October 22, 2009

The Board would like to remind all licensees to renew your license before the expiration date or you will be in violation of RSA 330-A:23 Unlawful Practice; Penalty and there could be significant consequences.

Number of Active Licensees broken down by profession as of 10/22/2009

PROFESSION                                        ACTIVE              INACTIVE

Psychologists                                                 568                          62

Independent Clinical Social Workers     856                          83

Clinical Mental Health Counselors         563                          33

Marriage and Family Therapists              76                             5

Pastoral Psychotherapists                           29                             2

TOTAL                                                          2092                         185

April 2009

In an effort to fulfill our mandate to protect the public and support mental health practitioners the Board would like to provide you with the following information.

Complaint History between July 2004 and January 2009:

Total number of licensees            =            2124                    No further action                 =      27

Total number of complaints         =              102                    Settlement Agreements    =      15

Percentage of total licensees        =                4.5%              Letters of Concern            =          8

Total number investigated            =                 66                   Decision and Order           =       3

In progress                                     =                 17                   Surrender of License         =       4

Most frequently occurring themes in complaints:

Custody Cases                                                           Confidentiality

    Release of Records                                               Record Keeping

    Dual role/role confusion/role conflict

    Custody evaluations

Approximate length of investigation

• 77% within 2 – 12 months
• 23% within 13 – 25 months

Supervisors:   If you are supervising a Candidate for Licensure you must get a Candidate for Licensure Agreement to the Board for approval before the supervision begins.  Supervision that is not previously approved will not be considered as meeting the requirement for licensure.  The supervisor assumes professional and legal responsibility for the candidate.  Supervisors are required to notify the Board, in writing, if you cease to supervise a candidate. Candidate Agreements can be downloaded from the Board’s www.nh.gov/mhpb  (See RSA 330-A:22 and Mhp 301.05(a)(3) for complete details)

Address change:  The NH Code of Administrative Rules requires a licensee to notify the Board within 30 days of any change of address. 

Rulewriting:  The Board is reviewing the rules in light of public comment toward final adoption of new rules.  Updates will be posted on the Board’s website

Mental Health Bill of Rights:  The Board has appointed a three member board committee to begin a review of the Bill of Rights.  The committee will look at the text of the Bill of Rights, posting requirements, and other issues.  Practitioners and members of the public interested in this subject may contact the Board office as to committee meetings and offering observations or suggestions on the Bill of Rights.