For some time FACT has been monitoring a situation in Indiana where the Indiana Board of Licensed Psychologists proposed legislation that restricts the use of 201 tests and assessment instruments commonly used in mental health, educational, and rehabilitative treatment settings. The legislation provides that only licensed psychologists, physicians, or those individuals under the direct supervision of a licensed psychologist, can use the 201 tests listed. (Members of the clergy were exempted.) The proposed legislation states that these tests and instruments, because of their design or complexity, create a danger to the public by being improperly administered and interpreted by an individual other than a licensed psychologist, physician, or a mental health provider under the direct supervision of a psychologist.

The list of tests and instruments includes intelligence tests, projective tests, neuropsychological assessments, personality tests, and inventories and rating scales. Some specific tests that may interest creative arts therapists, counselors, social workers, etc. are: 

Structured clinical DSM interviews
Millon
Draw-a-person, House-Tree-Person, and Kinetic Family Drawing
Brown ADD Scales
Eating Disorders Inventory
Trauma Symptom Inventory
Bender Visual Motor Gestalt

FACT agrees that clinicians should acquire the appropriate education, training, and supervision to administer tests. However, Fact supports the rights of all professionals to use tests and instruments and to be guided by their ethics and the ethics of test administration.

This legislation does not protect the public from psychologists and physicians who use tests inappropriately; rather it restircts the market to those particular professionals and those who pay psychologists for their supervision.

Lobbyist Bill Keown suggest that we mount an aggressive letter-writing campaign. Letters should be sent within the next 7 days and mailed to the Psychology Board, the Governor of Indiana, the Attorney General for Indiana, and the Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapists, Mental Health Counselor Licensure Board in Indiana. All concerned professionals and associations should take action.Please remember that while this legislation affects those who practice in Indiana, it's success might encourage other boards to seek similar legislation.

Please include the following in your letter:

1) The statute says that only those tests that constitute harm to the public should be on this very extensive list, but there is a lack of evidence of harm;
2) such an extensive list would result in injury to the public by restricting access to testing and infringing on the rights of those practitioners presently engaged in testing (indicate which tests you commonly use and for how many years);
3)injury to the public would also come in the form of significantly higher costs, since the additional cost for supervision by a psychologist would have to be passed along to the client.

Send your letter to the following addresses:

Indiana State Psychology Board
Health Professiona Bureau
402 W. Washington St. Room 041
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Gov. Frank O'Bannon
State of Indiana
State Hourse
INdianapolis, In 46204

INdiana Attorney General Steven Carter
State of Indiana
State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Social Worker, Marriage & Family Therapist, and Mental Health COunselor Licensure Board
Health Professiona Bureau
402 W. Washington St. Room 041
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Thank you for your assistance in this important matter.
SIncerely, 

Leslie Armeniox
ADTA Government Affairs Chair
NCATA liaison to FACT