New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Chapter 34 - BOARD OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY EXAMINERS
Subchapter 20 - REHABILITATION COUNSELORS: PURPOSE AND SCOPE; DEFINITIONS; SCOPE OF PRACTICE
Section 13:34-20.2 - Definitions

The following words and terms, as used in N.J.A.C. 13:34-20 through 28, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Clinical assessment and evaluation of persons with disabilities" means assessing, analyzing and evaluating physical and psychiatric disabilities of persons with disabilities in terms of the vocational implications of disabilities and medical aspects and implications of disabilities, including physical and functional capacities of the person and the psychosocial and cultural impact of disabilities for the purpose of exploring possible solutions, developing goals, and developing personalized plans for identified needs.

"Group supervision" means the ongoing process of supervising no more than six mental health counselors in a group setting by a permissible qualified supervisor.

"Major life activities" include such activities as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working, consistent with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act Code, 36 CFR 1191 et seq.

"One calendar year" means a maximum of 1,500 hours of supervised counseling experience over a period of 52 weeks, which is considered full-time or no less than 750 hours of supervised counseling experience in each of two 52 week periods for a total of 1,500 hours of supervised counseling experience, which is considered part-time. No more than 30 hours of supervised counseling experience shall be obtained in any one week. No more than 125 hours of supervised counseling experience shall be earned in any one month.

"Persons with disabilities" means persons who have a physical and/or psychiatric impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

"Program evaluation" means the effort to determine what changes occur as a result of a planned program by comparing actual changes (results) with desired changes (stated goals), and by identifying the degree to which the activity (planned program) is responsible for those changes.

"Psychiatric disabilities" include mental or psychological disorders, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, developmental disabilities and specific learning disabilities.

"Qualified supervisor" means an individual who holds a clinical license to provide mental health counseling services for a minimum of two years in the state where the services are being provided, and who has:

1. A clinical supervisor's certificate from the National Board for Certified Counselors Center for Credentialing and Education or its successor, the American Society of Addictive Medicine or its successor, the American Psychiatric Association or its successor or the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy or its successor; or

2. Completed a minimum of three graduate credits in clinical supervision from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.

A "qualified supervisor" shall satisfy all requirements set forth in 13:34-23.1.

"Rehabilitation counseling" means offering to assist or assisting, for a fee or other compensation, a person through a rehabilitation counseling relationship to develop an understanding of the personal, social and vocational impact of their disabilities and to plan and implement a rehabilitation program, which may include training to help the person become more independent and employable. Rehabilitation counseling entails the clinical assessment and evaluation of mental, emotional, behavioral and associated distresses, which interfere with mental health and development.

"Rehabilitation counseling experience" means the rendering of rehabilitation counseling services while under the supervision of a qualified supervisor.

"Rehabilitation counseling interventions" means services implemented in the context of a rehabilitation counseling relationship between a rehabilitation counselor and persons with disabilities and the application of individual and group counseling theories and strategies, career development and work adjustment theories and strategies, behavior and personality theories and strategies and family counseling theories and strategies, specifically implemented for the purpose of helping persons with disabilities to understand and to deal with the personal, social and vocational impact of their disabilities. "Rehabilitation counseling interventions" include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Appraisal and assessment, defined as:

i. Selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting instruments designed to assess an individual's aptitudes, attitudes, abilities, achievements, interests, personal characteristics, disabilities and mental, emotional and behavioral disorders; and

ii. Using methods and techniques for understanding human behavior in relation to coping with, adapting to or changing life situations;

2. Counseling, defined as assisting an individual or group through the counseling relationship to develop an understanding of intrapersonal and interpersonal problems, to define goals, to make decisions, to plan a course of action reflecting the client's needs, interests and abilities and to use informational and community resources as these methods are related to career development and adjustment and to mental, emotional, social, educational and existential issues;

3. Consulting, defined as applying scientific principles and procedures in counseling and human development to provide assistance in understanding and solving current or potential problems that the client(s) may have in relation to an individual, a group or an organization;

4. Referral, defined as evaluating and identifying needs of a client to determine the advisability of referral to other specialists, informing the client of such judgment and communicating as requested or deemed appropriate to such referral sources; sources; and

5. Research, defined as a systematic effort to collect, analyze and interpret quantitative or qualitative data that describe how social characteristics, behavior, emotions, cognition, disabilities, mental disorders and interpersonal transactions among persons and organizations interact.

"Substantially limits one or more major life activities" means an impairment which substantially interferes with the accomplishment of a major life activity or activities when the person's major life activity or activities are restricted as to the conditions, manner, or duration under which they can be performed without impairment.

"Supervision" or "supervised" means the weekly interaction with a qualified supervisor who monitors the performance of the supervisee and provides weekly, documented face-to-face consultation, guidance and instruction with respect to the counseling skills and competencies of the supervisee and includes at least 50 hours of face-to-face supervision per one calendar year, at the rate of one hour per week, of which not more than 10 hours may be group supervision.

"Supervisee" means a person providing rehabilitation counseling services under the supervision of a qualified supervisor.