1999 Legislation
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SENATE BILL NO. 1181 – Pastoral counselors, license, qual

SENATE BILL NO. 1181

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Daily Data Tracking History



S1181.................................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE
LICENSED PASTORAL COUNSELORS - Amends existing law to revise qualifications
for licensure of licensed pastoral counselors; and to provide a code of
ethics.

02/15    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/16    Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
02/23    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/24    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/01    3rd rdg - PASSED - 32-3-0
      AYES--Andreason, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron, Crow,
      Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Ipsen,
      Keough, King, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh, Parry, Richardson, Riggs, Risch,
      Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Thorne, Twiggs,
      Wheeler, Whitworth
      NAYS--Boatright, Hawkins, Ingram
      Absent and excused--None
    Floor Sponsor - Ipsen
    Title apvd - to House
03/02    House intro - 1st rdg - to Health/Wel

Bill Text


S1181


                                                                        
 ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature                 First Regular Session - 1999
                                                                        

                                      IN THE SENATE

                                   SENATE BILL NO. 1181

                             BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE

 1                                        AN ACT
 2    RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE  FOR  LICENSED  PASTORAL  COUNSELORS;
 3        AMENDING SECTION 54-3405A, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICEN-
 4        SURE  OF  LICENSED  PASTORAL COUNSELORS AND TO PROVIDE A STATUTORY CODE OF
 5        ETHICS.

 6    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

 7        SECTION 1.  That Section 54-3405A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is  hereby
 8    amended to read as follows:

 9        54-3405A.  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR LICENSURE FOR LICENSED PASTORAL COUNSELORS.
10    Licensure as a "licensed pastoral counselor" shall be  restricted  to  persons
11    who  have  successfully  completed the following requirements who have applied
12    for licensed pastoral counselors (L.Pas.C.) and:
13        (1)  Holds a master of divinity (M.Div.) degree or doctoral degree with  a
14    major  in pastoral counseling from an accredited university or  religious
15    institution   seminary  with  a  requirement  of  sixty  (60)
16    semester  credit hours of counseling related courses in a minimum of eight (8)
17    of  the  following  eleven  (11)  areas  with  the  areas   of   study   being
18    specified :   by the American association of pastoral counsel-
19    ors (AAPC): 
20        (a)  Theories of personality and personality development;
21        (b)  Theories of counseling and psychotherapy;
22        (c)  Marriage and family dynamics and counseling;
23        (d)  Group dynamics and counseling;
24        (e)  Personality, culture and ethics;
25        (f)  Psychology of religious experience;
26        (g)  Pastoral assessment and treatment;
27        (h)  Psychopathology;
28        (i)  Theories of  pastoral care;
29        (j)  Research methods;
30        (k)  Orientation to the helping professions.
31        (2)  Completion  of   a practicum of supervised counseling experience
32    of four hundred (400) contact hours, supervised at a ratio of one (1) hour  of
33    supervision  for each ten (10) contact hours   two thousand (2,000)
34    contact hours of postgraduate supervised counseling experience provided  by  a
35    licensed  pastoral  counselor  (L.Pas.C.) or a licensed professional counselor
36    with private practice specialty (L.P.C.-P) acceptable to the board .
37        (3)   Graduate studies shall have been at a university or institution
38    which has been accredited by one (1) of the following: The middle states asso-
39    ciation of colleges and secondary schools, the New England  state  association
40    of  colleges  and secondary schools, the north central association of colleges
41    and secondary schools, the northwest association  of  colleges  and  secondary
42    schools,  the  southern  association  of colleges and secondary schools or the
43    western colleges association. The  pastoral  counselor  program  may  also  be


                                          2

 1    accredited by the association of theological schools (ATS).
 2        (4)  Completion  of  two  thousand  (2,000)  contact hours of postgraduate
 3    supervised counseling experience, with an approved supervisor. Approved super-
 4    visors include an American association of pastoral counselors approved  super-
 5    visor, a licensed pastoral counselor, a licensed psychiatrist, a licensed psy-
 6    chologist,  or  a licensed professional counselor. The ratio of supervision to
 7    contact hours shall be one (1) to twenty (20).
 8        (5)   Successful completion of the national counselor examination as
 9    required by the board.
10        ( 6  4  )  Each  licensed  pastoral  counselor  must
11    obtain  twenty  (20)  contact hours of continuing education in an area that is
12    approved by the board per year.
13        ( 7  5 )  Each  licensed  pastoral  counselor  shall
14    adhere to the  following  code of ethics :   of the
15    American counseling association 
16          (a)  To  maintain  responsible  association with the faith group in
17        which the pastoral counselor has ecclesiastical standing.
18        (b)  To diagnose or provide treatment only for those  problems  or  issues
19        that are within the reasonable boundaries of the pastoral counselor's com-
20        petence.
21        (c)  To  establish  and  maintain  appropriate  professional  relationship
22        boundaries.
23        (d)  To use the pastoral counselor's knowledge for the benefit of the peo-
24        ple  served and not to secure unfair personal advantage.
25        (e)  To  clearly represent the level of training and limit the practice to
26        that level.
27        (f)  To conduct the pastoral counseling practice with due regard to recog-
28        nized business and accounting procedures.
29        (g)  To represent facts truthfully to clients, referral sources and  third
30        party  payors  regarding  credentials and services rendered and to correct
31        any misrepresentation of the licensed  pastoral  counselor's  professional
32        qualifications or affiliations.
33        (h)  To  not abandon or neglect clients and if the licensed pastoral coun-
34        selor is unable or unwilling for appropriate reasons  to  provide  profes-
35        sional  help  or  continue  a  professional  relationship every reasonable
36        effort is made to arrange for continuation of treatment with another  pro-
37        fessional.
38        (i)  To  make  only realistic statements regarding the pastoral counseling
39        process and its outcome.
40        (j)  To show sensitive regard for the moral, social  and  religious  stan-
41        dards  of clients and communities and avoid imposing the licensed pastoral
42        counselor's beliefs on others, although these  beliefs  may  be  expressed
43        when appropriate in the pastoral counseling process.
44        (k)  To continue counseling relationships only as long as it is reasonably
45        clear that the clients are benefitting from the relationship.
46        (l)  To  recognize the trust placed in and unique power of the therapeutic
47        relationship and to acknowledge the complexity of some pastoral  relation-
48        ships,  to  avoid  exploiting  the  trust and dependency of clients and to
49        avoid dual relationships with clients  which  could  impair  the  licensed
50        pastoral  counselor's  professional  judgment, compromise the integrity of
51        the treatment or use the relationship for the licensed pastoral counselor.
52        (m)  To avoid all forms of sexual behavior or harassment with clients even
53        when a client invites or consents to the behavior or involvement.  "Sexual
54        behavior"  shall be defined as, but not limited to, all forms of overt and
55        covert seductive speech, gestures and behavior as well as physical contact


                                          3

 1        of a sexual nature; and "harassment" is defined as, but is not limited to,
 2        repeated comments, gestures or physical contacts of a sexual nature.
 3        (n)  To recognize that the therapist/client relationship involves a  power
 4        imbalance,  the residual effects of which are operative following the ter-
 5        mination of the therapy relationship.
 6        (o)  To keep, store or dispose of  all records of a  client  in  a  manner
 7        that assures security and confidentiality.
 8        (p)  To  not  disclose client confidences to anyone, except as mandated by
 9        law to prevent a clear and immediate danger to someone in the course of  a
10        civil,  criminal  or disciplinary action arising from the counseling where
11        the pastoral counselor is a defendant, for the purposes of supervision  or
12        consultation or previously obtained written permission. In cases involving
13        more than one (1) person as a client, written permission shall be obtained
14        from  all  legally  accountable  persons  who have been present during the
15        counseling before any disclosure can be made.
16        (q)  To not offer ongoing clinical services to persons currently receiving
17        treatment from another professional without prior knowledge of and in con-
18        sultation with the other professional, with the clients' informed  consent
19        and to not solicit such clients.
20        (r)  To  not  misrepresent  the licensed pastoral counselor's professional
21        qualifications, affiliations and functions, or falsely  imply  sponsorship
22        or certification by any organization .
23        ( 8  6 )  The board shall have the option of employ-
24    ing  a  consultant to assist in the review of applications and in disciplinary
25    actions. The cost of the consultation shall be included in  the  fee  for  the
26    pastoral counselor license.
27        ( 9  7 )  The board may issue licenses to those per-
28    sons meeting the qualifications for licensure as a licensed pastoral counselor
29    (L.Pas.C)  and the licensed pastoral counselor license shall be a separate and
30    distinct license from the licensed professional counselor license.
31        ( 10  8 ) For the purposes of this chapter, fees and
32    disciplinary actions, the terms "licensed pastoral  counselor"  and  "licensed
33    professional  counselor" shall have the same meaning. The board may promulgate
34    rules to implement the provisions of this section in compliance  with  chapter
35    52, title 67, Idaho Code.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                            RS09057

This legislation will designate qualifications necessary to
be pastoral counselor, with the inclusion of a code of
ethics to be followed.









                          FISCAL NOTE

No fiscal impact.











CONTACT: Senator Ipsen
         332-1326
         
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE      S1181