ARTICLE 3.5. Research Psychoanalysts [2950. - 2954.6.]

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC 3.5.
in effect

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2950. Section 2950.

(a) Graduates of the Psychoanalytic Center of California, the Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies, the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, the San Diego Psychoanalytic Center, or institutes deemed equivalent by the board who have completed clinical training in psychoanalysis may engage in psychoanalysis as an adjunct to teaching, training, or research and hold themselves out to the public as psychoanalysts, and students in those institutes may engage in psychoanalysis under supervision, if the students and graduates do not hold themselves out to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words “psychological,” “psychologist,” “psychology,” “psychometrists,” “psychometrics,” or “psychometry,” or that they do not state or imply that they are licensed to practice psychology. (b) Those students and graduates seeking to engage in psychoanalysis under this article shall register with the board, presenting evidence of their student or graduate status. The board may suspend or revoke the exemption of those persons for unprofessional conduct as defined in Sections 28, 490, 726, 729, 2936, 2960, 2960.1, 2960.6, 2963, 2966, 2969, and 2996. (c) Each application for registration as a research psychoanalyst or student research psychoanalyst shall be made upon an online electronic form, or other form, provided by the board, and each application form shall contain a legal verification by the applicant certifying under penalty of perjury that the information provided by the applicant is true and correct and that any information in supporting documents provided by the applicant is true and correct.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2951. Section 2951.

(a) The use of any controlled substance or the use of any of the dangerous drugs specified in Section 4022, or of alcoholic beverages, to the extent, or in such a manner as to be dangerous or injurious to the registrant, or to any other person or to the public, or to the extent that this use impairs the ability of the registrant to practice safely or more than one misdemeanor or any felony conviction involving the use, consumption, or self-administration of any of the substances referred to in this section, or any combination thereof, constitutes unprofessional conduct. The record of the conviction is conclusive evidence of this unprofessional conduct. (b) A plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere is deemed to be a conviction within the meaning of this section. The board may order discipline of the registrant in accordance with Article 4 (commencing with Section 2960) or may order the denial of the registration when the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal or when an order granting probation is made suspending imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the provisions of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing this person to withdraw their plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the accusation, complaint, information, or indictment.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2952. Section 2952.

(a) Each person to whom registration is granted under the provisions of this article shall pay into the Psychology Fund a fee to be fixed by the board at a sum of one hundred fifty dollars ($150). (b) The registration shall expire after two years. The registration may be renewed biennially at a fee fixed by the board at a sum not in excess of seventy-five dollars ($75). Students seeking to renew their registration shall present to the board evidence of their continuing student status. (c) The fee for fingerprint hard card processing for out-of-state applicants shall be one hundred eighty-four dollars ($184). Applicants shall also pay the actual cost to the board of processing the fingerprint hard card with the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. (d) The money in the Psychology Fund shall be used for the administration of this chapter. Any moneys within the Contingent Fund of the Medical Board of California collected pursuant to Section 2529.5 as it read before the enactment of the statute that added this section shall be deposited in the Psychology Fund. (e) The board may employ, subject to civil service regulations, whatever additional clerical assistance is necessary for the administration of this article.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2953.1. Section 2953.1.

(a) The board shall require an applicant for registration as a research psychoanalyst and applicant for registration as a student research psychoanalyst, as defined in Section 2950, to undergo a fingerprint-based state and national criminal history background check, pursuant to Section 144. (b) The board shall submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information for individuals specified in subdivision (a) who are subject to a state and national criminal history background check, pursuant to subdivision (u) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code. The Department of Justice shall provide a state- and federal-level response pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2954.1. Section 2954.1.

(a) An applicant for registration as a research psychoanalyst shall not be subject to denial of registration under Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 475). (b) An applicant for registration as a research psychoanalyst shall complete coursework or provide evidence of training in the detection and treatment of alcohol and other chemical substance dependency. (c) An applicant for registration as a research psychoanalyst shall complete coursework or provide evidence of training in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2954.2. Section 2954.2.

(a) Except as provided in this section, the board shall renew the registration of a research psychoanalyst only if the research psychoanalyst has completed 36 hours of approved continuing professional development in the preceding two years. (b) A registered research psychoanalyst who renews or applies to reinstate their registration pursuant to this chapter shall certify under penalty of perjury that they are in compliance with this section and shall retain proof of this compliance for submission to the board upon request. False statements submitted pursuant to this section shall be a violation of Section 2970. (c) Continuing professional development means certain learning activities approved in three different categories: (1) Professional activities. (2) Academic activities. (3) Sponsored continuing education coursework. (d) The board may develop regulations further defining acceptable continuing professional development activities. (e) Continuing education courses approved to meet the requirements of this section shall be approved for credit by organizations approved by the board. An organization previously approved by the board to provide or approve continuing education is deemed approved under this section. (f) The board may accept continuing education courses approved by an entity that has demonstrated to the board in writing that it has, at a minimum, a 10-year history of providing educational programming for research psychoanalysts and has documented procedures for maintaining a continuing education approval program. The board shall adopt regulations necessary for implementing this section. (g) The administration of this section may be funded through professional registration fees and continuing education provider and course approval fees, or both. The fees related to the administration of this section shall not exceed the costs of administering the corresponding provisions of this section.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2954.4. Section 2954.4.

(a) Effective January 1, 2026, an applicant for registration as a research psychoanalyst shall show, as part of the application, that they have completed a minimum of six hours of coursework or applied experience under supervision in suicide risk assessment and intervention. This requirement shall be met in one of the following ways: (1) Obtained as part of the applicant’s qualifying graduate degree program. To satisfy this requirement, the applicant shall submit to the board a transcript indicating completion of this coursework. In the absence of this coursework title in the transcript, the applicant shall submit a written certification from the registrar, department chair, or training director of the educational institution or program from which the applicant graduated stating that the coursework required by this section is included within the institution’s curriculum required for graduation at the time the applicant graduated, or within the coursework that was completed by the applicant. (2) Obtained as part of the applicant’s applied experience. Applied experience can be met in any of the following settings: practicum, internship, or other qualifying supervised professional experience. To satisfy this requirement, the applicant shall submit to the board a written certification from the director of training for the program or primary supervisor where the qualifying experience has occurred stating that the training required by this section is included within the applied experience. (3) By taking a continuing education course that meets the requirements of subdivision (e) or (f) of Section 2954.2 and that qualifies as a continuing education learning activity category specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 2954.2. To satisfy this requirement, the applicant shall submit to the board a certification of completion. (b) Effective January 1, 2020, as a one-time requirement, a registrant, prior to the time of their first renewal after the operative date of this section, or an applicant for reactivation or reinstatement to an active registration status, shall have completed a minimum of six hours of coursework or applied experience under supervision in suicide risk assessment and intervention, as specified in subdivision (a). Proof of compliance with this section shall be certified under penalty of perjury that they are in compliance with this section and shall be retained for submission to the board upon request.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2954.5. Section 2954.5.

(a) Effective January 1, 2026, an applicant for registration as a research psychoanalyst, as a condition of licensure, shall complete a minimum of six contact hours of coursework or applied experience in aging and long-term care, which may include, but is not limited to, the biological, social, and psychological aspects of aging. This coursework shall include instruction on the assessment and reporting of, as well as treatment related to, elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect. (b) In order to satisfy the coursework requirement of this section, the applicant shall submit to the board a transcript indicating completion of this coursework. In the absence of this coursework title in the transcript, the applicant shall submit a written certification from the registrar, department chair, or training director of the educational institution or program from which the applicant graduated stating that the coursework required by this section is included within the institution’s required curriculum for graduation at the time the applicant graduated, or within the coursework, that was completed by the applicant. (c) (1) If an applicant does not have coursework pursuant to this section, the applicant may obtain evidence of compliance as part of their applied experience in a practicum, internship, or other qualifying supervised professional experience. (2) To satisfy the applied experience requirement of this section, the applicant shall submit to the board a written certification from the director of training for the program or primary supervisor where the qualifying experience occurred stating that the training required by this section is included within the applied experience. (d) If an applicant does not meet the curriculum or coursework requirement pursuant to this section, the applicant may obtain evidence of compliance by taking a continuing education course that meets the requirements of subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 2954.2 and that qualifies as a learning activity category specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 2954.2. To satisfy this requirement, the applicant shall submit to the board a certification of completion. (e) A written certification made or submitted pursuant to this section shall be done under penalty of perjury.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 2954.6. Section 2954.6.

(a) The board shall adopt a program of consumer and professional education in matters relevant to the ethical practice of psychoanalysis. The board shall establish as its standards of ethical conduct relating to the practice of psychoanalysis, the “APsA Code of Ethics” published by the American Psychoanalytic Association. Those standards shall be applied by the board as the accepted standard of care in all registration examination development and in all board enforcement policies and disciplinary case evaluations. (b) To facilitate consumers in receiving appropriate psychoanalysis services, all registrants shall be required to post, in a conspicuous location in their principal psychoanalysis business office, a notice that reads as follows: “NOTICE TO CONSUMERS:   The Department of Consumer Affair’s Board of Psychology receives and responds to questions and complaints regarding the practice of psychoanalysis. If you have questions or complaints, you may contact the board by email at bopmail@dca.ca.gov, on the internet at www.psychology.ca.gov, by calling 1-866-503-3221, or by writing to the following address: Board of Psychology 1625 North Market Boulevard, Suite N–215 Sacramento, California 95834”
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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