Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 510 - RULES OF STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF PSYCHOLOGISTS
Chapter 510-5 - SUPPLEMENTAL CODE OF CONDUCT
Rule 510-5-.06 - Welfare of Clients and Other Professional Relationships

1. Psychologists shall not delegate professional responsibilities to a person who is not qualified to provide such services. Psychologists delegate to supervisees, with the appropriate level of supervision, only those responsibilities that such persons can reasonably be expected to perform competently and ethically based on the supervisee's education, training, and experience.

2. Psychologists shall not delegate responsibilities or accept supervisory responsibilities for work which they are not qualified and personally competent to perform. Psychologists must retain full, complete, and ultimate authority and responsibility for the professional acts of supervisees.

3. The supervisee must have appropriate education and training, including training in ethical issues, to perform the delegated functions. The psychologist is responsible for determining the competency of the supervisee and will not assign or allow the supervisee to undertake tasks beyond the scope of the supervisee's training and/or competency. The psychologist is also responsible for providing the supervisee with specific instructions regarding the limits of his/her role as supervisee.

4. The supervisee must fully inform the patient or client receiving services of his or her role as supervisee and the right of the patient or client to confer with the supervising psychologist with regard to any aspect of the services, care, treatment, evaluation, or tests being performed.

5. When clinical psychological services are rendered, the psychologist must take part in the intake process, must personally make the diagnosis when a diagnosis is required, and must personally approve and co-sign a treatment plan for each patient or client. The psychologist must meet personally with the supervisee on a continuous and regular basis concerning each patient or client and must review the treatment record, including progress notes, on a regular basis as appropriate to the task(s). The psychologist must provide a minimum of one hour of supervision for every 20 hours of face-to-face clinical contact. The psychologist shall not take primary supervisory responsibility for more than three supervisees engaged in psychological services concurrently without Board approval.

6. The selection and interpretation of psychological tests shall only be made by the psychologist. The psychologist must personally interview the patient when a diagnosis is made or is requested. In any written report, including psychological evaluations, the psychologist must approve and sign the report. When the supervisee does not participate in the actual writing of a report, but does administer and/or score psychological tests, the supervisee is not required to sign the report, but his or her name must be listed as the person who participated in the collection of the data in the report. When the supervisee personally participates in the writing of any report, then both the psychologist and the supervisee must sign the report.