8405 - Psychoanalysis. - New York Statutes

§ 8405. Psychoanalysis. 1. Definition of the practice of psychoanalysis. The practice of the profession of psychoanalysis is defined as: (a) the observation, description, evaluation, and interpretation of dynamic unconscious mental processes that contribute to the formation of personality and behavior in order to identify and resolve unconscious psychic problems which affect interpersonal relationships and emotional development, to facilitate changes in personality and behavior through the use of verbal and nonverbal cognitive and emotional communication, and to develop adaptive functioning; and (b) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and psychotherapy to identify, evaluate and treat dysfunctions and disorders for purposes of providing appropriate psychoanalytic services. 2. Practice of psychoanalysis and use of the titles "psychoanalyst" and "licensed psychoanalyst". Only a person licensed or exempt under this article shall practice psychoanalysis or use the title "psychoanalyst". Only a person licensed under this article shall use the title "licensed psychoanalyst" or any other designation tending to imply that the person is licensed to practice psychoanalysis. 3. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a license as a "licensed psychoanalyst", an applicant shall fulfill the following requirements: (a) Application: File an application with the department; (b) Education: Have received a master's degree or higher from a degree-granting program registered by the department or the substantial equivalent and have completed a program of study registered by the department in a psychoanalytic institute chartered by the board of regents or the substantial equivalent as determined by the department. The program of study in a psychoanalytic institute shall include coursework substantially equivalent to coursework required for a master's degree in a health or mental health field of study. The coursework shall include, but not be limited to, the following areas: (i) personality development; (ii) psychoanalytic theory of psychopathology; (iii) psychoanalytic theory of psychodiagnosis; (iv) sociocultural influence on growth and psychopathology; (v) practice technique (including dreams and symbolic processes); (vi) analysis of resistance, transference, and countertransference; (vii) case seminars on clinical practice; (viii) practice in psychopathology and psychodiagnosis; (ix) professional ethics and psychoanalytic research methodology; and (x) a minimum of three hundred hours of personal analysis and one hundred fifty hours of supervised analysis; (c) Experience: Have completed a minimum of fifteen hundred hours of supervised clinical practice satisfactory to the department and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. Satisfactory experience obtained in an entity operating under a waiver issued by the department pursuant to section sixty-five hundred three-a of this title may be accepted by the department, notwithstanding that such experience may have been obtained prior to the effective date of such section sixty-five hundred three-a and/or prior to the entity having obtained a waiver. The department may, for good cause shown, accept satisfactory experience that was obtained in a setting that would have been eligible for a waiver but which has not obtained a waiver from the department or experience that was obtained in good faith by the applicant under the belief that appropriate authorization had been obtained for the experience, provided that such experience meets all other requirements for acceptable experience;(d) Examination: Pass an examination in psychoanalysis satisfactory to the department and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations; (e) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age; (f) Character: Be of good moral character as determined by the department; and (g) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an initial license and a fee of one hundred seventy dollars for each triennial registration period.