HB-5776 Summary

• Establishes new licensure category of "psychological associate" to practice psychotherapy and counseling under supervision of a licensed psychologist, with master's degree in psychology and 4,000 hours of supervised experience required for full licensure.

• Expands definition of "clinical counseling principles" to explicitly include psychotherapy, diagnosis and treatment planning for mental and emotional disorders, and various assessment and intervention techniques previously not clearly included.

• Increases licensing fees for psychologists and counselors, including application processing fees ($50 to $75), annual license fees for full doctoral ($90 to $101), limited doctoral ($30 to $37), and masters limited licenses ($60 to $69).

• Creates temporary and limited licensing options for psychological associates and requires supervision training for licensed professional counselors before supervising limited licensed counselors under new section 18106.

• Requires continuing education in pain and symptom management for license renewal and establishes that new psychological associate licensure does not mandate third-party reimbursement or workers' compensation coverage.