March 26, 2013

BOARD ACTION ON LETTERS OF ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
JANUARY 2012 THROUGH DECEMBER 2012

Letters of Alleged Misconduct reviewed = 22

4 Psychologist
0 Pastoral Psychotherapist
9 Independent Clinical Social Worker
7 Clinical Mental Health Counselor
1 Marriage and Family Therapist
1 Candidate for Licensure: CMHC

Investigations (Letters of alleged misconduct deemed complaints – no preliminary response requested) = 8

1 Psychologist
0 Pastoral Psychotherapist
5 Independent Clinical Social Worker
2 Clinical Mental Health Counselor
0 Marriage and Family Therapist

Investigations (Letters of alleged misconduct deemed complaints after a preliminary response was reviewed) = 4

0 Psychologist
0 Pastoral Psychotherapist
0 Independent Clinical Social Worker
4 Clinical Mental Health Counselor
0 Marriage and Family Therapist

Preliminary response requested and no further action taken = 4

1 Psychologist
0 Pastoral Psychotherapist
1 Independent Clinical Social Worker
1 Clinical Mental Health Counselor
0 Marriage and Family Therapist
1 Candidate for Licensure: CMHC

No basis for action (no preliminary response requested) = 6

2 Psychologist
0 Pastoral Psychotherapist
3 Independent Clinical Social Worker
0 Clinical Mental Health Counselor
1 Marriage and Family Therapist

The Board took disciplinary action against the following licensees in 2012. Complaints against the names marked with a * were initiated in 2012. All others were initiated before 2012.

Bates, Fred, M.Ed.
Gagne, Francine, LICSW
Hollick, Patricia, LICSW
Lansford, Kimberly, LCMHC
Lassins, Paul, LICSW
*Marino, Alexander, Ph.D.
*Spiegler, Jeffrey, MA

All Board actions are public and can be viewed at www.nhlicenses.nh.gov                 

The following data was provided to the Board by the Associan of Social Work Boards

Pass Rates of NH in 2012 - Clinical Exam

            Total #of exams        Number       Percentage         

First-Time                                44                    39                    88.6

Repeat Group                           11                    8                      72.7    

Total Group                              55                    47                    85.5   

May 25, 2012

BOARD ACTION ON LETTERS OF ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
JANUARY 2011 THROUGH DECEMBER 2011

Letters of Alleged Misconduct reviewed = 20

8 mental health counselors
7 psychologists
5 social workers
0 pastoral psychotherapists
0 marriage and family therapists

Investigations (Letter of alleged misconduct deemed a complaint) = 6

3 mental health counselors
2 psychologists
1 social worker

Preliminary response requested and no further action taken = 9

3 mental health counselors
3 psychologists
3 social workers

No basis for action (no preliminary response requested) = 5

2 mental health counselors
2 psychologists
1 social worker

March 23, 2012

The following data was provided to the Board by the Association of Social Work Boards

 Pass Rates of NH in 2011

Total # of examinations       Number      Percentage

Clinical

First-Time                               37                              29                78.4

Repeat Group                           7                                6                  85.7

Total Group                        44                             35                 79.5          

April 15, 2011

HIGHLIGHTS OF RULES ADOPTED JANUARY 21, 2011

The Board made some substantive changes to its Administrative Rules.  Here are some general highlights from the rules, however, it is strongly suggested that you review all of the rules at www.nh.gov/mhpb.

Candidates for licensure

1.  Mhp 301.02  (c) - Candidates for licensure must now pay a $25.00 fee when submitting their agreement for review

2.  Mhp 301.02 (a)(3)c. - The Supervisor of a Candidate for licensure must be licensed at least two years in New Hampshire.

Mental Health Counselors

1.  Mhp 302.18 (f) - Post-master’s supervision must be provided by a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor

2.  Mhp 302.17 (b) - Course work has been changed:  Helping relationships is now broken down into Counseling Theories and Counseling Techniques,  coursework in Addictive Behaviors has been added.

3.  Mhp 302.16 (a) - Coursework shall be from a CACREP accredited mental health counseling program or its equivalent.  Equivalent meaning an applicant must meet all of the coursework listed in Mhp 302.17 (b)(1-11).

4.  Mhp 302.16 (d)(7) – The practicum/internship required for the degree must be a minimum of 700 hours.

Psychologists

1.  Mhp 302.04 (l) – Practical experience – The second year of experience shall follow the internship year and may be completed prior to receiving the doctoral degree.

Marriage & Family Therapists

1.  Mhp 302.22 (e) – This rule addresses contracting for outside supervision

2.  Mhp 302.22 (k) – This rule addresses alternative supervisors

Mhp 500 – Ethical and Professional Standards, Responsibilities of Licensees – This section has had major changes including new sections and sections from the Former 200 rules.

 Mhp 502.01 k – A licensee shall maintain complete and accurate clinical and business records pertaining to each patient seen for a minimum of  7 years following the last activity on the account and for minors for a period of 7 years past the age of majority.

Mhp 502.01 m – Except as otherwise provided by law, a licensee shall within 30 days furnish complete and accurate copies of patient records, or in appropriate circumstances, original patient records upon request of the patient, or if the patient is under the age of 18, the request of their parent or guardian, unless prohibited by a court order.

The sections listed below are new  rules under the section titled ALLEGATIONS OF LICENSEE MISCONDUCT. 

Mhp 503.02 – New section titled Communications of Alleged Misconduct Regarding a Licensee.

Mhp 503.05 – New section titled Professional Conduct Investigators

Mhp 503.06 – New section titled Action on Complaints

Mhp 503.07 – New section titled Settlement Agreements

Mhp 505.02 – New section titled Standards for the Selection of Sanctions

Mhp 50503 – New section titled Board Actions Taken after Disciplinary Action

March 21, 2011

LEGISLATION YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING:

HB 476 – Establishing an independent board of psychologists

HB 554 – Relative to mental health records

NUMBER OF LICENSEES as of 3/3/2011

Profession                                                    Active                  Inactive

Clinical social workers                             915                       73

Clinical mental health counselors       624                       35

Psychologists                                              581                        53

Marriage and Family therapists           88                          4

Pastoral psychotherapists                       29                          2

TOTAL                                                        2237                    167       

COMPLAINT HISTORY – January 2009 through December 2010

The Board reviewed 57 communications of alleged misconduct

Disciplinary Actions – The Board took 11 disciplinary actions in 2009 and 2010, however, 7 of these actions were taken on complaints that were already in process before the time period noted above.

April 6, 2010

License Renewals - The Board would like to remind all licensees to renew your license before it expires.   All licenses become invalid on the expiration date unless renewed  Please contact the office with any address changes.

Legislation the Board is currently following: 

SB 463

SB 499

HB 410

HB 1690

You can follow these bills by logging onto nh.gov, click legislative branch under state government on the right hand side and then click quick bill search.    

February 25, 2010

Online renewal will be coming soon.  You will have the option of renewing your license on line or on paper.  This information would be sent to you in the renewal letter.  The renewal letter will give you a number that is necessary to set up your User ID and Password in order to renew online.  The Board is aiming to have this in place in June 2010.

Did you ever wonder what your renewal fee of $270 pays for? 

Personnel

Office expenses: supplies, postage, utilities

Organizational dues

OIT support

Office Space

Transfers to other state agencies –

Administrative Prosecutions Unit of the Dept. of Justice

Board travel

Board per diem

Hearings and investigations

The Board’s budget for FY 2010 is $174,027.75

Legislation of interest you might want to follow on www.nh.gov  -    SB 463, SB 499, HB 410 AND HB 1690

The American Mental Health Counselor Association (AMHCA) Code of Ethics has been updated.  You can go to links on the left hand side of the Board’s home page and click the link to the American Mental Health Counselor Association to download a copy of the latest code.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has an updated Code of Ethics adopted in 2008.  You can go to links on the left hand side of the Board’s home page and click the link to the National Association of Social Workers to download a copy of the latest code.

Please remember to take time and review Reporting Laws – RSA 169 (A –H) every now and then.  The Board has been getting complaints against practitioners regarding these laws. 

Sheila Renaud-Finnegan, MSW, Board Member was awarded the 2009 Sunny Andrews Award for outstanding commitment to social work regulatory board service from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB).   The recognition is the highest award ASWB gives each year for board service.

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.