extension;

(c) involve the supervisee providing direct clinical services to clients at least 25 percent of the time; and

(d) occur under the supervision of a licensed psychologist who has:

(i) training and experience at least equivalent to that required by the state of Montana for licensing; and

(ii) experience and competency in the skills and knowledge in which the applicant is engaged.

(A) Teleconferencing which is two-way, interactive, real time, simultaneous, continuous, and provides for both audio and visual interaction may substitute for face-to-face supervision.

(B) Teleconferencing allowing only oral communication via technology may be allowed upon written request and prior board approval, when unusual circumstances so require. Oral teleconference supervision may constitute no more than 25 percent of the total supervision.

(5) When the supervisee is employed on a part-time basis, credit for employment shall be calculated by the calendar month or year according to 1-1-301, MCA, as follows:

(a) the number of hours actually worked per week divided by 40, and the resulting fraction multiplied by the number of calendar months of employment reported. Example: applicant employed from July 1, 1970 through October 31, 1971 on an average of 20 hours per week, total period - 16 months at one-half time. Applicant is credited with eight months of experience.

(6) Individual solo private practice does not qualify as acceptable professional experience. The supervisee must be an employee of the postdoctoral training setting and shall not bill directly for services provided.

(7) An acceptable postdoctoral training setting shall have two other board approved licensed mental health professionals participating in the training of the supervisee. The two additional mental health professionals must be on-site when the supervisor is not on-site.

(8) Qualifying supervisors shall provide evidence of:

(a) licensure for a minimum of three years prior to acting as a supervisor; and

(b) previous training and/or experience in supervising.

(9) During the postdoctoral supervision period, the supervisor shall:

(a) not be required to work in the same setting as, nor be an actual employee of the organization or institution where the supervisee works;

(b) be available in a timely manner for supervision in the event of an emergency;

(c) be available to the supervisee's clients for emergency consultation and intervention either:

(i) in person;

(ii) by oral teleconferencing; or

(iii) by oral and visual teleconferencing;

(d) determine the adequacy of the supervisee's preparation for the tasks to be performed;

(e) provide the supervisee with a written document specifying the roles, goals, and objectives for both supervisee and supervisor;

(f) develop, along with the supervisee, a written individualized training plan that:

(i) is consistent with the purpose of the setting;

(ii) meets the needs of the supervisee; and

(iii) serves as the foundation for the supervisor's quarterly written evaluations of the supervisee. Quarterly evaluations must:

(A) address professional conduct, ethical conduct, psychotherapy skills, evaluation skills, and other conduct, knowledge, and skills applicable to the tasks performed and training received, such as teaching, research, and supervision of students;

(B) be reviewed with the supervisee and signed by both the supervisor and supervisee; and

(C) be maintained for a minimum of five years and available upon board request;

(g) interrupt or terminate the supervisee's activities when necessary to ensure adequate development of skills and the protection of the public;

(h) report to the board any breach in ethical, legal, or professional responsibilities of the supervisee; and

(i) be ethically and legally responsible for all of the professional activities of the supervisee.

(10) During the postdoctoral supervision period, the supervisee shall:

(a) use the title "psychological resident" throughout the period of postdoctoral experience;

(b) maintain a diary or record of supervisory contacts, with all confidential information redacted, and submit it to the board upon completion of the supervision period. The diary must include:

(i) dates of contact;

(ii) sufficient detail to represent clearly the issues and problems discussed; and

(iii) signatures of both the supervisee and supervisor, to indicate the accuracy of the diary;

(c) sign all psychological reports or other professional opinions rendered by the supervisee using the title "psychological resident" and obtain a countersignature of the supervisor or the legally responsible person designated by the organization where such work is done; and

(d) inform clients orally and in writing of the supervised nature of the work and provide the name, address, and telephone number of the supervisor.

(11) In the event the relationship is terminated before the end of the supervisory period, the supervisor shall inform the board in writing of the following:

(a) the effective date of the termination;

(b) the reasons for the termination; and

(c) the nature and effectiveness of the supervisee's response to the supervision.

(12) A supervisor whose primary responsibilities are in another employment position shall not supervise more than three supervisees at any one time.

(13) A supervisor shall not be involved in a dual relationship with a supervisee, which would compromise the supervisory relationship, e.g., related by marriage, immediate family, business partnership, employee of the supervisee, or former client-professional relationship. If the supervisee pays the supervisor for the postdoctoral supervision, the supervisor shall pay particular attention to the impact of the financial arrangements on the supervisory relationship.

History: 37-1-131, 37-17-202, MCA; IMP, 37-17-302, MCA; Eff. 12/31/72; AMD, Eff. 5/6/76; TRANS, from Dept. of Prof. & Occup. Lic., Ch. 274, L. 1981, Eff. 7/1/81; AMD, 1988 MAR p. 570, Eff. 3/25/88; AMD, 1994 MAR p. 389, Eff. 2/25/94; AMD, 1995 MAR p. 354, Eff. 3/17/95; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 1742, Eff. 9/7/01; TRANS, from Commerce, 2004 MAR p. 2282; AMD, 2007 MAR p. 348, Eff. 3/23/07; AMD, 2010 MAR p. 1508, Eff. 6/25/10; AMD, 2012 MAR p. 1041, Eff. 5/25/12; AMD, 2014 MAR p. 2459, Eff. 10/10/14.