Additional definition of professional misconduct; mental health professionals

§ 6509-e. Additional definition of professional misconduct; mental health professionals. 1. For the purposes of this section:

a. "Mental health professional" means a person subject to the provisions of article one hundred fifty-three, one hundred fifty-four or one hundred sixty-three of this title; or any other person designated as a mental health professional pursuant to law, rule or regulation.

b. "Sexual orientation change efforts" (i) means any practice by a mental health professional that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation, including, but not limited to, efforts to change behaviors, gender identity, or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings towards individuals of the same sex and (ii) shall not include counseling for a person seeking to transition from one gender to another, or psychotherapies that: (A) provide acceptance, support and understanding of patients or the facilitation of patients' coping, social support and identity exploration and development, including sexual orientation-neutral interventions to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices; and (B) do not seek to change sexual orientation.

2. It shall be professional misconduct for a mental health professional to engage in sexual orientation change efforts upon any patient under the age of eighteen years, and any mental health professional found guilty of such misconduct under the procedures prescribed in section sixty-five hundred ten of this subarticle shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in section sixty-five hundred eleven of this subarticle.