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(a)Required Supervised Experience. In order to qualify
for licensure, an applicant must submit proof of a minimum of 3,500
hours of supervised experience, at least 1,750 of which must have
been obtained through a formal internship that occurred within the
applicant's doctoral degree program and at least 1,750 of which must
have been received as a provisionally licensed psychologist (or under
provisional trainee status under prior versions of this rule).
(1)A formal internship completed after the doctoral
degree was conferred, but otherwise meeting the requirements of this
rule, will be accepted for an applicant whose doctoral degree was
conferred prior to September 1, 2017.
(2)The formal internship must be documented by the
Director of Internship Training. Alternatively, if the Director of
Internship Training is unavailable, the formal internship may be documented
by a licensed psychologist with knowledge of the internship program
and the applicant's participation in the internship program.
(3)Following conferral of a doctoral degree, 1,750
hours obtained or completed while employed in the delivery of psychological
services in an exempt setting, while licensed or authorized to practice
in another jurisdiction, or while practicing as a psychological associate
or specialist in school psychology in this state may be substituted
for the minimum of 1,750 hours of supervised experience required as
a provisionally licensed psychologist if the experience was obtained
or completed under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. Post-doctoral
supervised experience obtained without a provisional license or trainee
status prior to September 1, 2016, may also be used to satisfy, either
in whole or in part, the post-doctoral supervised experience required
by this rule if the experience was obtained under the supervision
of a licensed psychologist.
(b)Satisfaction of Post-doctoral Supervised Experience
with Doctoral Program Hours.
(1)Applicants who received their doctoral degree from
a degree program accredited by the American Psychological Association
(APA), the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), or a substantially
equivalent degree program, may count the following hours of supervised
experience completed as part of their degree program toward the required
post-doctoral supervised experience:
(A)hours in excess of 1,750 completed as part of the
applicant's formal internship; and
(B)practicum hours certified by the doctoral program
training director (or the director's designee) as meeting the following
criteria:
(i)the practicum training is overseen by the graduate
training program and is an organized, sequential series of supervised
experiences of increasing complexity, serving to prepare the student
for internship and ultimately licensure;
(ii)the practicum training is governed by a written
training plan between the student, the practicum training site, and
the graduate training program. The training plan must describe how
the trainee's time is allotted and assure the quality, breadth, and
depth of the training experience through specification of the goals
and objectives of the practicum, the methods of evaluation of the
trainee's performance, and reference to jurisdictional regulations
governing the supervisory experience. The plan must also include the
nature of supervision, the identities of the supervisors, and the
form and frequency of feedback from the agency supervisor to the training
faculty. A copy of the plan must be provided to the Council upon request;
(iii)the supervising psychologist must be a member
of the staff at the site where the practicum experience takes place;
(iv)at least 50% of the practicum hours must be in
service-related activities, defined as treatment or intervention,
assessment, interviews, report-writing, case presentations, and consultations;
(v)individual face-to-face supervision shall consist
of no less than 25% of the time spent in service-related activities;
(vi)at least 25% of the practicum hours must be devoted
to face-to-face patient or client contact;
(vii)no more than 25% of the time spent in supervision
may be provided by a licensed allied mental health professional or
a psychology intern or post-doctoral fellow; and
(viii)the practicum must consist of a minimum of 15
hours of experience per week.
(2)Applicants applying for licensure under the substantial
equivalence clause must submit an affidavit or unsworn declaration
from the program's training director or other designated leader familiar
with the degree program, demonstrating the substantial equivalence
of the applicant's degree program to an APA or CPA accredited program
at the time of the conferral of applicant's degree.
(3)An applicant and the affiant or declarant shall
appear before the agency in person to answer any questions, produce
supporting documentation, or address any concerns raised by the application
if requested by a council or board member or the Executive Director.
Failure to comply with this paragraph shall constitute grounds for
denial of substantial equivalency under this rule.
(c)General Requirements for Supervised Experience.
All supervised experience for licensure as a psychologist, including
the formal internship, must meet the following requirements:
(1)Each period of supervised experience must be obtained
in not more than two placements, and in not more than 24 consecutive
months.
(2)Gaps Related to Supervised Experience.
(A)Unless a waiver is granted by the Council, an application
for a psychologist's license will be denied if a gap of more than
seven years exists between the date an applicant's doctoral degree
was officially conferred and the date of the application.
(B)The Council shall grant a waiver upon a showing
of good cause by the applicant. Good cause shall include, but is not
limited to:
(i)proof of continued employment in the delivery of
psychological services in an exempt setting as described in §501.004
of the Psychologists' Licensing Act, during any gap period;
(ii)proof of professional development, which at a
minimum meets the Council's professional development requirements,
during any gap period;
(iii)proof of enrollment in a course of study in a
regionally accredited institution or training facility designed to
prepare the individual for the profession of psychology during any
gap period; or
(iv)proof of licensure as a psychologist and continued
employment in the delivery of psychological services in another jurisdiction.
(3)A formal internship with rotations, or one that
is part of a consortium within a doctoral program, is considered to
be one placement. A consortium is composed of multiple placements
that have entered into a written agreement setting forth the responsibilities
and financial commitments of each participating member, for the purpose
of offering a well-rounded, unified psychology training program whereby
trainees work at multiple sites, but obtain training from one primary
site with some experience at or exposure to aspects of the other sites
that the primary site does not offer.
(4)The supervised experience required by this rule
must be obtained after official enrollment in a doctoral program.
(5)All supervised experience must be received from
a psychologist licensed at the time supervision is received.
(6)The supervising psychologist must be trained in
the area of supervision provided to the supervisee.
(7)Experience obtained from a psychologist who is
related within the second degree of affinity or consanguinity to the
supervisee may not be utilized to satisfy the requirements of this
rule.
(8)All supervised experience obtained for the purpose
of licensure must be conducted in accordance with all applicable Council
rules.
(9)Unless authorized by the Council, supervised experience
received from a psychologist practicing with a restricted license
may not be utilized to satisfy the requirements of this rule.
(10)The supervisee shall be designated by a title
that clearly indicates a supervisory licensing status such as "intern,"
"resident," "trainee," or "fellow." An individual who is a Provisionally
Licensed Psychologist or a Licensed Psychological Associate may use
that title so long as those receiving psychological services are clearly
informed that the individual is under the supervision of a licensed
psychologist. An individual who is a Licensed Specialist in School
Psychology may use that title so long as the supervised experience
takes place within a school, and those receiving psychological services
are clearly informed that the individual is under the supervision
of an individual who is licensed as a psychologist and specialist
in school psychology. Use of a different job title is permitted only
if authorized under §501.004 of the Psychologists' Licensing
Act, or another Council rule.
(d)Formal Internship Requirements. The formal internship
hours must be satisfied by one of the following types of formal internships:
(1)The successful completion of an internship program
accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian
Psychological Association (CPA), or which is a member of the Association
of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC); or
(2)The successful completion of an organized internship
meeting all of the following criteria:
(A)It must constitute an organized training program
which is designed to provide the intern with a planned, programmed
sequence of training experiences. The primary focus and purpose of
the program must be to assure breadth and quality of training.
(B)The internship agency must have a clearly designated
staff psychologist who is responsible for the integrity and quality
of the training program and who is actively licensed/certified by
the licensing board of the jurisdiction in which the internship takes
place and who is present at the training facility for a minimum of
20 hours a week.
(C)The internship agency must have two or more full-time
licensed psychologists on the staff as primary supervisors.
(D)Internship supervision must be provided by a staff
member of the internship agency or by an affiliate of that agency
who carries clinical responsibility for the cases being supervised.
(E)The internship must provide training in a range
of assessment and intervention activities conducted directly with
patients/clients.
(F)At least 25% of trainee's time must be in direct
patient/client contact.
(G)The internship must include a minimum of two hours
per week of regularly scheduled formal, face-to-face individual supervision.
There must also be at least four additional hours per week in learning
activities such as: case conferences involving a case in which the
intern was actively involved; seminars dealing with psychology issues;
co-therapy with a staff person including discussion; group supervision;
additional individual supervision.
(H)Training must be post-clerkship, post-practicum
and post-externship level.
(I)The internship agency must have a minimum of two
full-time equivalent interns at the internship level of training during
applicant's training period.
(J)The internship agency must inform prospective interns
about the goals and content of the internship, as well as the expectations
for quantity and quality of trainee's work, including expected competencies;
or
(3)The successful completion of an organized internship
program in a school district meeting the following criteria:
(A)The internship experience must be provided at or
near the end of the formal training period.
(B)The internship experience must require a minimum
of 35 hours per week over a period of one academic year, or a minimum
of 20 hours per week over a period of two consecutive academic years.
(C)The internship experience must be consistent with
a written plan and must meet the specific training objectives of the
program.
(D)The internship experience must occur in a setting
appropriate to the specific training objectives of the program.
(E)At least 600 clock hours of the internship experience
must occur in a school setting and must provide a balanced exposure
to regular and special educational programs.
(F)The internship experience must occur under conditions
of appropriate supervision. Field-based internship supervisors, for
the purpose of the internship that takes place in a school setting,
must be licensed as a psychologist and, if a separate credential is
required to practice school psychology, must have a valid credential
to provide psychology in the public schools. The portion of the internship
which appropriately may take place in a non-school setting must be
supervised by a psychologist.
(G)Field-based internship supervisors must be responsible
for no more than two interns at any given time. University internship
supervisors shall be responsible for no more than twelve interns at
any given time.
(H)Field-based internship supervisors must provide
at least two hours per week of direct supervision for each intern.
University internship supervisors must maintain an ongoing relationship
with field-based internship supervisors and shall provide at least
one field-based contact per semester with each intern.
(I)The internship site shall inform interns concerning
the period of the internship and the training objectives of the program.
(J)The internship experience must be systematically
evaluated in a manner consistent with the specific training objectives
of the program.
(K)The internship experience must be conducted in
a manner consistent with the current legal-ethical standards of the
profession.
(L)The internship agency must have a minimum of two
full-time equivalent interns at the internship level during the applicant's
training period.
(M)The internship agency must have the availability
of at least two full-time equivalent psychologists as primary supervisors,
at least one of whom is employed full time at the agency and is a
school psychologist.
(e)Industrial/Organizational Requirements. Individuals
from an Industrial/Organizational doctoral degree program are exempt
from the formal internship requirement but must complete a minimum
of 3,500 hours of supervised experience, at least 1,750 of which must
have taken place after conferral of the doctoral degree and in accordance
with subsection (a) of this section. Individuals who do not undergo
a formal internship pursuant to this paragraph should note that Council
rules prohibit a psychologist from practicing in an area in which
they do not have sufficient training and experience, of which a formal
internship is considered to be an integral requirement.
(f)Licensure Following Respecialization.
(1)In order to qualify for licensure after undergoing
respecialization an applicant must demonstrate the following:
(A)conferral of a doctoral degree in psychology from
a regionally accredited institution of higher education prior to undergoing
respecialization;
(B)completion of a formal post-doctoral respecialization
program in psychology which included at least 1,750 hours in a formal
internship;
(C)completion of respecialization within the two year
period preceding the date of application for licensure under this
rule; and
(D)upon completion of the respecialization program,
at least 1,750 hours of supervised experience obtained as a provisionally
licensed psychologist (or under provisional trainee status under prior
versions of this rule).
(2)An applicant meeting the requirements of this subsection
is considered to have met the requirements for supervised experience
under this rule.
(3)The rules governing the waiver of gaps related
to supervised experience shall also govern any request for waiver
of a gap following respecialization.
(g)Remedy for Incomplete Supervised Experience.
(1)An applicant who has completed at least 1,500 hours
of supervised experience in a formal internship, 1,500 hours of supervised
experience following conferral of a doctoral degree, and who does
not meet all of the supervised experience qualifications for licensure
set out in subsections (a), (c), and (d) of this section or §465.2
of this title (relating to Supervision), may petition for permission
to remediate an area of deficiency. An applicant may not however,
petition for the waiver or modification of the requisite doctoral
degree or passage of the requisite examinations.
(2)The Council may allow an applicant to remediate
a deficiency identified in paragraph (1) of this subsection if the
applicant can demonstrate:
(A)the prerequisite is not mandated by federal law,
the state constitution or statute, or 22 TAC Part 41; and
(B)the remediation would not adversely affect the
public welfare.
(3)The Council may approve or deny a petition under
this subsection, and in the case of approval, may condition the approval
on reasonable terms and conditions designed to ensure the applicant's
education, training, and experience provide reasonable assurance that
the applicant has the knowledge and skills necessary for entry-level
practice as a licensed psychologist.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has
reviewed the
adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's
legal authority.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on February 10, 2022
TRD-202200457 Darrel D. Spinks
Executive Director
Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists
Effective date: March 2, 2022
Proposal publication date: October 1, 2021
For further information, please call: (512) 305-7706
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