§ 38-2124 — Independent mental health practitioner; qualifications

Nebraska § 38-2124

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 38: Health Occupations and Professions

Text

(1) No person shall hold himself or herself out as an independent mental health practitioner unless he or she is licensed as such by the department or unless he or she holds a privilege to practice in Nebraska as a professional counselor under the Licensed Professional Counselors Interstate Compact. A person shall be qualified to be a licensed independent mental health practitioner if he or she:
(a)(i)(A) Graduated with a master's or doctoral degree from an educational program which is accredited, at the time of graduation or within four years after graduation, by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education, or the Council on Social Work Education, (B) graduated with a master's or doctoral degree which was either approved by the American Art Therapy Association or accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs at the time of graduation, or (C) graduated with a master's or doctoral degree from an educational program deemed by the board to be equivalent in didactic content and supervised clinical experience to an accredited program;
(ii)(A) Is licensed as a licensed mental health practitioner or (B) is licensed as a provisional mental health practitioner and has satisfactorily passed an examination approved by the board pursuant to subdivision (3) of section 38-2122 ; and
(iii) Has three thousand hours of experience supervised by a licensed physician, a licensed psychologist, or a licensed independent mental health practitioner, one-half of which is comprised of experience with clients diagnosed under the major mental illness or disorder category; or
(b)(i) Graduated from an educational program which does not meet the requirements of subdivision (a)(i) of this subsection;
(ii)(A) Is licensed as a licensed mental health practitioner or (B) is licensed as a provisional mental health practitioner and has satisfactorily passed an examination approved by the board pursuant to subdivision (3) of section 38-2122 ; and
(iii) Has seven thousand hours of experience obtained in a period of not less than ten years and supervised by a licensed physician, a licensed psychologist, or a licensed independent mental health practitioner, one-half of which is comprised of experience with clients diagnosed under the major mental illness or disorder category.
(2) The experience required under this section shall be documented in a reasonable form and manner as prescribed by the board, which may consist of sworn statements from the applicant and his or her employers and supervisors. The board shall not in any case require the applicant to produce individual case records.
(3) The application for an independent mental health practitioner license shall include the applicant's social security number.

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2007, LB247, § 42; R.S.Supp.,2007, § 71-1,314.02; Laws 2008, LB1108, § 4; Laws 2018, LB1034, § 38; Laws 2022, LB752, § 15; Laws 2024, LB605, § 14. Cross References: Credentialing, general requirements and issuance procedures, see section 38-121 et seq. Licensed Professional Counselors Interstate Compact, see section 38-4201.