Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Minimum Professional Development Hours
Required:
(1) A licensee must complete 40
hours of professional development during each renewal period that they hold a
license. The 40 hours of professional development must include 6 hours in
ethics and 6 hours in cultural diversity or competency.
(2) A licensee may carry forward to the next
renewal period, a maximum of 10 hours accrued during the current renewal period
if those hours are not needed for renewal.
(b) Acceptable ethics hours include, but are
not limited to professional development on:
(1) state or federal laws, including agency
rules, relevant to the practice of psychology;
(2) practice guidelines established by local,
regional, state, national, or international professional
organizations;
(3) training or
education designed to demonstrate or affirm the ideals and responsibilities of
the profession; and
(4) training or
education intended to assist licensees in determining appropriate
decision-making and behavior, improve consistency in or enhance the
professional delivery of services, and provide a minimum acceptable level of
practice.
(c) Acceptable
cultural diversity or competency hours include, but are not limited to
professional development regarding age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender
identity, language, national origin, race, religion, culture, sexual
orientation, and socio-economic status.
(d) Acceptable Professional Development
Activities:
(1) All professional development
hours must have been received during the renewal period unless allowed under
subsection (a)(2) of this section, and be directly related to the practice of
psychology;
(2) The Council shall
make the determination as to whether the activity claimed by the licensee is
directly related to the practice of psychology;
(3) Except for hours claimed under subsection
(g), all professional development hours obtained must be designated by the
provider in a letter, email, certificate, or transcript that displays the
licensee's name, topic covered, date(s) of training, and hours of credit
earned; and
(4) Multiple instances
or occurrences of a professional development activity may not be claimed for
the same renewal period.
(e) Licensees must obtain at least fifty
percent of their professional development hours from one or more of the
following providers:
(1) an international,
national, regional, state, or local association of medical, mental, or
behavioral health professionals;
(2) public school districts, charter schools,
or education service centers;
(3)
city, county, state, or federal governmental entities;
(4) an institution of higher education
accredited by a regional accrediting organization recognized by the Council for
Higher Education Accreditation, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,
or the United States Department of Education;
(5) religious or charitable organizations
devoted to improving the mental or behavioral health of individuals;
(6) a hospital or hospital system, including
any clinic, division, or department within a hospital or hospital system;
or
(7) any provider approved or
endorsed by a provider listed herein.
(f) Licensees shall receive credit for
professional development activities according to the number of hours designated
by the provider, or if no such designation, on a one-for-one basis with one
credit hour for each hour spent in the professional development
activity.
(g) Notwithstanding
subsection (e) above, licensees may claim professional development credit for
each of the following activities:
(1) Passage
of the jurisprudence examination. Licensees who pass the jurisprudence
examination may claim 1 hour of professional development in ethics.
(2) Preparing and giving a presentation at a
professional development activity. The maximum number of hours that may be
claimed for this activity is 5 hours.
(3) Authoring a book or peer reviewed
article. The maximum number of hours that may be claimed for this activity is 5
hours.
(4) Teaching or attending a
graduate level course. The maximum number of hours that may be claimed for this
activity is 5 hours.
(5)
Self-study. The maximum number of hours that may be claimed for this activity
is 1 hour.
(6) Successful
completion of a training course on human trafficking prevention described by
§
116.002 of the
Occupations Code. Licensees who complete this training may claim 1 hour of
professional development credit.
(7) Providing supervision to supervisees
delivering psychological services to individuals residing in a rural mental
health discipline Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) identified by the
U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). The maximum number
of hours that may be claimed for this activity is 20 and hours claimed may not
be counted toward the ethics or cultural diversity or competency
requirements.
(h) The
Council does not pre-evaluate or pre-approve professional development providers
or hours.
(i) Licensees shall
maintain proof of professional development compliance for a minimum of 3 years
after the applicable renewal period.
