Nev. Admin. Code § 641.152 - Supervision; assignment of psychological assistant to specialist

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, a psychological assistant or psychological intern may work only under the supervision and control of a psychologist who satisfies the requirements of NAC 641.1519.

2. The Board hereby adopts by reference the following publications:

(a) The Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology, as approved by the American Psychological Association in February 2015, which is available, free of charge, at the Internet address https://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/standards-of-accreditation.pdf, or, if that Internet address ceases to exist, from the Board.

(b) Section C of the Implementing Regulations of the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association, as revised most recently by the Commission in February 2024, which is available, free of charge, at the Internet address https://accreditation.apa.org/policies, or, if that Internet address ceases to exist, from the Board.

3. If a publication adopted by reference in subsection 2 is revised, the Board will review the revision to determine its suitability for this State. If the Board determines that the revision is not suitable for this State, the Board will hold a public hearing to review its determination and give notice of that hearing within 90 days after the date of the publication of the revision. If, after the hearing, the Board does not revise its determination, the Board will give notice that the revision is not suitable for this State within 90 days after the hearing. If the Board does not give such notice, the revision becomes part of the publication adopted by reference pursuant to subsection 2.

4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, a psychological trainee may work only under the supervision and control of a supervisor who is formally assigned by his or her home doctoral training program in compliance with required practicum training elements set forth in the publications adopted by reference in subsection 2.

5. Subject to the conditions set forth in this section and NAC 641.161, a supervisor may use a nested model of supervision wherein:

(a) A psychological assistant who is under the supervision of the supervisor supervises a psychological intern or psychological trainee; or

(b) A psychological intern who is under the supervision of the supervisor supervises a psychological trainee.

6. A supervisor who uses a nested model of supervision described in subsection 5 shall, at least once each week, engage in supervision activities with a psychological assistant or psychological intern who is providing supervision pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection 5, as applicable. Such supervision activities:

(a) May occur at a time other than when the psychological assistant or psychological intern is actively providing supervision; and

(b) May include, without limitation:

(1) One-on-one or group supervision;

(2) Face-to-face supervision; and

(3) Didactic teaching.

7. The supervisor of a psychological assistant, psychological intern or psychological trainee is responsible for:

(a) The adequate supervision of the psychological assistant, psychological intern or psychological trainee; and

(b) The care plan of each client and patient treated or assessed by a psychological intern or psychological trainee under the supervision of the psychological assistant or psychological intern, as applicable, pursuant to subsection 5.

8. A supervisor shall ensure that:

(a) A psychological trainee receives at least 1 hour of individual supervision for each 10 hours of service delivery per week. At least one-half of such individual supervision each week must be performed by the supervisor. Not more than 1 hour of such supervision each week may be performed by a psychological assistant or psychological intern in accordance with subsection 5. As used in this paragraph, "service delivery" means activities that involve direct contact with a client in person or through telehealth, as defined in NRS 629.515, as amended by section 1 of Assembly Bill No. 276, chapter 19, Statutes of Nevada 2023, at page 78.

(b) A psychological intern receives at least 4 hours of supervision each week. At least 2 hours each week of such supervision must be face-to-face individual supervision by one or more psychologists who have an ongoing supervisory relationship with the psychological intern and primary responsibility for the cases on which the supervision is provided. The remainder of the supervision required by this paragraph may be provided in an individual or group setting by:

(1) A psychologist; or

(2) A psychological assistant in accordance with subsection 5.

(c) A psychological assistant receives at least 1 hour of individual supervision for each 40 hours worked in a week or, if the psychological assistant works less than 40 hours in a week, an amount of individual supervision that is proportionate to the amount of supervision that would be required if the psychological assistant worked 40 hours in the week.

9. For specific skill training, the supervisor of a psychological assistant, psychological intern or psychological trainee may assign the psychological assistant, psychological intern or psychological trainee to a specialist, including, without limitation, a person who is licensed in this State as a psychiatrist, behavior analyst, social worker, marriage and family therapist or clinical professional counselor or a person who is licensed or certified in this State as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor. The specialist must have clearly established practice and teaching skills that are demonstrable to the satisfaction of the Board. Not more than one-quarter of the number of supervised hours needed to fulfill the required year of postdoctoral experience may be accrued under the direction of specialists. Any services submitted by a supervisor for reimbursement under the State Plan for Medicaid that were rendered under the authorized scope of practice of a psychological assistant, psychological intern or psychological trainee pursuant to NRS 422.27239 while under the supervision of a specialist pursuant to this subsection must also be supervised by the supervisor.

10. A psychological assistant or psychological intern must be:

(a) An employee of the supervisor; or

(b) If the psychological assistant or psychological intern is not employed by the supervisor and the supervisor is not employed by the agency at which the psychological assistant or psychological intern is based, a party to a written agreement with the supervisor and agency specifying payment terms and the role of the supervisor or training committee over the training of the psychological assistant or psychological intern, including, without limitation, acknowledgement by all parties that:

(1) The supervisor or training committee will have access to all patient medical records and full oversight and responsibility for the work and training plan of the psychological assistant or psychological intern; and

(2) The psychological assistant or psychological intern may not be an independent contractor of the supervisor or agency during the term of the contract.

Notes

Nev. Admin. Code § 641.152

Added to NAC by Bd. of Psychological Exam'rs, eff. 8-3-88; A 8-24-90; R089-03, 1-18-2005; R111-13, 10-24-2014; A by R133-17A, eff. 12/19/2018; A by R074-18A, eff. 1/30/2019; A by R115-19A, eff. 2/28/2022; A by R051-23A, eff. 4/19/2024; A by R002-24A, eff. 8/13/2024

NRS 641.100, 641.170