38-2121. License; required; exceptions.

The requirement to be licensed as a mental health practitioner pursuant to the Uniform Credentialing Act in order to engage in mental health practice shall not be construed to prevent:

(1) Qualified members of other professions who are licensed, certified, or registered by this state from practice of any mental health activity consistent with the scope of practice of their respective professions;

(2) Alcohol and drug counselors who are licensed by the Division of Public Health of the Department of Health and Human Services and problem gambling counselors who are certified by the Department of Health and Human Services prior to July 1, 2013, or by the Nebraska Commission on Problem Gambling beginning on July 1, 2013, from practicing their profession. Such exclusion shall include students training and working under the supervision of an individual qualified under section 38-315;

(3) Any person employed by an agency, bureau, or division of the federal government from discharging his or her official duties, except that if such person engages in mental health practice in this state outside the scope of such official duty or represents himself or herself as a licensed mental health practitioner, he or she shall be licensed;

(4) Teaching or the conduct of research related to mental health services or consultation with organizations or institutions if such teaching, research, or consultation does not involve the delivery or supervision of mental health services to individuals or groups of individuals who are themselves, rather than a third party, the intended beneficiaries of such services;

(5) The delivery of mental health services by:

(a) Students, interns, or residents whose activities constitute a part of the course of study for medicine, psychology, nursing, school psychology, social work, clinical social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy, or other health care or mental health service professions; or

(b) Individuals seeking to fulfill postgraduate requirements for licensure when those individuals are supervised by a licensed professional consistent with the applicable regulations of the appropriate professional board;

(6) Duly recognized members of the clergy from providing mental health services in the course of their ministerial duties and consistent with the codes of ethics of their profession if they do not represent themselves to be mental health practitioners;

(7) The incidental exchange of advice or support by persons who do not represent themselves as engaging in mental health practice, including participation in self-help groups when the leaders of such groups receive no compensation for their participation and do not represent themselves as mental health practitioners or their services as mental health practice;

(8) Any person providing emergency crisis intervention or referral services or limited services supporting a service plan developed by and delivered under the supervision of a licensed mental health practitioner, licensed physician, or a psychologist licensed to engage in the practice of psychology if such persons are not represented as being licensed mental health practitioners or their services are not represented as mental health practice; or

(9) Staff employed in a program designated by an agency of state government to provide rehabilitation and support services to individuals with mental illness from completing a rehabilitation assessment or preparing, implementing, and evaluating an individual rehabilitation plan.

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