Mental Health Professions Board

Mental Health Professions Licensing Board

Effective Date: 12/17/2021 to Current

Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 078.0001.11.12172021

Chapter 11

Licensed Professional Counselor

Section 1. The Practice of a Licensed Professional Counselor. The practice of a Licensed Professional Counselor is the rendering to individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations, corporations, institutions, government agencies or the general public a service that integrates a wellness, pathology and multicultural model of human behavior. This model applies a combination of mental health, psychotherapeutic, and human development principles and procedures to help clients achieve effective mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, spiritual or career development and adjustment throughout the life span, and includes performing mental health procedures, the assessment, diagnostic description and treatment of mental disorders or disabilities within the range of the professional's preparation.

1. (a) The practice of counseling may be either face-to-face that involves the synchronous interaction between an individual or groups of individuals using what is seen and heard in person to communicate, or
2. (b) Via methods of electronic delivery that involves the use of electronic or other means (e.g. telephone, computers, etc.) to provide the service.
3. (i) When using electronic delivery means, all use must be in compliance with all professional ethical standards and all other requirements in these rules;
4. (ii) Special care should be taken to ensure the confidentiality and security of the provision of services; and
5. (iii) The Licensed Professional Counselor shall provide only those services that are legal within the state that the recipient of services lives.

Section 2. General Requirements for Licensure. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the Board receives all documentation necessary to prove to the Board's satisfaction that the applicant meets all the requirements for licensure herein. The applicant shall provide satisfactory evidence to the Board that they:

1. (a) are of majority age;
2. (b) have no felony convictions, and no misdemeanor convictions that relate adversely to the practice of counseling or to the ability to practice counseling, although exceptions to this requirement may be granted by the Board if consistent with the public interest;
3. (c) are legal inhabitants of the United States; and
4. (d) satisfy the requirements established in these rules.

Section 3. Education Requirement for Licensure.

(a) The applicant shall have received a master’s or doctorate degree in counseling from a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) or Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) accredited program in counseling.

(b) Applicants who have completed graduate counselor programs not accredited by CACREP or CORE may be deemed to have met the educational requirement provided they meet the following criteria:

(i) The graduate degree program, and any applicable additional graduate level course work, was completed at an educational institution accredited by one of the regional or national institutional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

(ii) The program was substantially similar in content as required by CACREP including instructor qualifications, clinical supervision and course work.

(iii) The applicant must have completed a minimum of seventy-two (72) quarter hours or forty-eight (48) semester hours of graduate level course work. Applicants who graduated after July 1, 2013, must have completed a minimum of ninety (90) quarter hours or sixty (60) semester hours of graduate level course work.

(iv) The official transcripts, course prefixes, and course descriptions clearly identify the educational program as preparing persons to be professional counselors.

(v) Course work shall be completed in a master’s or doctoral program or subsequent graduate level course work.

(vi) Course work was completed in each of the core areas defined herein:

(A) Practicums, Internships or Field Experience under clinical supervision.

(I) Students must complete supervised practicum experiences that total a minimum of 100 clock hours over a minimum 10-week academic term.

(II) The program requires completion of a supervised internship in the student’s designated program area of 600 clock hours, begun after successful completion of the practicum. The internship is intended to reflect the comprehensive work experience of a professional counselor appropriate to the designated program area. Each student’s internship includes all of the following:

(1.) At least 240 clock hours of direct service, including experience leading groups;

(2.) Weekly interaction that averages one hour per week of individual or triadic supervision throughout the internship, usually performed by the onsite supervisor; and

(3.) An average of 1 1/2 hours per week of group supervision provided on a regular schedule throughout the internship and performed by a program faculty member.

(B) Human Growth and Development- studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels, including all of the following:

(I) Theories of individual and family development and transitions across the life-span;

(II) Theories of learning and normal and abnormal personality development;

(III) Effects of crises, disasters, and other trauma-causing events on diverse individuals across the lifespan;

(IV) Individual, biological, neurological, physiological, systemic, spiritual, and environmental factors that affect human development, functioning, and behavior;

(V) A general framework for understanding differing abilities and strategies for differentiated interventions;

(VI) Theories and etiology of addictions and addictive behaviors; and

(VII) Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for promoting resilience and optimum development and wellness across the life span

(C) Social and Cultural Diversity- studies that provide an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues and trends in a multicultural society including all of the following:

(I) Research addressing multicultural and pluralistic characteristics within and among diverse groups nationally and internationally;

(II) Learning activities to foster student’s self understanding of the impact of their heritage, attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and acculturative experiences on their views of others;

(III) Theories and models of multicultural counseling, identity development, and social justice and advocacy;

(IV) Strategies for identifying and eliminating barriers, prejudices, and processes of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination;

(V) Learning activities that foster understandings of the help-seeking behaviors of diverse clients;

(VI) Learning activities that foster understanding of the impact of spiritual beliefs on clients’ and counselors’ worldviews; and

(VII) Multicultural competencies and strategies for working with and advocating optimum wellness for diverse populations;

(D) Helping Relationships- studies that provide an understanding of counseling process in a multicultural society, including all of the following:

(I) Theories and models of effective counseling and wellness programs;

(II) Counselor characteristics and behaviors that influence the helping process;

(III) Essential interviewing, case conceptualization and counseling skills;

(IV) A systems approach that provides an understanding of family, social, community, and political networks;

(V) Theories, models, and strategies for understanding and practicing consultation; and

(VI) Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for developing helping relationships:

(VII) Developmentally relevant counseling treatment or intervention plans;

(VIII) Development of measurable outcomes for clients;

(IX) Empirically-based counseling strategies and techniques for prevention, intervention, and advocacy;

(X) Strategies to promote client understanding of and access to a variety of community-based resources;

(XI) Suicide prevention models and strategies; (XII) Crisis intervention and psychological first aid strategies; and (XIII) Processes for aiding students in developing a personal model of counseling. (E) Group Work- studies that provide theoretical foundations of group work and dynamics associated with group process including all of the following: (I) Therapeutic factors and how they contribute to group effectiveness; (II) Characteristics and functions of effective group leaders; (III) Approaches to group formation, including recruiting, screening, and selecting members; (IV) Types of groups and other considerations that affect conducting groups in varied settings; (V) Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for designing and facilitating groups; and (VI) Direct experiences in which students participate as group members in a small group activity, approved by the program, for a minimum of 10 clock hours over the course of one academic term. (F) Career Development- studies that provide an understanding of career development and related life factors, including all of the following: (I) Theories and models of career development, counseling, and decision-making; (II) Process for identifying and utilizing career, avocational, educational, occupational and labor market information resources, technology and information systems; (III) Approaches for assessing the conditions of the work environment on clients' overall life experiences; (IV) Strategies for assessing abilities, interests, values, personality, and other factors that contribute to career development;

(V) Strategies for career development program planning, organization, implementation, administration, and evaluation;

(VI) Strategies for advocating for diverse clients’ career and educational development and employment opportunities in a global economy;

(VII) Strategies for facilitating client skills development for career, educational, and life-work planning and management;

(VIII) Approaches for conceptualizing the interrelationships among and between work, family, and other life roles and factors;

(IX) Methods of identifying and utilizing assessment tools and techniques relevant to career planning and decision making; and

(X) Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for addressing career development.

(G) Assessment- studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation in a multicultural society, including all of the following:

(I) Historical perspectives concerning the nature and meaning of assessment;

(II) Basic concepts of standardized and non-standardized testing, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment and group and individual assessments;

(III) Statistical concepts, including scales of measurement, measures of central tendency, indices of variability, shapes and types of distributions, and correlations;

(IV) Reliability and validity in the use of assessments;

(V) Methods of effectively preparing for and conducting initial assessment meetings;

(VI) Procedures for assessing risk of aggression or danger to others, self-inflicted harm or suicide;

(VII) Procedures for identifying and reporting abuse:

(VIII) Use of assessments for diagnostic and intervention planning purposes;

(IX) Use of assessments relevant to academic/educational, career, personal, and social development;

(X) Use of environmental assessments and systematic behavioral observations;

(XI) Use of symptom checklists, personality and psychological testing;

(XII) Use of assessment results to diagnose developmental, behavioral, and mental disorders; and

(XIII) Ethical and culturally and developmentally relevant strategies for selecting, administering, and interpreting assessment and test results.

(H) Research and Program Evaluation- studies that provide an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation, including all of the following:

(I) The importance of research in advancing the counseling profession, including its use to inform evidence based practice;

(II) Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research methods;

(III) Statistical methods used in conducting research and program evaluation;

(IV) Evaluation of counseling interventions and programs;

(V) Development of outcome measures for counseling programs;

(VI) Analysis and use of data in counseling; and

(VII) Ethical and culturally relevant strategies for conducting, interpreting and reporting the results of research and/or program evaluation studies.

(I) Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice- studies that provide an understanding of all of the following aspects of professional functioning:

(I) History and philosophy of the counseling profession and the origins of the counseling specialty areas;

(II) The multiple professional roles and functions of counselors across specialty areas and their relationships with other human service providers, including interagency and interorganizational collaboration and consultation;

1. (III) Counselors' roles and responsibilities as members of interdisciplinary community outreach and emergency management response teams;
2. (IV) Self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role;
3. (V) Technology's impact on the counseling profession;
4. (VI) Strategies for personal and professional self-evaluation and implications for practice;
5. (VII) Counseling supervision models, practices, and processes;
6. (VIII) Professional organizations, including membership benefits, activities, services to members, and current issues;
7. (IX) Professional credentialing, including certification, licensure, and accreditation practices and standards, and the effects of public policy on these issues;
8. (X) The role and process of the professional counselor advocating on behalf of the profession;
9. (XI) Advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients; and
10. (XII) Ethical standards of professional organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling.

Section 4. Supervised Training/Work Experience Requirement for Licensure.

(a) A minimum of three thousand (3,000) hours of supervised clinical training/work experience in professional counseling under the direct supervision of a DQCS is required for all applicants. This experience shall meet the requirements set forth in these rules. The hours must be completed over a period of not less than eighteen (18) months or more than thirty-six (36) months unless granted an extension by the Board.

(i) All three thousand (3,000) hours of supervised clinical training/work experience required shall be completed after the award of the graduate degree;

(ii) Of the three thousand (3,000) hours required, at least one thousand two hundred (1,200) hours shall be direct client contact hours.

(iii) The balance of the remaining indirect hours shall consist of work experience that supports the direct client contact hours, e.g. charting, preparation, meetings, trainings, or the other duties of counseling.

(b) An applicant shall have a minimum of one hundred (100) post graduate degree hours of clinical supervision with a DQCS as described in Chapter 18.

Section 5. Examination Requirement for Licensure.

(a) The Board shall accept a passing score as established by the examination provider on the following examinations:

(i) The National Board for Certified Counselor’s (NBCC) National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Examination (NCMHE).

(ii) The Certification Examination administered by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).

(iii) Other examinations as may be approved by the Board.

(b) The examination shall have been passed within the immediate five (5) years prior to submission of the application. This requirement does not apply to:

(i) those applying under Section 6 of these Rules; or

(ii) those applying for licensure by completing provisional.

Section 6. License by Reciprocity.

An individual who has a master’s degree or higher in professional counseling, has passed the examination as required in Section 5 of this Chapter, and holds a license that is free from discipline and in good standing to engage in the practice of professional counseling under the laws of another state may, upon approval of the board, be issued a license as a Professional Counselor in this state. If the individual has held a license to practice professional counseling in more than one state, the individual shall be required to provide verification that all licenses held within the last five (5) years have not had any discipline against the license.

Section 7. Standards of Conduct.

(a) The terms “Licensed Professional Counselor” or “Professional Counselor” shall be used only after the applicant is granted licensure by the Board.

(b) The Licensed Professional Counselor shall comply with the American Counseling Association “Code of Ethics” incorporated into these rules in Chapter 15.