{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/54.1-3520.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/54.1-3520.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/54.1-3520.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/54.1-3520.html"}],"law_id":59267,"edition_id":1,"section_id":59267,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3520","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of qualified mental health professionals","history":"2024, c. 595.","full_text":"A\n\nA qualified mental health professional shall be qualified to perform, under Board-approved supervision, collaborative behavioral health services, including the supportive functions of (i) screening; (ii) intake; (iii) orientation; (iv) care coordination; (v) client education; (vi) referral activities; (vii) initiating crisis de-escalation; (viii) gathering histories of mental and physical health conditions, alcohol and drug use, past mental health treatment, and interactions with the criminal justice system; (ix) providing psychosocial skills development; (x) implementing interventions as assigned on individual plans of care and documenting the interventions for the purposes of recordkeeping; and (xi) prevention of mental health and substance use disorders. A registered qualified mental health professional shall not engage in independent or autonomous practice and shall only perform collaborative behavioral health services.B\n\nSuch registered qualified mental health professionals shall be supervised by either a mental health professional licensed by the Department of Health Professions who has completed the required supervisor training, a person under supervision that has been approved by the Board of Counseling, Board of Psychology, or Board of Social Work as a prerequisite for licensure who has completed the required supervisor training, or a registered qualified mental health professional who has practiced for three years and completed the required supervisor training. Registered qualified mental health professionals who have met the supervisor requirements may supervise activities within their scope. This supervision must occur under the broader required direction of and in collaboration with the licensed mental health professional or licensed eligible mental health professional.C\n\nPursuant to regulations adopted by the Board, an applicant for registration as a qualified mental health professional shall submit evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has (i) completed a specified number of hours of didactic education in a program or programs recognized or approved by the Board; (ii) received, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board; and (iii) accumulated a specified number of hours of Board-approved supervised experience.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":217231,"text":"A qualified mental health professional shall be qualified to perform, under Board-approved supervision, collaborative behavioral health services, including the supportive functions of (i) screening; (ii) intake; (iii) orientation; (iv) care coordination; (v) client education; (vi) referral activities; (vii) initiating crisis de-escalation; (viii) gathering histories of mental and physical health conditions, alcohol and drug use, past mental health treatment, and interactions with the criminal justice system; (ix) providing psychosocial skills development; (x) implementing interventions as assigned on individual plans of care and documenting the interventions for the purposes of recordkeeping; and (xi) prevention of mental health and substance use disorders. A registered qualified mental health professional shall not engage in independent or autonomous practice and shall only perform collaborative behavioral health services.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":217232,"text":"Such registered qualified mental health professionals shall be supervised by either a mental health professional licensed by the Department of Health Professions who has completed the required supervisor training, a person under supervision that has been approved by the Board of Counseling, Board of Psychology, or Board of Social Work as a prerequisite for licensure who has completed the required supervisor training, or a registered qualified mental health professional who has practiced for three years and completed the required supervisor training. Registered qualified mental health professionals who have met the supervisor requirements may supervise activities within their scope. This supervision must occur under the broader required direction of and in collaboration with the licensed mental health professional or licensed eligible mental health professional.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":217233,"text":"Pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board, an applicant for registration as a qualified mental health professional shall submit evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has (i) completed a specified number of hours of didactic education in a program or programs recognized or approved by the Board; (ii) received, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board; and (iii) accumulated a specified number of hours of Board-approved supervised experience.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15536,"edition_id":1,"name":"Behavioral Health Technicians and Qualified Mental Health Professionals","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13599,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:56:07","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:56:07","permalink":{"id":243969,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15536,"identifier":"4","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4","url":"\/54.1\/III\/35\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13599,"edition_id":1,"name":"Professional Counseling","identifier":"35","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12758,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:21","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:21","permalink":{"id":243863,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13599,"identifier":"35","token":"54.1\/III\/35","url":"\/54.1\/III\/35\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12758,"edition_id":1,"name":"Professions and Occupations Regulated by Boards Within the Department of Health Professions","identifier":"III","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12754,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":241105,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12758,"identifier":"III","token":"54.1\/III","url":"\/54.1\/III\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12754,"edition_id":1,"name":"Professions and Occupations","identifier":"54.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":239313,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12754,"identifier":"54.1","token":"54.1","url":"\/54.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":69407,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3518","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of registered behavioral health technicians","url":"\/54.1-3518\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3518","metadata":false},{"id":69128,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3519","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of registered behavioral health technician assistants","url":"\/54.1-3519\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3519","metadata":false},{"id":59267,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3520","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of qualified mental health professionals","url":"\/54.1-3520\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3520","metadata":false},{"id":73615,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3521","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of qualified mental health professional-trainees","url":"\/54.1-3521\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3521","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":69128,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3519","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of registered behavioral health technician assistants","url":"\/54.1-3519\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3519","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":73615,"structure_id":15536,"section_number":"54.1-3521","catch_line":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of qualified mental health professional-trainees","url":"\/54.1-3521\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3521","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/54.1-3520\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2024. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 595<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":[{"id":54880,"section_number":"54.1-3500","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-3500\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":243979,"object_type":"law","relational_id":59267,"identifier":"54.1-3520","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3520","url":"\/54.1-3520\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/54.1-3520\/","token":"54.1\/III\/35\/4\/54.1-3520","dublin_core":{"Title":"Scope of practice, supervision, and qualifications of qualified mental health professionals","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 54.1-3520","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> A qualified mental health professional<\/span> shall be qualified to perform, under Board<\/span>-approved supervision<\/span>, collaborative behavioral health services<\/span>, including the supportive functions of (i) screening; (ii) intake; (iii) orientation; (iv) care coordination; (v) client education; (vi) referral activities<\/span>; (vii) initiating crisis de-escalation; (viii) gathering histories of mental and physical health conditions, alcohol and drug use, past mental health treatment<\/span>, and interactions with the criminal justice system; (ix) providing psychosocial skills development; (x) implementing interventions as assigned on individual plans of care and documenting the interventions for the purposes of recordkeeping; and (xi) prevention of mental health and substance use disorders. A registered qualified mental health professional<\/span> shall not engage in independent or autonomous practice and shall only perform collaborative behavioral health services<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Such registered qualified mental health professionals<\/span> shall be supervised by either a mental health professional licensed by the Department of Health Professions who has completed the required supervisor training, a person under supervision<\/span> that has been approved by the Board<\/span> of Counseling<\/span>, Board<\/span> of Psychology, or Board<\/span> of Social Work as a prerequisite for licensure who has completed the required supervisor training, or a registered qualified mental health professional<\/span> who has practiced for three years and completed the required supervisor training. Registered qualified mental health professionals<\/span> who have met the supervisor requirements may supervise activities within their scope. This supervision<\/span> must occur under the broader required direction of and in collaboration with the licensed mental health professional or licensed eligible mental health professional. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board<\/span>, an applicant for registration as a qualified mental health professional<\/span> shall submit evidence<\/span> satisfactory to the Board<\/span> that the applicant has (i) completed a specified number of hours of didactic education in a program or programs recognized or approved by the Board<\/span>; (ii) received, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board<\/span>; and (iii) accumulated a specified number of hours of Board<\/span>-approved supervised experience. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nSCOPE OF PRACTICE, SUPERVISION, AND QUALIFICATIONS OF QUALIFIED MENTAL HEALTH\nPROFESSIONALS (\u00a7 54.1-3520)\n\nA. A qualified mental health professional shall be qualified to perform, under\nBoard-approved supervision, collaborative behavioral health services, including\nthe supportive functions of (i) screening; (ii) intake; (iii) orientation; (iv)\ncare coordination; (v) client education; (vi) referral activities; (vii)\ninitiating crisis de-escalation; (viii) gathering histories of mental and\nphysical health conditions, alcohol and drug use, past mental health treatment,\nand interactions with the criminal justice system; (ix) providing psychosocial\nskills development; (x) implementing interventions as assigned on individual\nplans of care and documenting the interventions for the purposes of\nrecordkeeping; and (xi) prevention of mental health and substance use disorders.\nA registered qualified mental health professional shall not engage in\nindependent or autonomous practice and shall only perform collaborative\nbehavioral health services.\n\nB. Such registered qualified mental health professionals shall be supervised by\neither a mental health professional licensed by the Department of Health\nProfessions who has completed the required supervisor training, a person under\nsupervision that has been approved by the Board of Counseling, Board of\nPsychology, or Board of Social Work as a prerequisite for licensure who has\ncompleted the required supervisor training, or a registered qualified mental\nhealth professional who has practiced for three years and completed the required\nsupervisor training. Registered qualified mental health professionals who have\nmet the supervisor requirements may supervise activities within their scope.\nThis supervision must occur under the broader required direction of and in\ncollaboration with the licensed mental health professional or licensed eligible\nmental health professional.\n\nC. Pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board, an applicant for registration\nas a qualified mental health professional shall submit evidence satisfactory to\nthe Board that the applicant has (i) completed a specified number of hours of\ndidactic education in a program or programs recognized or approved by the Board;\n(ii) received, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an institution of\nhigher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board;\nand (iii) accumulated a specified number of hours of Board-approved supervised\nexperience.\n\nHISTORY: 2024, c. 595.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}