Alabama § 34-26-61 - Duties - Supervisors.

§ 34-26-61. Duties - Supervisors.

(a) A licensed psychologist acting as a supervisor shall perform all of the following duties:

(1) Offer and provide supervision only within the area of his or her competence and assure that his or her professional expertise and experience is congruent with the practice of the supervisee.

(2) Prior to beginning supervision, enter into a written agreement with the supervisee on a board adopted supervision contract form which details the obligations of the supervisee as well as the responsibilities of the supervisor to the supervisee. This form shall be filed with and accepted by the board.

(3) Direct the supervisee to practice only within the areas for which he or she is qualified by education, training, and supervised experience.

(4) Establish and maintain a level of supervisory contact consistent with established professional standards and remain accessible to the supervisee.

(5) Direct the supervisee to keep him or her informed of services provided by the supervisee.

(6) If he or she has reason to believe that the supervisee is practicing in a manner which indicates that ethical or legal violations have been committed, he or she shall proceed as prescribed by the most recent version of the Code of Ethics of the American Psychological Association.

(7) Maintain a clear and accurate record of supervision with a supervisee that protects the confidentiality of the clients of the supervisee.

(8) Report annually on the required form to the board that the agreed upon supervision has occurred.

(9) File a final supervision report with the board within two weeks of the termination of supervision.

(10) Insure the written notification to clients or patients of the supervisory process, including the disclosure of clinical information to the supervisor and the means by which the supervisor may be contacted.

(b) Failure to comply with any of the duties specified in subsection (a) shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

(c) To maintain the professional nature of the supervision, a familial or strong personal relationship between the supervisor and his or her supervisee is prohibited, except in extraordinary circumstances such as the lack of availability of any other qualified supervisor. In such cases, the board shall require documentation that no other supervision is available and shall require reference letters from colleagues commenting on the appropriateness of the supervisory relationship.