In this chapter:
I. "Board" means the board of psychologists.
II. "Board investigator" means the psychologist board member appointed by the board to oversee the professional conduct investigation committee and serve as a liaison between the board and that committee.
III. "Client" or "patient" means a person who seeks or obtains psychological services.
III-a. "Communication of alleged misconduct" or "allegation" means a written statement received by the board describing a claim of professional misconduct of a licensee under this chapter. The term "allegation" shall include but not be limited to, such uses as "allegation of professional misconduct," "letter of alleged misconduct," "statement of alleged misconduct," and "submission of allegation of misconduct."
III-b. "Complaint" means a communication of alleged misconduct containing information that, as the board shall determine, if true, could violate ethical codes, administrative rules, or the law. A matter is considered a complaint when the board orders the change of status from allegation to complaint.
IV. "Former client" or "former patient" means a person who was given psychological services within the previous 7 years.
IV-a. "Licensed school psychologist-doctoral" means any person licensed as a licensed school psychologist-doctoral under RSA 329-B:15-a.
IV-b. "Licensed school psychologist-specialist" means any person licensed as a licensed school psychologist-specialist under RSA 329-B:15-a.
V. "Privilege" is the right of a patient for privacy of his or her psychological records, which belong to the patient and which shall not be abridged except by court order or other exception under state or federal law.
VI. "Professional conduct investigator" means a trained psychologist, licensed school psychologist-doctoral, or licensed school psychologist-specialist licensed by the board who acts as the agent of the board under the guidance of the board investigator and is authorized to discover facts and make reports to the board.
VII. "Psychology practice by a licensed psychologist" means:
(a) The observation, description, evaluation, interpretation, prediction, and modification of human behavior by the application of psychological principles, methods, and procedures, for the purposes of:
(1) Preventing, eliminating, evaluating, assessing, or predicting symptomatic, maladaptive, or undesired behavior;
(2) Evaluating, assessing, or facilitating the enhancement of individual, group, or organizational effectiveness, including personal effectiveness, adaptive behavior, interpersonal relationships, work and life adjustment, health, and individual, group, or organizational performance; or
(3) Assisting in legal decision-making.
(b) Psychological testing and the evaluation or assessment of personal characteristics, such as intelligence; personality; cognitive, physical, and emotional abilities; skills; interests; aptitudes; and neuropsychological functioning;
(c) Counseling, consultation, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, hypnosis, biofeedback, and behavior analysis and therapy;
(d) Diagnosis, treatment, and management of mental and emotional disorder or disability, alcoholism and substance abuse, disorders of habit or conduct, and the psychological and behavioral aspects of medical/physical illness, accident, injury, or disability;
(e) Psycho-educational evaluation, therapy, and remediation;
(f) Consultation and coordination with other psychologists, physicians, other health care professionals, and patients regarding all available treatment options, including medication, with respect to provision of care for a specific client or patient or group;
(g) Provision of direct services to individuals or groups for the purpose of enhancing individual and organizational effectiveness, or using psychological principles, methods, or procedures to assess and evaluate individuals on personal characteristics for individual development or behavior change, or for making decisions about the individual, such as selection;
(h) Provision of any of these services or activities by any means, including electronic or telephonic; and
(i) The supervision, ordering, referring, and prescribing of any of these services or activities;
The practice of psychology shall be construed within the meaning of this definition without regard to whether payment is received for services rendered.
VIII. "Psychology services by a licensed psychologist" means the observation, description, evaluation, interpretation, diagnosis, and modification of human behavior by the application of psychological and systems principles, methods, and procedures for the purpose of preventing or eliminating symptomatic, maladapted, or undesirable behavior and of enhancing interpersonal relationships, work and life adjustments, personal effectiveness, behavioral health, and mental health, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of the psychological and social aspects of physical illness, accident, injury, or disability. Psychology services may include, but shall not be limited to, those services based on diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders and psycho-educational or consultative techniques integral to the treatment of such disorders when diagnosis is specified in the most current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, The International Classification of Disease Manual (ICD), or an equivalent of such manual as determined by the board. Psychological services may be rendered to individuals, families, groups, systems, or organizations.
IX. "Psychologist" means any person licensed as a psychologist under RSA 329-B:15.
X. "Psychology intern, resident, or fellow" means a person in training as a psychologist, subject to the provisions of this chapter and regulation by the board.
XI. "Psychotherapist" means a psychologist, licensed school psychologist-doctoral, or licensed school psychologist-specialist licensed under this chapter who performs or purports to perform psychotherapy.
XII. "Psychotherapy" means the professional treatment, assessment, or counseling of a mental or emotional illness, symptom, or condition.
XII-a. "School psychology practice" by a licensed school psychologist-doctoral or licensed school psychologist-specialist" means:
(a) Practices that permeate all aspects of service delivery through:
(1) Data-based decision making and accountability; and
(2) Consultation, coordination, and collaboration;
(b) Direct and indirect services for children, families, and schools which include:
(1) Student-level services including;
(A) Conducting, interpreting, and communicating the findings of assessments of students, including but not limited to their:
(i) Intellectual ability.
(ii) Cognitive processing.
(iii) Academic achievement.
(iv) Behavior.
(v) Social and emotional functioning.
(vi) Learning environments.
(vii) Adaptive functioning.
(B) Designing, implementing, monitoring, and adapting instructional and behavioral supports and interventions;
(C) Creating, implementing, evaluating, ordering, referring, and prescribing mental health interventions and direct services to develop social/emotional and life skills;
(2) Systems-level services including:
(A) Interacting effectively in a school setting by understanding systems, roles, curriculum, instruction, and assessment to promote socialization, learning, and mental health; and
(B) Implementing and evaluating school wide practices that promote learning; and
(3) Preventative and responsive services including:
(A) Applying principles of resilience and risk factors in learning and mental health;
(B) Promoting multi-tiered systems of support; and
(C) Formulating evidence-based strategies for effective crisis preparation, response, and recovery; and
(4) Foundations of professional school psychological services which include:
(A) Understanding and analyzing the diversity in human development and learning including culture, context, and individual differences;
(B) Explaining typical and atypical psychological and educational development in children and youth;
(C) Synthesizing, evaluating, and applying theories and models of research, empirical findings, and techniques related to student learning;
(D) Utilizing research design, statistics, measurement, and varied data collection and analysis techniques;
(E) Designing and implementing program evaluation to support evidence-based practices at the individual, group, and/or systems levels;
(F) Integrating the history and foundations of psychology into a professional identity and practice as a school psychologist; and
(G) Adhering to ethical, legal, and professional standards including:
(i) Ethical and professional decision making; and
(ii) Professional work characteristics and disposition that reflect personal integrity.
XII-b. "School psychology services" by a licensed school psychologist-doctoral or licensed psychologist-specialist" means the provision of services related only to functioning at school and transition to post-secondary goals, including: the observation, description, evaluation, interpretation, diagnosis, and modification of human behavior by the application of psychological and systems principles, methods, and procedures for the purpose of preventing or eliminating symptomatic, maladapted, or undesirable behavior and of enhancing interpersonal relationships, school and life adjustments, personal effectiveness, behavioral health, and mental health, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of the psychological and social aspects of physical illness, accident, injury, or disability. School psychology services may include, but shall not be limited to, those services based on diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders and psycho-educational or consultative techniques integral to the treatment of such disorders when diagnosis is specified in the most current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, The International Classification of Disease Manual (ICD), or an equivalent of such manual as determined by the board. School psychological services may be rendered to individuals, families, groups, systems, or organizations within school settings and other locations as provided in RSA 329-B:15-a, V.
XIII. "Sexual relations" means the intentional touching of any part of the client or patient's body or any verbal or nonverbal communication for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of either party.