§ 8410 — Exemptions

§ 8410. Exemptions. Nothing contained in this article shall be\nconstrued to:\n 1. Apply to the practice, conduct, activities, services or use of any\ntitle by any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice\nmedicine within the state pursuant to article one hundred thirty-one of\nthis title or by any person registered to perform services as a\nphysician assistant within the state pursuant to article one hundred\nthirty-one-B of this title or by any person licensed or otherwise\nauthorized to practice psychology within this state pursuant to article\none hundred fifty-three of this title or by any person licensed or\notherwise authorized to practice social work within this state pursuant\nto article one hundred fifty-four of this title, or by any person\nlicensed or otherwise authorized to practice nursing as a registered\nprofessional nurse or nurse practitioner within this state pursuant to\narticle one hundred thirty-nine of this title or by any person licensed\nor otherwise authorized to practice applied behavior analysis within the\nstate pursuant to article one hundred sixty-seven of this title;\nprovided, however, that no physician, physician's assistant, registered\nprofessional nurse, nurse practitioner, psychologist, licensed master\nsocial worker, licensed clinical social worker, licensed behavior\nanalyst or certified behavior analyst assistant may use the titles\n"licensed mental health counselor", "licensed marriage and family\ntherapist", "licensed creative arts therapist", or "licensed\npsychoanalyst", unless licensed under this article.\n 2. Prohibit or limit any individual who is credentialed under any law,\nincluding attorneys, rape crisis counselors, certified alcoholism\ncounselors and certified substance abuse counselors from providing\nmental health services within their respective established authorities.\n 3. Prohibit or limit the practice of a profession licensed pursuant to\nthis article by a student, intern or resident in, and as part of, a\nsupervised educational program in an institution approved by the\ndepartment.\n 4. Prohibit or limit the provision of pastoral counseling services by\nany member of the clergy or Christian Science practitioner, within the\ncontext of his or her ministerial charge or obligation.\n 5. Prohibit or limit individuals, churches, schools, teachers,\norganizations, or not-for-profit businesses, from providing instruction,\nadvice, support, encouragement, or information to individuals, families,\nand relational groups.\n 6. Prohibit or limit an occupational therapist from performing work\nconsistent with article one hundred fifty-six of this title.\n 7. Prohibit the practice of mental health counseling, marriage and\nfamily therapy, creative arts therapy or psychoanalysis, to the extent\npermissible within the scope of practice of such professions, by any\nnot-for-profit corporation or education corporation providing services\nwithin the state of New York and operating under a waiver pursuant to\nsection sixty-five hundred three-a of this title, provided that such\nentities offering mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy,\ncreative arts therapy or psychoanalysis services shall only provide such\nservices through an individual appropriately licensed or otherwise\nauthorized to provide such services or a professional entity authorized\nby law to provide such services.\n 8. (a) Prevent a person without a license from: performing assessments\nincluding but not limited to basic information collection, gathering of\ndemographic data, and informal observations, screening and referral used\nfor general eligibility for a program or service and determining the\nfunctional status of an individual for the purpose of determining need\nfor services; advising individuals regarding the appropriateness of\nbenefits they are eligible for; providing general advice and guidance\nand assisting individuals or groups with difficult day to day problems\nsuch as finding employment, locating sources of assistance, and\norganizing community groups to work on a specific problem; providing\npeer services; selecting for suitability and providing substance abuse\ntreatment services or group re-entry services to incarcerated\nindividuals in state correctional facilities; or providing substance\nabuse treatment services or re-entry services to incarcerated\nindividuals in local correctional facilities.\n (b) Prevent a person without a license from creating, developing or\nimplementing a service plan or recovery plan that is not a behavioral\nhealth diagnosis or treatment plan. Such service or recovery plans shall\ninclude, but are not limited to, coordinating, evaluating or determining\nthe need for, or the provision of the following services: job training\nand employability; housing; homeless services and shelters for homeless\nindividuals and families; refugee services; residential, day or\ncommunity habilitation services; general public assistance; in home\nservices and supports or home-delivered meals; recovery supports; adult\nor child protective services including investigations; detention as\ndefined in section five hundred two of the executive law; prevention and\nresidential services for victims of domestic violence; services for\nrunaway and homeless youth; foster care, adoption, preventive services\nor services in accordance with an approved plan pursuant to section four\nhundred four of the social services law, including, adoption and foster\nhome studies and assessments, family service plans, transition plans,\npermanency planning activities, and case planning or case management as\nsuch terms are defined in the regulations of the office of children and\nfamily services; residential rehabilitation; home and community based\nservices; and de-escalation techniques, peer services or skill\ndevelopment.\n (c)(i) Prevent a person without a license from participating as a\nmember of a multi-disciplinary team to assist in the development of or\nimplementation of a behavioral health services or treatment plan;\nprovided that such team shall include one or more professionals licensed\nunder this article or articles one hundred thirty-one, one hundred\nthirty-nine, one hundred fifty-three or one hundred fifty-four of this\nchapter; and provided, further, that the activities performed by members\nof the team shall be consistent with the scope of practice for each team\nmember licensed or authorized under title VIII of this chapter, and\nthose who are not so authorized may not engage in the following\nrestricted practices: the diagnosis of mental, emotional, behavioral,\naddictive and developmental disorders and disabilities; patient\nassessment and evaluating; the provision of psychotherapeutic treatment;\nthe provision of treatment other than psychotherapeutic treatment; or\nindependently developing and implementing assessment-based treatment\nplans as defined in section seventy-seven hundred one of this chapter.\n (ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, "assist" shall include, but\nnot be limited to, the provision or performance of the following tasks,\nservices, or functions by an individual who has obtained the training\nand experience required by the applicable state oversight agency to\nperform such task, service or function in facilities or programs\noperating pursuant to article nineteen-G of the executive law; articles\nseven, sixteen, thirty-one or thirty-two of the mental hygiene law; or\ntitle three of article seven of the social services law:\n (1) helping an individual with the completion of forms or\nquestionnaires;\n (2) reviewing existing case records and collecting background\ninformation about an individual which may be used by the licensed\nprofessional or multi-disciplinary team;\n (3) gathering and reporting information about previous behavioral\nhealth interventions, hospitalizations, documented diagnosis, or prior\ntreatment for review by the licensed professional and multi-disciplinary\nteam;\n (4) discussing with the individual his or her situation, needs,\nconcerns, and thoughts in order to help identify services that support\nthe individual's goals, independence, and quality of life;\n (5) providing advice, information, and assistance to individuals and\nfamily members to identify needs and available resources in the\ncommunity to help meet the needs of the individual or family member;\n (6) engaging in immediate and long-term problem solving, engaging in\nthe development of social skills, or providing general help in areas\nincluding, but not limited to, housing, employment, child care,\nparenting, community based services, and finances;\n (7) distributing paper copies of self-administered tests for the\nindividual to complete when such tests do not require the observation\nand judgment of a licensed professional;\n (8) monitoring treatment by the collection of written and/or\nobservational data in accordance with the treatment plan and providing\nverbal or written reports to the multi-disciplinary team;\n (9) identifying gaps in services and coordinating access to or\narranging services for individuals such as home care, community based\nservices, housing, employment, transportation, child care, vocational\ntraining, or health care;\n (10) offering education programs that provide information about\ndisease identification and recommended treatments that may be provided,\nand how to access such treatment;\n (11) reporting on behavior, actions, and responses to treatment by\ncollecting written and/or observational data as part of a\nmulti-disciplinary team;\n (12) using de-escalation techniques consistent with appropriate\ntraining;\n (13) performing assessments using standardized, structured interview\ntools or instruments;\n (14) directly delivering services outlined in the service plan that\nare not clinical in nature but have been tailored to an individual based\non any diagnoses such individual may have received from a licensed\nprofessional; and\n (15) advocating with educational, judicial or other systems to protect\nan individual's rights and access to appropriate services.\n (d) Provided, further, that nothing in this subdivision shall be\nconstrued as requiring a license for any particular activity or function\nbased solely on the fact that the activity or function is not listed in\nthis subdivision.\n 9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, nothing\nin this article shall be construed to prohibit or limit the activities\nor services provided under this article by any person who is employed or\nwho commences employment in a program or service operated, regulated,\nfunded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of\nchildren and family services, the department of corrections and\ncommunity supervision, the office of temporary and disability\nassistance, the state office for the aging and the department of health\nor a local governmental unit as that term is defined in section 41.03 of\nthe mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined in\nsection sixty-one of the social services law on or before two years from\nthe date that the regulations issued in accordance with section six of\npart Y of chapter fifty-seven of the laws of two thousand eighteen\nappear in the state register or are adopted, whichever is later. Such\nprohibitions or limitations shall not apply to such employees for as\nlong as they remain employed by such programs or services and whether\nthey remain employed by the same or other employers providing such\nprograms or services. Provided however, that any person who commences\nemployment in such program or service after such date and performs\nservices that are restricted under this article shall be appropriately\nlicensed or authorized under this article. Each state oversight agency\nshall create and maintain a process to verify employment history of\nindividuals exempt under this subdivision.\n 10. The activities or services provided by a person with a master's\nlevel degree required for licensure pursuant to this article, working\nunder the supervision of a professional licensed pursuant to article one\nhundred fifty-three, one hundred fifty-four or this article in a program\nor service operated, regulated, funded, or approved by the department of\nmental hygiene, the office of children and family services, the\ndepartment of corrections and community supervision, the office of\ntemporary and disability assistance, the state office for the aging and\nthe department of health or a local government unit as that term is\ndefined in section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law or a social services\ndistrict as defined in section sixty-one of the social services law.\n * 11. Prohibit or limit a mental health counselor, marriage and family\ntherapist, or psychoanalyst licensed and registered pursuant to this\narticle from engaging in diagnosis and the development of\nassessment-based treatment plans, as defined in section eighty-four\nhundred one of this article, in a facility setting or other supervised\nsettings approved by the department under supervision in accordance with\nthe commissioner's regulations.\n * NB Repealed June 24, 2027\n