Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/23/2003 01:34 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 135-MARITAL & FAMILY THERAPISTS
CHAIR FRED DYSON called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:34 p.m.
Present were Senators Guess, Wilken, Davis and Dyson. The Chair
announced HB 135 to be up for consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, sponsor, said that HB 135 updates
the marital and family therapist statutes to the standards of
other counseling services in the state and to national standards
as well. It adds this board to the list of boards that can
contract out for substance abuse treatment by licensed
therapists, gives the board authority to order a licensed
therapist to submit to a reasonable physical or mental
examination if the board has credible evidence to conclude that
the therapist's physical or mental capacity is at risk for safe
practice, allows individual client contact to be used toward
hours for licensing, and requires the therapist to communicate
to a potential victim or law enforcement officer a threat of
serious imminent harm if such a threat is made by the client
during treatment. It also imposes disciplinary sanctions with
regard to therapist sexual misconduct and provides for some
disclosure of information as a consumer protection.
CHAIR DYSON asked if the law anticipates that the marriage and
family therapist would be talking to the potential perpetrator
or knows them, in regard to the provision that would allow the
therapist to communicate a threat to a potential victim or
police officer.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON said that is correct.
CHAIR DYSON asked if his understanding is correct that this bill
will give that authority to the other people on boards.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON replied the other boards already have that
authority. It is being added here.
CHAIR DYSON asked if this bill makes any changes for the other
groups on the list.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON indicated it does not.
CHAIR DYSON asked for an explanation of the provision that will
allow client contact hours to be used towards licensing.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON answered that in Alaska, especially in
rural areas, therapists are sometimes consulted to do family
counseling, but do individual counseling also. Until now,
therapists have not been able to count the individual counseling
hours for licensing purposes.
CHAIR DYSON asked if it allows them to double count the hours.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON replied it does not.
MR. LARRY HOLMAN, Chairman, Marriage and Family Therapy
Regulatory Board, explained that HB 135 is a collaborative
effort between the American Family Therapy Regulatory Board and
the professional association. This bill is essential because it
provides better protection for the public in the areas
Representative Wilson talked about. In the area of sexual
misconduct, it fills out guidelines similar to those used by
other health disciplines. It prohibits a sexual relationship
with a client for two years after termination of active
treatment. This bill also makes an exception to the
confidentiality law that is a usual standard in therapy to
report potentially dangerous actions by a client or revealed by
a client.
Most therapists provide a disclosure statement, but it isn't
very clear sometimes. HB 135 asks them to disclose their
education, their areas of specialization, their fees and other
related information. It limits the practice of marriage and
family therapists to areas of their education or specialized
training. All of the provisions derive from many years of
practical experience where there has been difficulty either in
Alaska or in another state. He said marriage and family
therapists use the American Association of Marriage and Family
Therapy Code of Ethics, but he has been told it is important to
actually put some of the code into law to spell it out more
clearly.
CHAIR DYSON asked if a therapist violates the section on sexual
contact with a client, that therapist would be subject to
actions against their license, not criminal sanctions.
MR. HOLMAN replied that is correct.
SENATOR LYDA GREEN arrived at 1:45 p.m.
SENATOR GREEN said that last year when they dealt with this
bill, there were problems with section 7, which says, "A client
may not be charged a fee by a licensed marital and family
therapist unless before the performance of the services the
client was furnished a copy of a professional disclosure
statement that contained...."
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded that was changed to direct the
statute to licensed therapists.
MR. HOLMAN responded that he wasn't sure of that.
SENATOR GREEN said she had never been shown a professional
disclosure statement in a doctor or dentist's office. However,
HB 135 says the therapist would be punished for forgetting to
provide a litany of information to the client. She questioned
why the board would want to do that to its own membership and
asked, "Have they defrauded the client?"
MR. HOLMAN replied that their code of ethics requires therapists
to provide a disclosure, so someone would not forget to do that.
CHAIR DYSON asked if that requirement is in statute for other
related disciplines.
MR. HOLMAN replied the disclosure statement language is the same
used in other disciplines, but he wasn't sure about the rest.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON explained when a client comes to a
therapist, the client could very likely be distraught over the
breakup of a marriage and may not be thinking clearly. That's
why it's so important for the client to know he or she bill get
the disclosure statement.
CHAIR DYSON said he would hold the bill for further work. He
wanted to know if the same disclosure requirements were put on
the Board of Professional Counselors and the Board of
Psychologists and Psychological Associates.
HB 135-MARITAL & FAMILY THERAPISTS
CHAIR FRED DYSON announced HB 135 to be back up for
consideration.
SENATOR LYDA GREEN moved to adopt Amendment 1 and objected for
the purpose of providing an explanation. She explained that
Amendment 1 removes the language that says a client would not
have to pay if the disclosure information isn't provided. A new
introductory paragraph after "disclosure statement" says,
"Before the performance of services, the client will be
furnished a copy of a professional disclosure statement that
contains...."
SENATOR GREEN removed her objection.
CHAIR DYSON announced that with no further objections to
Amendment 1, it was adopted.
SENATOR BETTYE DAVIS moved to pass SCSHB 135(HES) from committee
with individual objections. There were no objections and it was
so ordered.
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