KEEP OUR LICENSING BOARD INDEPENDENT

I strongly oppose the proposed consolidation. It weakens the current strong consumer protection of the existing Board. It adds to consumer confusion regarding disciplines. It places rule making authority beyond the scope of those familiar with psychology practice. There are also many other serious concerns. Please DO NOT go forward with this increasing bureaucracy.

Please keep TSBEP independent to protect both the public and the field.

Please exclude TSBEP in the BHEC consolidation and allow TSBEP to continue to function as an efficient and effective independent board.

Please exclude TSBEP in HB 1501. Please allow doctoral level clinical psychology to continue with its own licensing board

Psychologists (a doctoral-level profession) should not be regulated by a majority non-psychologists (non-doctoral level professionals) board just as Physicians should not be regulated by Pharmacists. Board consolidation will fail the public by increasing the provision of poor quality mental health care and limiting the board's ability to be effective in hearing and resolving board complaints. As a psychologist who practices as a forensic evaluator, a person without my training and experience in psycho-legal matters should have no authority over regulating my practice of such. Keep TSBEP FOR PSYCHOLOGY. PROTECT THE PUBLIC BY KEEPING TSBEP STRONG. ALLOW BHEC TO REGULATE THE OTHERS MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS.

Please allow doctoral level clinical psychology to continue with its own licensing board

Please keep the doctoral level psychology licensing board independent.

Please exclude TSBEP in HB 1501 proposed consolidation. Our board needs to remain independent.

Psychologists (a doctoral-level profession) should not be regulated by a majority non-psychologists (non-doctoral level professionals) board just as Physicians should not be regulated by Pharmacists. Board consolidation will fail the public by increasing the provision of poor quality mental health care and limiting the board's ability to be effective in hearing and resolving board complaints. As a psychologist who practices as a forensic evaluator, a person without my training and experience in psycho-legal matters should have no authority over regulating my practice of such. Keep TSBEP FOR PSYCHOLOGY. PROTECT THE PUBLIC BY KEEPING TSBEP STRONG. ALLOW BHEC TO REGULATE THE OTHERS MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS.

I am a graduate student, hopeful to become a licensed psychologist and worry what this will mean if the board is absorbed with a larger committee with master's level clinicians.

Please keep TSBEP independent to protect both the public and the field.

The TSBEP must be kept out of the BHEC consolidation bill. Please keep our board independent.

Psychology is a practice unto itself and should be maintained and appreciated as such. No other board mixes various types of practice specialties to water down their licensure qualifications, because to do so is a threat to the well being of the public. I strongly oppose item 4 of the Sunset Advisory Commission Staff Report.

Please keep our licensing board independent.

I am opposed to item 4 of the Sunset Advisory Commission staff report. We urge the Sunset Advisory Commission to remove the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (TSBEP) from the proposed licensing board consolidation in [Senate Bill 611]. TSBEP is currently a well-run agency. In consolidating the board into BHEC, psychologists will no longer have authority to regulate the field of psychology, the cost for licensing is expected to increase, the timeline for licensing and resolution of board complaints is estimated to increase up to five years, and no long-term savings can be estimated.

I would like the Texas State Board of Examiners to remain independent in order to effectively regulate the practice of psychology and protect the public.

Keep TSBEP independent

Leave TSBEP out of the BHEC consolidation bill.

Psychologists perform a much wider range of clinical and research services than Master's level mental health clinicians. Psychologists are more than counselors. We are a doctoral level profession providing psychological and neuropsychological testing, research, teaching, and clinical supervision of future doctoral-level psychologists. We strongly believe that to protect the public and maintain a solid standard of care, we need to be regulated by an independent board composed of psychologists and public board members, as has been the case since 1977. Other professions slated for regulation by the BHEC 1) have far less training than psychologists and 2) lack the years of standards established in our profession by the American Psychological Association for the past 127 years. Our profession should not be regulated by a board with a majority of non-psychologists making decisions about the practice of psychology in Texas. This fails to serve the public, the quality of mental healthcare services, or our profession effectively. Please keep TSBEP for psychology and the public and allow the BHEC to regulate the other mental health professions.

TSBEP needs to remain the exclusive licensing board for Psychologists. TSBEP has the knowledge, expertise and experience to license and oversee the profession of psychology much better than any consolidated board that by definition needs to attend to the priorities and needs of other professions, aside from psychology.