| (a) Licensees provide only services for which they
have the education, skills, and training to perform competently.
(b) Competency includes the ability to provide services
concerning a specific individual that takes into account characteristics
of that individual including age, gender, ethnicity, national origin,
disability, language, and socio-economic status.
(c) Licensees maintain current knowledge of scientific
and professional information that ensures competency in every area
in which they provide services.
(d) Licensees provide services in an unfamiliar area
or involving new techniques only after first undertaking appropriate
study and training, including supervision, and/or consultation from
a professional competent to provide such services.
(e) In emerging areas in which generally recognized
standards for preparatory training do not exist, licensees take reasonable
steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect patients,
clients, research participants, and other affected individuals from
the potential for harm.
(f) Licensees are responsible for ensuring that all
individuals practicing under their supervision are competent to perform
those services.
(g) Licensees who delegate performance of certain services
such as test scoring are responsible for ensuring that the entity
to whom the delegation is made is competent to perform those services.
(h) Licensees who lack the competency to provide particular
psychological services to a specific individual must withdraw and
refer the individual to an appropriate service provider.
(i) Emergency Situations. In emergencies, when licensees
are asked to provide services to individuals for whom appropriate
mental health services are not available and for which the licensee
has not obtained the necessary competence, licensees may provide such
services until the emergency has abated or to the extent necessary
to ensure that services are not denied. If ongoing services are provided,
licensees must comply with subsection (d) of this section, as soon
as practicable or refer the patient to an appropriate service provider.
(j) Licensees refrain from initiating or continuing
to undertake an activity when they know or should know that there
is a substantial likelihood that personal problems or conflicts will
prevent them from performing their work-related activities or producing
a psychological report in a competent and timely manner. When licensees
become aware of such conflicts, they must immediately take appropriate
measures, such as obtaining professional consultation or assistance
in order to determine whether they should limit, suspend, or terminate
the engagement in accordance with §465.21 of this title (relating
to Termination of Services).
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