172 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 94, § 002

Current through September 17, 2024

Section 172-94-002 - DEFINITIONS

Definitions set out in the Mental Health Practice Act, the Uniform Credentialing Act, 172 Nebraska Administrative Code (NAC) 10, and the following apply to this chapter.

002.01ASSESSMENT. The process of collecting pertinent data about client or client systems and their environment and appraising the data as a basis for making decisions regarding treatment and referral.

002.02CLIENT OR PATIENT. A person who is a recipient of mental health services within the context of a professional relationship. An individual who provides collateral information about a client or patient is not considered a client or patient.

002.03CLIENT SYSTEM. Individuals, agencies, or entities directly or indirectly involved with the client that supports, reinforces or otherwise affects the treatment process.

002.04DIRECT CLIENT CONTACT. Contact between the practicum student or provisional licensed mental health practitioner and a client system while providing mental health services. Direct client contact does not include:

(A) Writing progress notes;

(B) Supervisory meetings;

(C) Research;

(D) Video observation;

(E) Continuing education workshops or other similar workshops;

(F) Telephone supervision; or

(G) Similar activities.

002.05MAJOR MENTAL DISORDER. Any clinically significant mental or emotional disorder in which symptoms, regardless of specific diagnoses or the nature of the presenting complaint, are associated with present distress or disability or present significantly increased risk of suffering, death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. No diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association, nor any diagnosis from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) published by the World Health Organization, of the edition or version used on the effective date of this chapter, is excluded from the category of Major Mental Disorder if the contemporary assessment indicates severe symptoms, as outlined in this section. This includes currently observed or assessed dysfunction or impairment that portends danger to self or others, a disabling deterioration of function that seriously impairs daily functioning to include food, clothing, and shelter or an inability to establish or maintain a personal support system. Such disorders may take many forms and have varying causes but must be considered a manifestation of behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunction in the person. Behavioral or psychological disorder symptoms include one or more of the following:

(A) Persistent or severe suicidal or homicidal thinking or behaviors injurious to self or others;

(B) Psychotic symptoms which include delusions, hallucinations, or formal thought disorders, including evidence of frequent substitution of fantasy for reality;

(C) Physical complaints or signs suggesting deterioration or anomaly in physiological, psychophysiological, or neuropsychological functioning;

(D) Feeling, mood or affect in which the emotion is clearly disruptive in its effects on other aspects of a person's life. A marked change in mood, depression or anxiety that incapacitates a person;

(E) Severe impairment in concentration and thinking, persistence, and pace. Frequent or consistently impaired thinking;

(F) Consistent inability to maintain conduct within the limits prescribed by law, rules, and strong mores or disregard for safety of others or destructive to property.

002.06MENTAL HEALTH. The relative state of emotional well-being, freedom from incapacitating conflicts, and the consistent ability to make and carry out rational decisions and cope with environmental stresses and internal pressures.

002.07MENTAL HEALTH FOCUS OR THERAPEUTIC MENTAL HEALTH. An educational process consisting of mental health theories, techniques, practices, and methods necessary to prepare a mental health professional to identify, assess, and intervene with a client population for the primary purposes of providing or resulting in the clients optimal mental health.

002.08MENTAL ILLNESS. Impaired psychosocial or cognitive functioning due to disturbances in any one or more of the following processes: biological, chemical, physiological, genetic, psychological, social, or environmental.

002.09PSYCHOTHERAPY. A specialized formal interaction between a credential holder and a client or patient in which a therapeutic relationship is established to help to resolve symptoms of mental disorder, psychosocial stress, relationship problems, and difficulties in coping in the social environment. Some specific types of psychotherapy may include, but are not limited to, psychoanalysis, family therapy, group psychotherapy, supportive treatment, Gestalt therapy, experiential therapy, primal therapy, psychosocial therapy, psychodrama, behavioral therapy, clinical hypnosis, addiction therapy including drug and alcohol counseling and problem gambling, biofeedback, and cognitive therapy.

002.10QUALIFIED PHYSICIAN. An individual with a current credential to practice medicine and surgery and who has specialized training in mental health treatment. Specialized training includes residency training in psychiatry or in family practice or fellowship training in behavioral medicine.

002.11QUALIFIED SUPERVISOR. An individual who assumes the responsibility of supervision and who meets the requirements for being a supervisor.

002.12SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE. The hours of experience obtained after receipt of the master's degree, under appropriate licensure and before an applicant is granted the desired credential or certification.

172 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 94, § 002

Amended effective 7/12/2021