Frequently Asked Questions

General questions
Examinations
Reciprocity and Other License Eligibility
Internship and Supervision
Postdoctoral Supervisory Plan
Information for Current Licensees

General questions

What is the definition of a psychologist?
A psychologists is defined as any person who engages in the practice of psychology or holds himself out to the public by any title or description of services representing himself as a psychologist, which incorporates the words “psychologist”, “psychological," or when a person describes himself or herself as above and, under such title or description, offers to render or renders services involving the application of principles, methods and procedures of the science and profession of psychology to persons for compensation or other personal gain. [16.22.1.7 (A)(63) NMAC]

Is a license required to practice as a psychologist?
Unless licensed to practice psychology under the Professional Psychologist Act [Chapter 61, Article 9 NMSA 1978], no person shall engage in the practice of psychology or use the title or represent himself as a Psychologist or Psychologist Associate or use any other title, abbreviation, letters, signs, or devices that indicate the person is a Psychologist or Psychologist Associate.

What are the educational requirements to be licensed as a psychologist?
A doctoral program that is designated by a nationally recognized system, or a doctoral program in clinical, counseling or school psychology from a university which offers a full-time course of study, and which is accredited by a nationally recognized body [ 16.22.4.8 NMAC].

It is the responsibility of the prospective applicant to provide evidence at the time of application that the program from which he or she graduated is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the Professional Psychology Act.

What tests must be passed to qualify for licensure in New Mexico?

  • Examination for Practice in Professional Psychology (EPPP), administered by the Professional Examination Service [16.22.7.8 NMAC]
  • Examination of ethics and New Mexico jurisprudence [16.22.7.8 NMAC]
  • Furnish evidence that demonstrates an awareness and knowledge of New Mexico cultures [16.22.7.8 NMAC]

How do I furnish evidence that demonstrates an awareness and knowledge of New Mexico cultures?
This is currently being developed by the Board of Psychologist Examiners. Until it is complete, applicants will be licensed after passing the EPPP and NM Jurisprudence exam.

Examinations

What are passing scores for the EPPP?
To qualify for licensure, an applicant must demonstrate professional competence by taking and passing a written examination called the EPPP, promulgated by ASPPB. The passing score on the EPPP taken before January 1,1993 is 140 (70%). If taken after taken after January 1, 1993, a passing score is the score equal to or greater than the passing score recommended by ASPPB.

Is the New Mexico Jurisprudence Exam required?
All persons applying for licensure shall take and pass an online jurisprudence examination on ethical standards, New Mexico laws, and board regulations as they apply to psychologists and their clients or patients. The passing score will be determined by the board.

Note: If the score of either the EPPP or jurisprudence examination meets the requirements for licensure as a psychologist but the other score does not, the examination passed will not have to be retaken. An applicant may retake the EPPP or jurisprudence examination at each scheduled examination date and pay the appropriate examination fee as required by the board. Such fee is nonrefundable and due at the time of the request.

Reciprocity and Other License Eligibility

What if I am already licensed in another U.S. state, territorial possession of the United States, District of Columbia, the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico, Canadian province, or other country?
Reciprocity may be granted if you:

  • Hold an active license in that jurisdiction,
  • Have a doctoral degree in psychology or a related field
  • Have been licensed for 10 years
  • Have no pending disciplinary actions, no formal disciplinary actions issued against your license in the past five (5) years, and no past suspensions or revocations

What if I hold the Certification of Professional Qualification (CPQ) issued by ASPPB, or the National Register Health Service Provider in Psychology credential (NR)?
You may be eligible if you hold either of these credentials and your license has been in good standing in another jurisdiction for five (5) years [16.22.5.11 NMAC].

What if I graduated from a doctoral program outside of the United States or Canada?
Graduates of programs outside the U.S. and Canada must prove that their educational program was "substantially equivalent" to traditional U.S. psychology training programs. Much will depend upon the adequacy of the documentation you can provide to demonstrate equivalency. This may include: catalogs from your university describing the courses you took; names and authors of the primary textbooks you used; syllabi of the courses; names and qualifications of your instructors and clinical supervisors; evidence of satisfactory completion of your supervised experience; evidence of graduation from your program; an official transcript; etc. Any documentation in languages other than English will require a certified translation [16.22.5.15 NMAC].

Internship and Supervision

What are the requirements for supervision?
Two (2) years (3,000 hours) of supervised experience are required for licensure. A predoctoral APA approved internship will count for 1,500 hours while other internships will count for 750 hours of the 3,000 hours. Predoctoral and postdoctoral experience from all supervisors shall be documented on forms provided by the board. If the applicant did not complete one (1) year of predoctoral internship, the applicant shall complete 3,000 hours in postdoctoral supervised experience.

What are the criteria for Predoctoral Internship?
If the predoctoral or postdoctoral experience is obtained in an internship or fellowship accredited by the APA, a board form completed by the director of training will satisfy the requirement of certifying all supervision received during the internship or fellowship. The applicant may complete a predoctoral internship before completing the doctorate.

If the predoctoral experience is obtained in an internship that is not accredited by the APA, it will be counted for 750 hours of the required 3,000 hours if it meets the following criteria:

  1. The agency or institution offers internship education and training in psychology, one goal of which is to prepare applicants for the practice of professional psychology.
  2. The internship program is sponsored by an institution or agency, which has among its primary functions the provision of service to a population of recipients sufficient in number and variability to provide interns with adequate experiential exposure to meet its training purposes, goals, and objectives.
  3. The internship is completed within twenty-four (24) consecutive months at a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week.
  4. An internship that involves more than one agency, organization, or institution will be accepted if the primary supervisor and the applicant can demonstrate that the internship program is organized under a unifying or coordinating structure (e.g., a consortium with a core clinical faculty) and central leadership (e.g., one director of training or central supervisor overseeing the entire internship program and the supervision of the intern).
  5. Internships consisting of less than twenty (20) hours per week will not be accepted.
  6. The internship makes available to all interested parties formal brochures describing the internship program and adheres to and makes available formal written policies and procedures that govern intern selection, practicum academic preparation requirements, administrative and financial assistance, and intern performance evaluations.

What are the requirements for Postdoctoral Supervised Practice?
Postdoctoral experience shall be completed within three (3) consecutive years. Depending on the number of hours of predoctoral supervised experience, an applicant shall complete the remaining of the 3,000 hours through postdoctoral supervision.

An applicant may submit a postdoctoral supervisory plan to the board for review before beginning supervised practice. Once a plan for supervision is submitted to the board, the board or a designated board member will respond in writing to the acceptability of such a plan within sixty (60) days. If the plan is found unacceptable, the board or a designated board member will specify the areas of deficiency. If the board approves the plan, the applicant will be assured that postdoctoral experience, if completed according to the plan, will meet the postdoctoral requirements.

If an applicant does not obtain a board-approved postdoctoral supervisory plan, the applicant shall submit documentation of the postdoctoral supervised practice after its completion. However, if the board does not approve this experience, part or all of the postdoctoral supervised experience shall be repeated.

What are the requirements for and responsibilities of primary supervisors?
The licensed psychologist who serves as a primary supervisor shall be responsible for the overall supervision of the supervisee's professional growth. Specific skill training may be assigned to other licensed specialists, under the authority of the supervising psychologist. The other licensed specialists shall have clearly established practice and teaching skills demonstrable to the satisfaction of both the primary supervisor and the supervisee.

The primary supervisor shall limit the number of applicants supervised to the number that the supervisor’s work position and clinical responsibilities reasonably permit, so as to maintain a level of supervision and practice consistent with professional standards and ensure the welfare of the supervisees and their clients or patients.

The supervisor shall not be a member of the supervisee’s immediate family or in a dual relationship that would compromise the supervisor’s objectivity.

What are the requirements of supervisory contact?
The applicant shall have on-site supervision. The on-site supervisor may be either the primary supervisor or a licensed specialist designated by the primary supervisor. At a minimum, supervision by the primary supervisor shall be provided on a one-to-one basis for one (1) hour per week for a total at least forty-six (46) hours of one-to-one supervision per year. If there is not a licensed psychologist available who can serve as a primary supervisor and the closest licensed psychologist is 100 miles or more away, face-to-face supervision by a primary supervisor shall be at least two (2) hours per month and telephone supervision may be substituted for the rest of this supervision requirement. However, the applicant and supervisor must arrange on-site supervision by a licensed psychiatrist, social worker, professional clinical mental health counselor, or marriage and family therapist. The on-site licensed mental health professional shall provide supervision to the applicant on a one-to-one basis for one (1) hour per week and shall be available to the applicant whenever decisions about patients are made.

Explain the conduct of supervision.
The board recognizes that variability in preparation for practice of the applicant will require individually tailored supervision.  The specific content of the supervision procedures shall be worked out between the primary supervisor and the applicant. The primary supervisor who provides supervision for the applicant for licensure shall have clinical and professional responsibility for the work of the applicant.  A supervisor, either primary or designated, shall be available to the applicant whenever decisions about clients or patients are made.  

The primary supervisor shall be responsible for the delivery of services, the representation to the public of services, and the supervisor/applicant relationship. This responsibility includes, but is not limited to, the following requirements.

  • All clients or patients shall be informed of the availability or possible necessity of meetings with the primary supervisor at the request of the client or patient, the applicant, or the psychologist. The supervisor shall be available for emergency consultation or intervention.
  • All written communication shall clearly identify the primary supervisor as clinically and professionally responsible for all psychological services provided. Public announcement of services and fees and contact with the public or professional community shall be offered in the name of the primary supervisor, business, or agency. Both the primary supervisor and the applicant shall inform the client or patient, to whatever extent is necessary for the client or patient to understand, of the supervisory status and other specific information as to the applicant’s qualifications and functions.
  • The primary supervisor shall oversee the maintenance of information and files relevant to the client or patient during the supervisory period.
  • The primary supervisor shall not be a member of the applicant's extended or immediate family or be involved in a dual relationship.
  • The supervision shall not be delivered in an agency or business in which the applicant has a financial interest.

What is inappropriate representation?
In the event the applicant publicly represents himself inappropriately, or supervision is not conducted according to board rules, any experience gained under such circumstances does not comply with these rules and regulations and will not be accepted as experience toward licensure. Any psychologist providing supervision under such circumstances is in violation of these rules and regulations and may be subject to disciplinary action.

Postdoctoral Supervisory Plan

Evaluation of the supervisory plan
The supervisory plan shall include the following information and shall be signed by both the primary supervisor and the applicant:

  1. Name of applicant
  2. Name of primary supervisor, address, license number, and state in which the license was granted; area of specialization;
  3. Names of additional licensed specialists, if applicable;
  4. Dates of practice covered by the plan
  5. Number of practice hours during the period covered by the plan
  6. Number of one-on-one supervisory hour per week
  7. The setting(s) in which the applicant will practice and the hours per week worked at each setting;
  8. The applicant's duties
  9. The clinical and professional responsibilities of the applicant
  10. The location where the supervision will take place
  11. The areas in which the primary supervisor has specialized skills to render competent supervision and, if applicable, whether specific training will be assigned to other specialists; if non-psychologist specialists are assigned, their practice and teaching skills as they pertain to supervision of the applicant and their degrees and licenses
  12. The number of applicants the primary supervisor will supervise during this time period
  13. The way in which the primary supervisor will demonstrate clinical and professional responsibility for the applicant's work
  14. The way in which the applicant will be represented to the public, and the way in which all written communications and public announcements will identify the primary supervisor as clinically and professionally responsible for all psychological services
  15. Other information necessary to clarify the nature and scope of supervision

Information for Current Licensees

When does license renewal transition to a two-year cycle?
It will begin July, 2007 and for some licensees it will take two years.

How will the transition occur?
Beginning in July, 2007, licensees whose licenses end in an odd number (e.g., 627) will renew their licenses in odd-numbered years, and licensees whose licenses end in an even number (e.g., 730) will renew in even-numbered years.

For the renewal in July 2007, if your license ends in an odd number, you will renew for two years, and pay a fee of $600. If your license ends in an even number, you will renew for one year, and pay a fee of $300. Then you will renew again in 2008 for two years, and your fee will be $600.