Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 46
PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS

 Part LXIII. Psychologists

Note: Updates to the LAC my be obtained from http://doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/46v63/46v63.doc 

Chapter 3.  Training and Credentials

§301.    School

A.     A “school” or “college” approved by the board is a university or other institution of higher learning which at the time of the granting of the doctorate has met §301.B, C, and D;

B.     is accredited by one of the six regional bodies recognized by the council on postsecondary accreditation;

C.     has achieved the highest level of accreditation or approval awarded by statutory authorities of the state in which the school or college is located;

D.     offers a full-time graduate course of study in psychology as defined in the regulations.

AUTHORITY NOTE:  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2353 and R.S. 37:2356.

HISTORICAL NOTE:  Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, LR 6:489 (August 1980).

§303.    Doctoral Programs in Psychology

A.     A graduate of a doctoral program that is listed by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) and the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology’s yearly joint publication of the Doctoral Psychology Programs Meeting Designation Criteria is recognized as holding a doctoral degree with a major in psychology from a university offering a full-time graduate course of study in psychology.

B.     A graduate of a doctoral program that is accredited by the American Psychological Association is recognized as holding a doctoral degree with a major in psychology from a university offering a full-time graduate course of study in psychology.  The criteria for accreditation serve as a model for professional psychology training.

C.     A graduate of a doctoral program that is neither listed in Designate Doctoral Programs in Psychology nor accredited by the American Psychological Association must meet Criteria 1 through 11 below.

         1.  Training in professional psychology is doctoral training offered in a regionally accredited institution of higher education.

         2.  The program, wherever it may be administratively housed, must be clearly identified and labeled as a psychology program. Such a program must specify in pertinent institutional catalogs and brochures its intent to educate and train professional psychologists.

         3.  The psychology program must stand as a recognizable, coherent organizational entity within the institution.

         4.  There must be a clear authority and primary responsibility for the core and specialty areas whether or not the program cuts across administrative lines.

         5.  The program must be an integrated, organized sequence of study.

         6.  There must be an identifiable psychology faculty and a psychologist responsible for the program.

         7.  The program must have an identifiable body of students who are matriculated in that program for a degree.

         8.  The program must include supervised practicum, internship, field or laboratory training appropriate to the practice of psychology.

         9.  The program shall be an internal degree program (as opposed to an external degree program) unless it is either designated by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards and the National Register or it is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

         10.  The doctoral program shall involve at least one continuous academic year of full-time residency on the campus of the institution at which the degree is granted.

         11.  The curriculum shall encompass a minimum of three academic years of full-time graduate study. The program of study shall typically include graduate coursework with a minimum of three semester hours (five quarter hours) in each of the following three areas: scientific and professional ethics and standards, research design and methodology, and statistics and methodology. In cases where the material from one of these areas was incorporated into other courses, the program director shall submit material to the Board indicating the educational equivalence of this requirement. Additionally, the core program shall require each student to demonstrate competence in each of the following substantive areas. This requirement typically will be met by including a minimum of three or more graduate semester hours (five or more graduate quarter hours) in each of the four substantive content areas. Graduates who cannot document competence in all substantive content areas (§303.C.11.a-d below), may demonstrate competence by taking additional course work or examination, not to exceed one substantive content area:

                         a.  biological bases of behavior (physiological psychology, comparative psychology, neuropsychology, sensation and perception, psychopharmacology;

                         b.  cognitive-affective bases of behavior (learning, thinking, motivation, emotion;

                         c.  social bases of behavior (social psychology, group processes, organizational and systems theory;

                         d.  individual difference (personality theory, human development, abnormal psychology. In addition, all professional doctoral programs in psychology will include course requirements in specialty areas.

         D.  Graduates of foreign programs will be evaluated according to the following.

                         1.  Graduates of foreign programs must meet the “substantial equivalent” of criteria §303.C.1.-11. above. “Substantial equivalent” does not apply to graduates from colleges, universities, or professional schools in the United States, Canada, or any jurisdiction under the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. The board may “assess” a foreign applicant to recover expenses incurred in reviewing unusual credentials.

                         2.  Applicants for licensure whose applications are based on graduation from foreign universities shall provide the board with such documents and evidence to establish that their formal education is equivalent to a doctoral degree in psychology granted by a United States university that is regionally accredited. The applicant shall provide the board with the following:

                         a.  an original diploma or other certificate of graduation, which will be returned, and a photostatic copy of such a document, which shall be retained;

                         b.  a transcript or comparable document of all course work completed;

                         c.  a certified translation of all documents submitted in a language other than English;

                         d.  satisfactory evidence of supervised experience;

                         e.  evidence that the doctoral dissertation was primarily psychological in nature. In its discretion, the board may require an applicant to file a copy of the dissertation itself; and

                         f.  a statement prepared by the applicant based on the documents referred to in this section, indicating the chronological sequence of studies and research. The format of this statement shall be as comparable as possible to a transcript issued by American universities.

AUTHORITY NOTE:  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2353 and R.S. 37:2356.

HISTORICAL NOTE:  Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, LR 6:489 (August 1980), amended LR 13:180 (March 1987), amended by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, LR 15:87 (February 1989), LR 27:1895 (November 2001).

§305.    Specialty Areas

A.     If the emphasis of the major in psychology is an applied area such as clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, school psychology, or industrial-organizational psychology, the training shall include a set of coordinated practicum and internship training experiences.

B.     In applied areas such as counseling, clinical, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology, preparation normally shall include early and continuing involvement of students in applied settings. Such experiences should occur at two levels:  practicum and internship.

         1. The practicum level is an earlier, prerequisite phase of involvement, usually for academic credit, often on campus, with typical time commitment of 8 to 16 hours per week. Practicum settings should provide supervised training in interviewing, appraisal, modes of intervention and research skills or other skills appropriate to the student’s level of experience and area of specialization. A minimum of 300 hours of practicum experience should precede the internship. This should include at least 100 hours of direct client contact and at least 50 hours of scheduled individual supervision.

         2.  The following will be used to identify organized psychology internship training programs.

                         a.  An organized training program, in contrast to supervised experience or on-the-job training, is designed to provide the intern with a planned, programmed sequence of training experiences. The primary focus and purpose is assuring breadth and quality of training.

                         b.  The internship agency had a clearly designated staff psychologist who was responsible for the integrity and quality of the training program and who was actively licensed/certified by the State/Provincial Board of Examiners in Psychology.

                         c.  The internship agency had two or more psychologists on the staff as supervisors, at least one of whom was actively licensed as a psychologist by the State/Provincial Board of Examiners in Psychology.

                         d.  Internship supervision was provided by a staff member of the internship agency or by an affiliate of that agency who carried clinical responsibility for the cases being supervised. At least half of the internship supervision was provided by one or more psychologists.

                         e.  The internship provided training in a range of assessment and treatment activities conducted directly with clients seeking psychological services.

                         f.  At least 25 percent of trainee’s time was in direct client contact (minimum 375 hours).

                         g.  The internship included a minimum of two hours per week (regardless of whether the internship was completed in one year or two) of regularly scheduled, formal, face-to-face individual supervision with the specific intent of dealing with psychological services rendered directly by the intern. There must also have been at least two additional hours per week in learning activities such as: case conferences involving a case in which the intern was actively involved; seminars dealing with clinical issues; co-therapy with a staff person including discussion; group supervision, additional individual supervision.

                         h.  Training was post-clerkship, post-practicum and post-internship level.

                         i.  The internship agency had a minimum of two interns at the internship level of training during the applicant’s training period.

                         j.  Trainee had title such as “intern,” “resident,” “fellow,” or other designation of trainee status.

                         k.  The internship agency had a written statement or brochure which described the goals and content of the internship, stated clear expectations for quantity and quality of trainee’s work and was made available to prospective interns.

                         l.  The internship experience (minimum 1,500 hours) was completed within 24 months.

C.     In applied areas such as industrial-organization, engineering and environmental psychology, internship training may take the form of post doctoral supervised experience as defined in the regulations of the board.

AUTHORITY NOTE:  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2353 and R.S. 37:2356.

HISTORICAL NOTE:  Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, LR 13:181 (March 1987), amended by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, LR 19:1323 (October 1993).

§307.    Clinical Neuropsychology

A.     Statement of Purpose. As each of the other specialty areas of psychology such as clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and industrial-organizational psychology typically have their own clearly defined doctoral programs and curriculum, no separate guidelines beyond those established by these programs are deemed necessary to declare these particular specialty designations. Clinical neuropsychology has evolved into a specialty area as defined by LAC 46:LXIII.Chapter 17 in that it has become identified as having its own “history and tradition of service, research, and scholarship (and) to have a body of knowledge and set of skills related to that knowledge base, and which is discriminably different from other such specialties” (LAC 46:LXIII.1705.B). However, the evolution of clinical neuropsychology has cut across several applied areas, most notably clinical, counseling, and school psychology, resulting in the need for guidelines defining the minimal education and training requirements necessary for specialization in this area of clinical practice.

B.     Definition of Practice. As implied by the term, clinical neuropsychology involves the application of both neurological and psychological knowledge and clinical skills in the assessment, treatment or intervention with individuals with known or suspected brain injury or disease.

         1.  Clinical neuropsychology differs from the general cognitive, perceptual, sensorimotor, intellectual or behavioral assessments of clinical, counseling, school or industrial-organizational psychology. Its purpose is to make clinical judgments regarding the functional integrity of the brain and of the specific effects of known brain pathology based on assessment and analysis of these functions.

         2.  Other psychologists, licensed under this law (R.S. 37:2356) and possessing appropriate education and training in the area of health care delivery, may also assess individuals with known or suspected brain pathology for the purpose of defining levels of academic or intellectual development; determining areas of relative strengths or weaknesses in cognitive, perceptual or psychomotor skills; identifying and categorizing behavioral or personality problems and their psychological origins; and making differential psychiatric diagnoses.

         3.  Clinical neuropsychologists, however, have as their purpose to assess and analyze cognitive, perceptual, sensorimotor and behavioral functions in order to identify and isolate specific, elementary neurobehavioral disturbances; differentiate neurological from possible psychological, cultural or educational contributions to the observed deficits; and finally, to clinically integrate this information into a neuroanatomically and/or neuropathologically meaningful syndrome. These impressions are then compared with the patient’s known medical, psychiatric and neurological risk factors and personal and behavioral history to arrive at a neuropsychological diagnosis. Because of their appreciation of specific neurobehavioral deficits and neurobehavioral syndromes in general, clinical neuropsychologists, as part of the evaluation process, are also called upon to make specific recommendations for the treatment and management of cognitive and neurobehavioral deficits resulting from brain injury or disease.

         4.  Clinical neuropsychological intervention includes, but is not limited to, developing strategies and techniques designed to facilitate compensation for or recovery from these various organically induced deficits based on the clinical neuropsychologist’s understanding of brain-behavior relationships and the underlying neuropathology. It is also recognized that other psychologists, licensed under this law (R.S. 37:2356) and possessing appropriate education and training in the area of health care delivery, may also provide traditional psychotherapeutic intervention in assisting patients adjust to the emotional, social or psychological consequences of brain injury.

         5.  These regulations recognize the overlapping roles in certain aspects of clinical neuropsychological assessment and intervention of other professionals, such as behavioral neurologists, speech pathologists, and learning disability specialists, and are not meant to constrain or limit the practice of those individuals as affirmatively set forth in their relevant enabling statutes.

C.     Training and Educational Requirements. The guidelines for licensure as a psychologist, as defined in LAC 46:LXIII.301 and 303, are also applicable as minimal requirements for consideration for the practice of clinical neuropsychology. However, in addition to one’s basic training as a psychologist, specialty education and training is considered essential. The International Neuropsychological Society (INS) and Division 40 of the American Psychological Association (APA) have developed guidelines for specialty training in clinical neuropsychology. These guidelines represent the current recommendations for the education and training of psychologists who will engage in the delivery of clinical neuropsychological services to the public. It is recognized that many current practitioners of clinical neuropsychology were trained well before such specialty guidelines were devised and such educational and training opportunities were readily available. Additionally, it is recognized that there are many psychologists, who were not initially trained as clinical neuropsychologists, but who would like to respecialize and practice in this field. The purpose of these regulations is also to address the circumstances of these individuals. The minimum requirements set forth in the Louisiana Administrative Code for Psychologists will also apply to all candidates seeking a specialty designation in clinical neuropsychology.

         1.  Doctoral Training in Clinical Neuropsychology after 1993. Because of the diversity of training programs in clinical neuropsychology, some discretionary judgment as to the adequacy of any educational and training program must be left to the board. However, the basic model for training in clinical neuropsychology will be in keeping with the guidelines developed by INS/APA Division 40. These are as follows:

                         a.  a basic core psychology curriculum as defined in LAC 46:LXIII.303.C.11;

                         b.  a clinical core that includes psychopathology; didactic and practicum experiences in the assessment of individual differences (psychometric theory, interviewing techniques, intelligence and personality assessment); didactic and practicum experiences in psychotherapeutic intervention techniques; and professional ethics;

                         c.  specific courses relating to training in clinical neuropsychology including, but not limited to: basic neurosciences such as advanced physiological psychology; advanced perception and cognition; research design and/or research practicum in neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; functional human neuroanatomy; neuropathology; didactic and practicum experiences in clinical neuropsychology and clinical neuropsychological assessment; and principles of clinical neuropsychological intervention;

                         d.  specialty internship in clinical neuropsychology, followed by the completion of a formal post-doctoral fellowship (one year minimum) in clinical neuropsychology, or the equivalent of one full year (1,800 hours) of post-doctoral experience in clinical neuropsychology under the supervision of a qualified clinical neuropsychologist (as defined here and in LAC 46:LXIII.307.C.2, 3, and 4). The majority of these hours must involve clinical neuropsychological assessment, and some portion of the remaining hours should be related to rehabilitation of neuropsychological deficits. The supervision, as defined above, should involve a minimum of one hour of face-to-face supervision a week, though additional supervisory contact may be required during training phases and case discussions. The 1,800 total hours must be obtained in no more than two consecutive years;

                         e.  as with any specialty area of psychology, being licensed to practice with a specialization in clinical neuropsychology will depend on the successful completion of both written and oral examinations as defined by the board.

         2.  Respecialization for Psychologists with Other Designated Specialty Areas

                         a.  The requirements for any given individual may vary depending on his or her previous education, training, supervised practica, and clinical experiences. Documentation of one’s relevant training and clinical experience, along with a formal plan for respecialization in clinical neuropsychology, will be submitted to the board for approval.

                         b.  Continuing education in clinical neuropsychology, regardless of its nature and content, will not be considered, in and of itself, sufficient for respecialization. Any such educational experiences must be supplemented by formal applied clinical experiences under the supervision of a qualified clinical neuropsychologist.

                         c.  While a formal course of post-doctoral graduate training in clinical neuropsychology may be considered ideal, matriculation in such a graduate program may not be essential for someone already trained in an area of health care delivery psychology. Such an individual may undertake an informal course of studies outlined by the supervising clinical neuropsychologist. Such a program of studies should be designed to supplement whatever may be lacking from the basic educational requirements listed under LAC 46:LXIII.307.C.1.c. and must be submitted to the board for prior approval.

                         d.  In addition to whatever remedial didactic training is necessary, the candidate for respecialization in clinical neuropsychology, will complete either a formal, one year post-doctoral fellowship training program, or the equivalent of one full year (1,800 hours) of supervised experience in clinical neuropsychology as defined in LAC 46:LXIII.307.C.1.d.

                         e.  Following the completion of this program, the candidate for respecialization will be required to pass an oral examination administered by the board or a committee of its choosing relating to the practice of clinical neuropsychology.

         3.  Psychologists Trained Prior to 1993 with Demonstrated Expertise in Clinical Neuropsychology

                         a.  Those psychologists whose training and experience qualify them as having particular expertise in this field, may petition for a specialty designation in clinical neuropsychology. The following may be offered as evidence of such expertise:

                                 i.  diplomat status (ABPP/ABCN or ABPN) in clinical neuropsychology;

                                 ii.  formal training and supervised practicum experiences in clinical neuropsychology as defined in LAC 46:LXIII.307.C.1;

                                 iii.  extensive clinical practice in the area of clinical neuropsychology, such that one has a regional or national reputation among his or her peers as having competence in this field;

                                 iv.  in addition to the clinical practice of neuropsychology, one has significant scholarly publications in the area or teaches courses in clinical neuropsychology at a graduate level in an accredited psychology program.

                         b. These credentials would be subject to review and approval by the board.

                         c.  After having met all other requirements for licensure under this chapter, the candidate may be required to pass an oral examination administered by the board or a committee of its choosing relating to the practice of clinical neuropsychology.

         4.  Grandfather Clause (senior psychologists engaging in the practice of clinical neuropsychology prior to January 1, 1994)

                         a.  It is incumbent upon both the board and the individual practitioner to insure that all services rendered by psychologists are well within their defined areas of competence. The board recognizes that as clinical neuropsychology evolved and the demands for such services increased, many practicing clinicians expanded their practice to include clinical neuropsychological assessment and/or intervention. Similarly, it recognizes that even before clinical neuropsychology developed into an independent specialty within psychology, clinicians were making predictions about the integrity of the brain from various psychometric measures.

                         b.  A grandfathering period will be in effect until January 1, 1995, for those psychologists licensed under R.S. 37:2356 who wish to declare a specialty in clinical neuropsychology in addition to their present designation.

                         c.  Those psychologists who believe they meet the following criteria have until January 1, 1995, to notify the board in writing that they so qualify and wish to declare a specialty designation in clinical neuropsychology. The board will review all such requests and reserves the right to request supporting documentation.

                                     i.  The individual should have had either formal course work or extensive continuing education in all or most of the areas listed under LAC 46:LXIII.307.C.1.c. Specifically, one should be familiar with functional neuroanatomy; the basics of clinical neurology and neuropathology, including the natural history of the major neurological disorders; the theory and practice of clinical neuropsychology; psychopathology; and the potential impact of individual differences on behavior and the assessment of mental status. Over the last five years, at least one-third of one’s continuing education and one-third of one’s clinical practice should have been devoted to the practice of clinical neuropsychology to maintain competence in the area (continuing education is considered an essential, but not sufficient, basis for competency in clinical neuropsychology). One should have had the opportunity for regular peer review and/or discussion of neuropsychological cases, issues or questions. Additionally, membership and participation in neuropsychological organizations and/or neuropsychological research can also be offered as evidence of ongoing professional development in clinical neuropsychology;

                                          ii.  diplomat status (ABPP/ABCN or ABPN) in clinical neuropsychology.

         5.  All other psychologists, licensed under R.S. 37:2356, wishing to declare a specialty in clinical neuropsychology after January 1, 1995, must meet the criteria outlined in LAC 46:LXIII.307.C.1, 2, and 3.

AUTHORITY NOTE:  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2353 and R.S. 37:2356.