New Mexico Statutes, Board Rules, and the Code of Professional Conduct
What this domain tests
This domain tests whether you can locate and apply New Mexico's governing framework rather than recite ethics in the abstract: the Psychology Practice Act (NMSA 1978, §§ 61-9-1 et seq.), the rules of the Board of Psychologist Examiners codified at 16.22 NMAC, and the conduct standards those rules impose on consent, confidentiality, boundaries, records, and discipline. Items usually present a scenario and ask what the licensee must do, or ask which authority controls.
Statutory architecture
- The Practice Act defines the practice of psychology, establishes the licensure categories, creates the Board within the Regulation and Licensing Department, and lists grounds for discipline.
- Board rules supply operational detail: application and supervision documentation, continuing education, recordkeeping, and standards of conduct.
- Violating either the statute or a Board rule is unprofessional conduct and independently supports discipline, including reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, fines, and required remediation.
Conduct duties that generate items
- Informed consent: obtain and document consent covering purpose, risks, alternatives, fees, and the limits of confidentiality before services begin.
- Confidentiality: disclosure requires client authorization, a court order, or a specific legal mandate. Reporting child abuse or neglect to the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department is a legal duty, not a clinical option.
- Boundaries: sexual contact with a current client is prohibited outright; post-termination intimacy is restricted by rule.
- Records: maintain them as the rule requires, release only on proper authorization or legal compulsion, and retain them for the specified period.
Worked example
You receive a subpoena duces tecum for a client's full record in a custody case; the client has signed no release. You do not comply automatically. A subpoena is not a court order, and privilege belongs to the client. Assert privilege, notify the client, seek written authorization or a protective order, and document each step. Producing the record "because the lawyer asked" is the classic confidentiality violation.
Traps
- Treating a subpoena as authorization.
- Confusing statute and rule, when both bind.
- Overlooking that aiding unlicensed practice is itself a violation.
- Assuming a parent's request for a minor's record is automatically valid.
Key points
- Practice Act = NMSA 61-9; Board rules = 16.22 NMAC.
- Statute and rule violations are both unprofessional conduct.
- Subpoena ≠ court order; assert privilege first.
- Mandated abuse reporting overrides confidentiality.
- Document consent and every disclosure decision.