2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 8 - The Professions › Article 163 - Mental Health Practitioners › 8410 - Exemptions.

§  8410.  Exemptions.  Nothing  contained  in  this  article  shall be
construed to:
1. Apply to the practice, conduct, activities, services or use of  any
title  by  any  person  licensed  or  otherwise  authorized  to practice
medicine within the state pursuant to article one hundred thirty-one  of
this  title  or  by  any  person  registered  to  perform  services as a
physician assistant within the state pursuant  to  article  one  hundred
thirty-one-B  of  this  title  or  by  any  person licensed or otherwise
authorized to practice psychology within this state pursuant to  article
one  hundred  fifty-three  of  this  title  or by any person licensed or
otherwise authorized to practice social work within this state  pursuant
to  article  one  hundred  fifty-four  of  this  title, or by any person
licensed or otherwise authorized to practice  nursing  as  a  registered
professional  nurse  or nurse practitioner within this state pursuant to
article one hundred thirty-nine of this title or by any person  licensed
or otherwise authorized to practice applied behavior analysis within the
state  pursuant  to  article  one  hundred  sixty-seven  of  this title;
provided, however, that no physician, physician's assistant,  registered
professional  nurse,  nurse  practitioner, psychologist, licensed master
social  worker,  licensed  clinical  social  worker,  licensed  behavior
analyst  or  certified  behavior  analyst  assistant  may use the titles
"licensed  mental  health  counselor",  "licensed  marriage  and  family
therapist",   "licensed   creative   arts   therapist",   or   "licensed
psychoanalyst", unless licensed under this article.
2. Prohibit or limit any individual who is credentialed under any law,
including  attorneys,  rape  crisis  counselors,  certified   alcoholism
counselors  and  certified  substance  abuse  counselors  from providing
mental health services within their respective established authorities.
3. Prohibit or limit the practice of a profession licensed pursuant to
this article by a student, intern or resident in,  and  as  part  of,  a
supervised  educational  program  in  an  institution  approved  by  the
department.
4. Prohibit or limit the provision of pastoral counseling services  by
any  member  of the clergy or Christian Science practitioner, within the
context of his or her ministerial charge or obligation.
5.  Prohibit  or  limit  individuals,  churches,  schools,   teachers,
organizations, or not-for-profit businesses, from providing instruction,
advice, support, encouragement, or information to individuals, families,
and relational groups.
6.  Prohibit  or  limit an occupational therapist from performing work
consistent with article one hundred fifty-six of this title.
7. Prohibit the practice of mental  health  counseling,  marriage  and
family  therapy,  creative arts therapy or psychoanalysis, to the extent
permissible within the scope of practice of  such  professions,  by  any
not-for-profit  corporation  or education corporation providing services
within the state of New York and operating under a  waiver  pursuant  to
section  sixty-five  hundred  three-a  of this title, provided that such
entities offering mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy,
creative arts therapy or psychoanalysis services shall only provide such
services through  an  individual  appropriately  licensed  or  otherwise
authorized  to provide such services or a professional entity authorized
by law to provide such services.
8. (a) Prevent a person without a license from: performing assessments
including but not limited to basic information collection, gathering  of
demographic data, and informal observations, screening and referral used
for  general  eligibility  for  a program or service and determining the
functional status of an individual for the purpose of  determining  need
for  services;  advising  individuals  regarding  the appropriateness of

benefits they are eligible for; providing general  advice  and  guidance
and  assisting  individuals or groups with difficult day to day problems
such  as  finding  employment,  locating  sources  of  assistance,   and
organizing  community  groups  to  work on a specific problem; providing
peer services; selecting for suitability and providing  substance  abuse
treatment   services   or   group   re-entry  services  to  incarcerated
individuals in state correctional  facilities;  or  providing  substance
abuse   treatment   services   or   re-entry  services  to  incarcerated
individuals in local correctional facilities.
(b) Prevent a person without a license from  creating,  developing  or
implementing  a  service  plan or recovery plan that is not a behavioral
health diagnosis or treatment plan. Such service or recovery plans shall
include, but are not limited to, coordinating, evaluating or determining
the need for, or the provision of the following services:  job  training
and  employability; housing; homeless services and shelters for homeless
individuals  and  families;  refugee  services;  residential,   day   or
community  habilitation  services;  general  public  assistance; in home
services and supports or home-delivered meals; recovery supports;  adult
or  child  protective  services  including  investigations; detention as
defined in section five hundred two of the executive law; prevention and
residential services for victims  of  domestic  violence;  services  for
runaway  and  homeless youth; foster care, adoption, preventive services
or services in accordance with an approved plan pursuant to section four
hundred four of the social services law, including, adoption and  foster
home  studies  and  assessments, family service plans, transition plans,
permanency planning activities, and case planning or case management  as
such  terms are defined in the regulations of the office of children and
family services; residential rehabilitation; home  and  community  based
services;   and   de-escalation   techniques,  peer  services  or  skill
development.
(c)(i) Prevent a person without a  license  from  participating  as  a
member  of  a multi-disciplinary team to assist in the development of or
implementation of  a  behavioral  health  services  or  treatment  plan;
provided that such team shall include one or more professionals licensed
under  this  article  or  articles  one  hundred thirty-one, one hundred
thirty-nine, one hundred fifty-three or one hundred fifty-four  of  this
chapter; and provided, further, that the activities performed by members
of the team shall be consistent with the scope of practice for each team
member  licensed  or  authorized  under  title VIII of this chapter, and
those who are  not  so  authorized  may  not  engage  in  the  following
restricted  practices:  the  diagnosis of mental, emotional, behavioral,
addictive  and  developmental  disorders   and   disabilities;   patient
assessment and evaluating; the provision of psychotherapeutic treatment;
the  provision  of  treatment other than psychotherapeutic treatment; or
independently developing  and  implementing  assessment-based  treatment
plans as defined in section seventy-seven hundred one of this chapter.
(ii)  For  the purposes of this paragraph, "assist" shall include, but
not be limited to, the provision or performance of the following  tasks,
services,  or  functions  by an individual who has obtained the training
and experience required by the  applicable  state  oversight  agency  to
perform  such  task,  service  or  function  in  facilities  or programs
operating pursuant to article nineteen-G of the executive law;  articles
seven,  sixteen,  thirty-one or thirty-two of the mental hygiene law; or
title three of article seven of the social services law:
(1)  helping  an  individual  with  the   completion   of   forms   or
questionnaires;
(2)   reviewing   existing  case  records  and  collecting  background
information about an individual  which  may  be  used  by  the  licensed
professional or multi-disciplinary team;
(3)  gathering  and  reporting  information  about previous behavioral
health interventions, hospitalizations, documented diagnosis,  or  prior
treatment for review by the licensed professional and multi-disciplinary
team;
(4)  discussing  with  the  individual  his  or  her situation, needs,
concerns, and thoughts in order to help identify services  that  support
the individual's goals, independence, and quality of life;
(5)  providing  advice, information, and assistance to individuals and
family  members  to  identify  needs  and  available  resources  in  the
community to help meet the needs of the individual or family member;
(6)  engaging  in immediate and long-term problem solving, engaging in
the development of social skills, or providing  general  help  in  areas
including,   but  not  limited  to,  housing,  employment,  child  care,
parenting, community based services, and finances;
(7) distributing paper  copies  of  self-administered  tests  for  the
individual  to  complete  when such tests do not require the observation
and judgment of a licensed professional;
(8)  monitoring  treatment  by  the  collection  of   written   and/or
observational  data  in accordance with the treatment plan and providing
verbal or written reports to the multi-disciplinary team;
(9) identifying  gaps  in  services  and  coordinating  access  to  or
arranging  services  for  individuals such as home care, community based
services, housing, employment, transportation,  child  care,  vocational
training, or health care;
(10)  offering  education  programs  that  provide  information  about
disease identification and recommended treatments that may be  provided,
and how to access such treatment;
(11)  reporting  on  behavior,  actions, and responses to treatment by
collecting  written   and/or   observational   data   as   part   of   a
multi-disciplinary team;
(12)   using  de-escalation  techniques  consistent  with  appropriate
training;
(13) performing assessments using standardized,  structured  interview
tools or instruments;
(14)  directly  delivering  services outlined in the service plan that
are not clinical in nature but have been tailored to an individual based
on any diagnoses such individual  may  have  received  from  a  licensed
professional; and
(15) advocating with educational, judicial or other systems to protect
an individual's rights and access to appropriate services.
(d)  Provided,  further,  that  nothing  in  this subdivision shall be
construed as requiring a license for any particular activity or function
based solely on the fact that the activity or function is not listed  in
this subdivision.
9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, nothing
in  this  article shall be construed to prohibit or limit the activities
or services provided under this article by any person who is employed or
who commences employment in a program or  service  operated,  regulated,
funded,  or  approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of
children  and  family  services,  the  department  of  corrections   and
community   supervision,   the   office   of  temporary  and  disability
assistance, the state office for the aging and the department of  health
or a local governmental unit as that term is defined in section 41.03 of
the  mental  hygiene  law  or  a  social services district as defined in
section sixty-one of the social services law on or before two years from

the date that the regulations issued in accordance with section  six  of
part  Y  of  chapter  fifty-seven  of  the laws of two thousand eighteen
appear in the state register or are adopted, whichever  is  later.  Such
prohibitions  or  limitations  shall  not apply to such employees for as
long as they remain employed by such programs or  services  and  whether
they  remain  employed  by  the  same  or other employers providing such
programs or services. Provided however, that any  person  who  commences
employment  in  such  program  or  service  after such date and performs
services that are restricted under this article shall  be  appropriately
licensed  or  authorized under this article. Each state oversight agency
shall create and maintain a process  to  verify  employment  history  of
individuals exempt under this subdivision.
10.  The  activities  or services provided by a person with a master's
level degree required for licensure pursuant to  this  article,  working
under the supervision of a professional licensed pursuant to article one
hundred fifty-three, one hundred fifty-four or this article in a program
or service operated, regulated, funded, or approved by the department of
mental  hygiene,  the  office  of  children  and  family  services,  the
department of corrections  and  community  supervision,  the  office  of
temporary  and disability assistance, the state office for the aging and
the department of health or a local government  unit  as  that  term  is
defined  in section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law or a social services
district as defined in section sixty-one of the social services law.
* 11. Prohibit or limit a mental health counselor, marriage and family
therapist, or psychoanalyst licensed and  registered  pursuant  to  this
article   from   engaging   in   diagnosis   and   the   development  of
assessment-based treatment plans,  as  defined  in  section  eighty-four
hundred  one  of this article, in a facility setting or other supervised
settings approved by the department under supervision in accordance with
the commissioner's regulations.
* NB Repealed June 24, 2025