Relates to access to nursing home residents by essential caregivers

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Patrick Gallivan

Massachusetts would create a new “senior psychologist” licensure category to admit experienced out-of-state practitioners with limited records, via board rules by 7/1/2026.

REFERRED TO HEALTH

Summary — S 255 (2025): Establishing a “Senior Psychologist” Licensure Category

Note on source material: the provided bill text is from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Senate No. 255, One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court) and proposes a new senior psychologist licensure category in Chapter 112, §119. Some accompanying metadata (titles, sponsors, committee actions) appear inconsistent across jurisdictions; this summary is based on the bill text supplied.

Purpose

Create a separate licensure category — “senior psychologist” — to facilitate licensure for psychologists who hold a doctoral degree in psychology and who have been licensed and practicing in another state (or provincial board member of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards) for an extended period but whose paper training/education records may no longer be available.

Key provisions

Deadline for implementation: The state psychology board must establish the senior psychologist licensure category by July 1, 2026.

Regulatory delegation: The board will set specific licensure requirements by regulation.

Required elements that regulations must specify:

Verification that the applicant’s doctoral degree in psychology was awarded by a regionally accredited institution.
The number of years the applicant has been licensed by one or more states or provincial psychology boards that are members of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB).
The number of years the applicant has actively practiced psychology immediately before applying.
The number of years prior to application during which the applicant has been free of disciplinary sanctions.

Comparable requirements allowed: The board may adopt requirements similar to those for other applicants (for example, taking the state jurisprudence exam) provided these do not impose an unreasonable or undue burden on the senior psychologist applicant.

Who is affected

Primary: Experienced psychologists with doctoral degrees who were licensed and practicing in other U.S. states or ASPPB-member provincial boards, especially those lacking original paper records of training/education.

Secondary: The state psychology board (administration and rulemaking), employers and facilities hiring psychologists, and the public seeking access to licensed psychological services.

Potential impacts and considerations

Positive: May streamline licensure for long-practicing psychologists, reduce barriers caused by lost/archival documentation, and expand experienced workforce capacity.

Regulatory concerns: Ensuring adequate verification of competence and public protection while avoiding overly burdensome documentation requirements; defining “extended period” and numeric thresholds (years licensed/practicing/discipline-free) will be critical.

Timeline: Board rulemaking is required by July 1, 2026; implementation details depend on the board’s subsequent regulations.