                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SCOPE OF PRACTICE, SUPERVISION, AND QUALIFICATIONS OF QUALIFIED MENTAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS (§ 54.1-3520)

A. 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.

B. 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.

C. 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&#8217;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.

HISTORY: 2024, c. 595.