§ 8412. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed mental
health counselor, marriage and family therapist, psychoanalyst, and
creative arts therapist required under this article to register
triennially with the department to practice in this state, shall comply
with the provisions of mandatory continuing education requirements
prescribed in subdivision two of this section, except as set forth in
paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Licensed mental health
counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychoanalysts, and creative
arts therapists who do not satisfy the mandatory continuing education
requirements shall not practice until they have met such requirements,
and they have been issued a registration certificate, except that a
licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist,
psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist may practice without having
met such requirements if he or she is issued a conditional registration
certificate pursuant to subdivision three of this section.

(b) Each licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family
therapist, psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist shall be exempt
from the mandatory continuing education requirements for the triennial
registration period during which they are first licensed. In accordance
with the intent of this section, adjustment to the mandatory continuing
education requirement may be granted by the department for reasons of
health that are certified by an appropriate health care professional,
for extended active duty with the armed forces of the United States, or
for other good cause acceptable to the department which may prevent
compliance.

(c) A licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist,
psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist not engaged in practice, as
determined by the department, shall be exempt from the mandatory
continuing education requirement upon the filing of a statement with the
department declaring such status. Any licensee who returns to the
practice of mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy,
psychoanalysis, and creative arts therapy during the triennial
registration period shall notify the department prior to reentering the
profession and shall meet such mandatory education requirements as shall
be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.

2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for
registration as a licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family
therapist, psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist shall complete a
minimum of thirty-six hours of acceptable formal continuing education, a
maximum of twelve hours of which may be self-instructional course work
acceptable to the department. Any licensed mental health counselor,
marriage and family therapist, psychoanalyst, and creative arts
therapist whose first registration date following the effective date of
this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but
on or after January first, two thousand seventeen, shall complete
continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one hour
per month for the period beginning January first, two thousand seventeen
up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee who has not
satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirement shall not be
issued a triennial registration certificate by the department and shall
not practice unless and until a conditional registration certificate is
issued as provided for in subdivision three of this section. Continuing
education hours taken during one triennium may not be transferred to the
subsequent triennium.

3. (a) The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional
registration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who
agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education
which the department may require. The fee for such a conditional
registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the
triennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration
shall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any
licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to
submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing
education and who practices without such registration may be subject to
disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of
this title.

(b) For purposes of this section "acceptable formal education" shall
mean formal courses of learning which contribute to professional
practice in mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy,
psychoanalysis, or creative arts therapies and which meet the standards
prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. Such formal courses of
learning shall include, but not be limited to, collegiate level credit
and non-credit courses, professional development programs and technical
sessions offered by national, state and local professional associations
and other organizations acceptable to the department, and any other
organized educational and technical programs acceptable to the
department. Continuing education courses must be taken from a provider
who has been approved by the department, based upon an application and
fee, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner. The department
may, in its discretion and as needed to contribute to the health and
welfare of the public, require the completion of continuing education
courses in specific subjects to fulfill this mandatory continuing
education requirement. Licensed mental health counselors, marriage and
family therapists, psychoanalysts, and creative arts therapists shall
maintain adequate documentation of completion of acceptable formal
continuing education and shall provide such documentation at the request
of the department. Failure to provide such documentation upon the
request of the department shall be an act of misconduct subject to
disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of
this title.

(c) The mandatory continuing education fee shall be determined by the
department. Such fee shall be payable on or before the first day of each
triennial registration period, and shall be paid in addition to the
triennial registration fees required by paragraph (g) of subdivision
three of section eighty-four hundred two of this article and paragraph
(g) of subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred five of this
article.