There is an assumption of professionalism, an assumption of licensure and adequate credentials, and an assumption that as professionals they work within their scope of practice. This was very discouraging to me, and I dropped the idea. I know that it’s going to be a huge pain, but I just want to know if it was even possible. I found your post to be very interesting. I have submitted course syllabi in two of the three areas and hope this will satisfy at least two of them, but even having to take just one more graduate level course is expensive and delays employment for me. I have a spotless record, no complaints. The application asks you whether you are applying for a license as a Professional Counselor of Mental Health by examination or reciprocity. And if this confusing stew of credits, supervised hours, years of experience, and exams isn’t enough, there are the education requirement permutations. Thanks for the article and thanks for letting me vent! Has any counselor considered suing a state counseling licensing board when they deny a license because the board added certain college courses that must taken beyond what the actual university counseling programs require and beyond what CACREP requires? ARRGGHHH!!! It is sad I hold an LCPC in Maryland and an LPC in Georgia but cannot get reciprocity now that we live in North Carolina. Well, I am 63, 20/20 will not allow me to move to a warmer state and retire part time. I understand laws may be different and that may require a class or seminar or something, but to make someone go through another masters program or get an internship (!!!) Perhaps the solution lies in all of you counselors bringing pressure to bear on your licensing boards to achieving reciprocity instead of letting them handle it themselves. Laurie, Their title projects confidence, a clear professional identity across various practice areas (and they are many and diverse), and promotes unity and cohesiveness within the profession of psychology. I just moved to FL, was told similar. That is a false dichotomy and a logical fallacy. In my opinion, it seems to require reasonably high standards as compared to the state certifications I’ve seen. It feels for now as if this dream career and all that time, money(debt), and work is useless! Nope. I don’t think many of the “professionals” in this field realize the impact and influence they have over people’s lives. What can be done about any of this? The U.S. Census Bureau – them again – says that 7.6 million Americans move to another state each and every year. I am an independently licensed counselor in Massachusetts, and have been for 10 years. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado and a few years ago it seemed I was possibly going to move to Arizona. Other don’t. I also submitted detailed documentation that I co-taught a master’s level course in Addictions at a CACREP accredited university, had a hx of being a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (passed exam, oral presentation, and all requirements) in another state, had been a certified AOD Prevention Specialist (passed an exam and requirements), had been a clinical director of two Counseling Recovery Centers that addressed AOD 100%, had presented multiple workshops on addiction issues, and had multiple CEUs in addiction issues. You’ll excuse me if I’m not in favor of being more lenient with the already loose mental health professional practicing requirement. I shared that the state where I previously had been licensed required 1,000 more contact hours and 100 more hours of supervision than did my current state’s licensure requirements. I am currently licensed as an LPC in ohio and I am thinking of moving to Georgia. Some include treating substance abuse. There is one board that requires 21 months of experience and a board that requires 4 years of experience. My former supervisor from my first post-grad job sent in two forms verifying my 3000 hours of supervised experience. In the US, licensed professional counselors (or in some states, "licensed clinical mental health counselors" or "licensed clinical professional counselors" or "licensed mental health counselors") provide mental health and substance abuse care to millions of Americans. The test was very hard and I was lucky I passed it first time. In a nutshell if you read any 20 state counseling board scopes of practice, you will see 20 different skill sets. I have experienced difficulties transferring my Illinois LCPC license to Louisiana. I almost wept when she expressed her willingness to help. If you attended a CACREP accredited program, there should be no need for post graduate supervision. The Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners is working diligently to implement these specific changes as well as the remainder of the Mental Health Sunset bill, HB20-1206. (Reciprocity means two or more states have a written agreement that a licensee from another state can be licensed in Ohio under that agreement. The lack of licensure reciprocity between states makes freedom of choice that much more difficult and it serves no real purpose. I would propose that there are three reasons why licensure portability is a public protection issue and should therefore not only be on your radar screen, but be a priority for counselor licensure boards. I did not follow the ways in which counselors were being boxed in by bureaucracies, because those drafting the licensure statutes did not have the foresight and grace to include in the wording of state statues. I’d have to become an Intern again, pass not one but TWO counseling exams (I still have nightmares about the NCE so the notion of even just that small portion of the work involved gives me indescribable nausea). Others don’t. “One state requires 4,500 hours of supervision? Some allow testing. A growing number of LPCs dedicate their careers to researching more effective therapeutic treatment modalities. this sounds like a game( a tough one if you are moving around the state). Just be really smart with your approach to meeting the standards for licensure across state lines. different examinations including the ATCB, CBMT, PEPK, AAODA, and EMAC, none of which I have any idea what they are. I am going negative on my credit cards every month. The NCE or NCMHCE exams are used in many states. I did not follow the development of CACREP requirements; nor the development of a national exam. And, again INCREDIBLY lucky – my employer recognized the situation and allowed me to do my internship at my job site, paid. Military suicide rates and sexual abuse, children who commit heinous crimes, adults who wear hoodies and shoot people, victims of sex trafficking? And I also hope that you are thinking, “What do we do about this mess?” I am here to propose a solution on behalf of the profession of counseling. As a person who suffered great damage at the hands of an unethical, incompetent, therapist who was unlicensed. Thank you for addressing this license portability issue. Was wondering if i take my boards will my CASAC work when in move in April to FL or should i just save the 245 exam fee and just apply for it in FL when i move there. i dont want to have to retake the test or pay more in another state. To my understanding there is no licensing board for counselors, social workers or marriage and family therapists that condones the practice of “coaching. 3217 Application for Fee Reduction (If applying for a fee reduction, this form must accompany the application for the credential.) Here my question. Some focus on human growth, life-span development, and wellness. I submitted detailed documentation that I had taught a university course in Family/Marriage Counseling for a master’s level counseling program from a CACREP accredited university as an adjunct professor, had 25 years of counseling work experience which included providing family/marriage/couple counseling, and belonged to professional associations in this area. Now, for the first time in the history of the counseling profession, we have one definition of what it is that we do. The PA Real Estate Commission has had my application in-process for three years even though I have 10 years of experience and 5x the needed education. A state board can’t take something away if they never had it to begin with. Can’t that count for anything? Julie, I am an LPC in VA, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Myers and Gill add rural women to the list. Could you move your licensed. While I applaud David Kaplan’s clear articulation of the problem and its possibile solutions, this issue has been troubling for at least two decades, as I have been licensed in Wisconsin for over two decades; CACREP was not in existance when I graduate from the University of Wisconsin’s Counseling program; so my program no longer meets CACREP requirements, despite the fact that when I graduated, it was one of the best in the country. In my opinion the denial of licenses and lack of grandfathering of older clinicians is nothing but protectionism, cronyism, and greed on the parts of social workers and psychologists who feel threatened by other competent professionals who may “steal” their clients. I think all we need is one licensure that enable you to work all over the country; one type of license means the public does not have to remember and sift though all these mind boggling acronyms to figure out what is what. The other idea is to appeal to Fed Gov to intervene and create a federal guidline or standard the states have to adhere to. We will never gain respect in the community or as a profession if we cannot stop creating differences between us in being the same thing state to state- counselors. I am a Doctorial canidate, have over 25yr exp, and my own private practice. There is also a board that requires all supervised experience to occur within the 5 years prior to the application. As rules are being promulgated, the Board will continue to process applications for licensure as a professional counselor under the previous requirements. I does NOT address the de facto CACREP exclusivity that CACREP (understandably) and ACA (at least tacitly) support. I read a letter I had gotten from the Director of Graduate Studies in 2009 in which she said that U of O didn’t have records of syllabi for that far back but she could say with confidence that I had had at least 100 supervised hours. I am hoping that you will take ownership of the problem because you are the ones with the power to solve it. I know that some of you have been around a while and are familiar with 20/20 and that others are new to licensing boards and may not know much about this initiative. Somebody must be kidding. @Jane, I’m sorry to not have answered you sooner. First, your article is spot on and very much appreciated given the state of LCPC’s inability to have portability between states. Ready to go–wrong! Unfortunately, some states are at 48 (which I personally am not sure why) where as other states might require 60 credit hours (or 90 quarter hours). I am a bit confused about the LPC and LPCA. I have the option to go on and complete my masters at the same school and supposedly they assist with licensure….in that state. Because it looks like CA considers me an out of state student, so then they require more classes from me. That gives me plenty of time to learn all the regulations here or figure out if I am moving to another state. Maybe the professional titles are more consistent, but license portability is still a mess. The National Board of Certified Counselors does offer coach training for counselors but that is a skill set designed to be used within the confines of our licenses as therapists. You must meet the qualifications of the state you are relocating to. The various oversight and credentialing agencies and state boards are still not on the same page. As the end of the year is approaching, I am wondering what developments have been made with the 20/20 Building Blocks to Portability Project? I’m not certain of its recognition across the board (no pun intended), especially because I don’t see it mentioned above at all (forgive me if I am wrong). After waiting another week, I called my new counseling board to confirm receipt of the licensure verification form. The internship is done! These clinics did not have the money, or want to reduce expense, or are badly managed that therapist only get paid when clients show up. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. There is no such thing as a “licensed”, “professional” or “mental health” psychologist. There are over 45—45! to engage in practice, particularly in times of crisis I worked primarily in higher education counseling and I have operated a small private practice (6 years). In June 2010, I passed my state licensure exam. For over a decade, the ACA has paid lip service to this problem, but done very little on the ground. now in effect in 20 states of the US< and expand this to all ... No reciprocity agreement exists between other states or other Arkansas agencies. All they do is attend an LPC board meeting once or twice a year to make an obsequious comment to the board members thanking them for their service. If they would have included families there would be few people we can help. It’s past time for ONE national board so we all know the ONE set of rules and can succeed at what we set out to do. When I graduated I wasn’t even permitted to communicate with my board through phone, email, or in person, the ONLY means of communication they accepted was snail mail! It’s maddening. I mentioned that the simple answer as to why the crisis in license portability has occurred is the patchwork and jumble of licensure titles, scopes of practice, and sets of education requirements. I wonder why i was never informed of this when i went to talk to the school funding department about this. Why can’t I pay my money and take the exam? And here is where you come in. Instead, on July 15 I received an email indicating the board had mailed out my licensure verification. I mention female dominated profession to suggest a clear discrimination based on gender, as this was true of teachers and nurses before they unionized. How wrong I was. World view generalization #3: We don’t need to provide anything resembling customer service to counselors because we are here for the public. I won’t be finished for at least four years. It will not really do anything for me at all. My best advice for those seeking licensure: STAY in the state until you get your license in hand, STAY in your job until you get your license in hand. It is also a much more expensive school. He wants me to move there & I was so excited at the almost magical shift in my future. I am beginning my graduate studies at Grand Canyon University and I am very concerned as I now realize, I too will be “held captive”, the mere thought of relocating over time sounds like a nightmare I prefer to avoid. Plus I am required to have supervision during this time which will cost money. “That’s the way the law was written.” The complicating factor was that her fiancée lived in a state 900 miles away. Wait- but there’s more! The whole portability thing is a mess! Without a doubt this is the biggest threat to the profession of counseling. I googled the question what states have reciprocity with PA? Some states have one tier. Quest for Licensure So at this point I hope that you see the need to fix the nightmare that is portability and that it is in the best interest of the public to do so. After waiting several weeks into June, I called the counseling board in the state to which I was moving to see if it had received my licensure verification form. We consider an item to have achieved consensus when at least 90% of the delegates sign off on it. So we moved. Ohio, where I was licensed, only requires 700. Information for Professional Counselors. If you have an active license as a counselor in another state and have been licensed for at least 5 years you may not … But in the future I do hope that the government will consider a nationwide certification process so that people will not be prisoners of their own states. Check out this idiosyncratic rule in one state: “An applicant may subtract 1,000 hours of the required professional experience for every 15 graduate semester hours (or 22.5 quarter hours) obtained beyond the master’s degree from a regionally accredited academic institution , provided that the coursework is clearly related to the field of professional counseling.” Woe to the counselor who takes advantage of this rule and then moves down the line to another location only to be told that their new jurisdiction does not have such a rule and they are thus ineligible for licensure. Any advice or input is much appreciated, but I realize mine is more a rant than any actual positing of new ideas or queries. Everyone else doesn’t. Apologies for bringing up a post from months ago, but I’m rather curious. No big deal, she decided to transfer her license to her new state and start her new life and family. And I am also here to request that you work with the profession to implement these building blocks to portability. I’m fed up. There are also boards that require 4,000 hours. Yet almost all States are making laws which makes portability more and more difficult. “Thank you for your time you Miserable Wretch,” I said politely, but not the Miserable Wretch part, because that’s what I felt like I was at the time. To my knowledge no clinical psychologist has to meet that sort of requirement. Some include consultation. That would leave many professionals (currently practising) in limbo. Others don’t. Fortunately I currently have a job that I enjoy in a lovely organization close to home…in Illinois. You have invested time, dedication, sacrifice, and money to get where you are, and to get the shaft at this point is reprehensible. Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (licensed less than five years) -Approved for LPC licensure . The state of New Mexico didn’t recognize my national license, or the difficult to pass NCE exam. In ten years I could, if I were able to un-consolidate them now, which I can’t because that doesn’t exist as a thing. Except I can’t get those hours yet, nor can I get my raise at my other job where I will be promoted to a therapist position once I’m licensed. But when she contacted the state licensing board in her fiancée’s state, she was told – despite the fact that she had been licensed for two decades and despite the fact that she had a spotless record without any complaints made to her licensing board – that she was not eligible to be licensed. I read many fighting experience, after years of experience, do I need to struggle with licensing? As such, 20/20 is a milepost in the maturation of our profession. Another, an essay exam. Regardless of title the training is the same, the techniques are the same, etc. Others won’t. If the committee looked at the required exam for licensure in each state (rather than than education and supervision requirements), they would find more commonality between state licensure and a foundation to build portability, that doesn’t exclude current practising professionals. One requires 3,200 hours. Thank you, David, for addressing this issue. I cannot speak as to the psychologists. I have current supervision status in Ohio and prior to my WV license expiring in 2009, I had supervision status in WV. I’m a licensed MFT in California and want to transfer license to Texas. I read your article, “Licensure Reciprocity” on the Counseling Today website. I have a LPC in Ohio. There are other more meaningful ways you can impact a person’s life other than being a counselor. Suffice to say, I’ve just worked three back to back 15 hr shifts & realize this little diatribe is far from eloquent, I suppose I’d just like to thank you for writing something that so perfectly described the disaster that is our current modus operandi. Sometimes I wish I had chosen nursing instead! See how this all fits together? At that point, the draft title, scope of practice, and education requirements will be circulated to all delegates and a consensus achieved. Let me read to you from an op-ed that just came out in the January Counseling Today by Thomas Sherman, a licensed counselor and a clinical supervisor with the military OneSource program which provides counseling and support services to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve service members and their families. Increasing numbers of therapists searching my site want information on license reciprocity. Yet FedGov hires LMFT’s and considers them equivalent to counseling psychologists. Still others require 3,000 hours of supervised experience. I have already turned in some paperwork to the board of Oregon for reciprocity. I am studying to take my MFT exam and after reading this post i am a bit concerned , with all the changes in rules from state to state i dont know if i should wait. But the good news is that many professional counselors – especially when compared with other mental health professions – seem to be rural types. Reciprocity is a huge issue. How is it 2020 and we are still dealing with the lack of professional standards across. I suspected something was up because upon asking many questions regarding these issues and others related to employability, etc, I didn’t get many straight answers from the several school in the SF Bay area where I am located. LPC needs to arrange for The Statement of Principles is the first time that counseling has endorsed core principles that bind all of our specialties and organizations together into one profession. Email is worse. I too agree that there needs to be some way to uniform requirements for all Masters level clinicians. Needless to say, I wrote an appeal to the WV Counselor Board and asked for a hearing and instead I agreed to attend an informal conference meeting first. I shouldn’t have to spend the money on an application to get an answer to this ONE question. In AZ many of my peers who completed the entire Masters program in the end opted to take their LISAC (licensure for substance abuse counseling) exam & simply use that as their license as the test is far easier than the NCE & with a Master’s in counseling is the only hurdle needed to practice. We have promoted the 20/20 definition of counseling and are seeing it appear on websites, business cards, syllabi, and in books. I suppose you’d like all to commiserate on how this harms people, but the fact is, this is a discussion about career issues, NOT a discussion about clients, no matter how much you’d like people to apologize to you for what happened to you (I read your other comments). “Professional Counselor” and may practice professional counseling within the scope of his or her training or supervision during the period in which the license is valid. You must meet the qualifications of the state you are relocating to. Reciprocity now. Nurses have a Compact Agreement in effect with 20 states In Louisiana law you cannot apply for LPC unless you are a resident of the state. It will explain what you will need to submit in order to qualify for licensure by reciprocity. LMFT’s are LMFT’s no matter what state they are in. Keywords: licensed professional counselor, licensure portability, state counseling license applications, descriptive statistics, CACREP. I passed the NCE back in April 2012. You guys helped me make up my mind, I’ll go for the CT school. PERIOD!!!! What do you think? How short? Clinical psychologists are allowed to be licensed in more than one state, as are doctors, nurses, physical therapists an a few other professional disciplines. The director told me that even if the board had received my application materials in June, they still would not have been reviewed until September. As such, 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling is historic in that it marked the first time that the counseling profession had decided to proactively plan its future rather than simply react to events and challenges as they occurred. Luckily, I found an alternative: Oregon. Today, I finally faxed the question to the supervisor of the witch who refuses to answer this question. of Ed for 10 years, I took a job in prevention. Counselor Associate (LCMHCA) The LCMHCA license is a restricted license, which allows individuals to gain professional counseling experience while under the supervision of qualified mental health professional. I graudated with a 4.0 from an accreditted program and have the NCC credential. The lack of logic regarding the application of these state-by-state rules is simply astounding! I have two jobs, and I cut my hours at one in anticipation of gaining more at the other – I supervise case managers and they told me that once I’m licensed, I can supervise therapists as well! I would like to know what the educational requirements would be. I won’t be attending MFT school, perhaps LCSW. I had to complete 3000 hours of supervision to qualify for my license after completing the National Counselors Exam and after completing a 60 hour course of study that also included one practicum and two internships before graduating. I apologize but I am going to continue to gore a few oxen. Some licensing boards allow either the NCE or NCMHCE. This was a demonstration project funded for 2 years. Put pressure on your state legislators to make the licensing boards comply. Which brings us to the current 20/20 initiative: The Building Blocks to Portability Project. so as they could utilize the same Nursing Compact Agreement Some include CORE. ACA’s department of ethics and professional standards offers professional advice and support to ACA members who have questions like yours. There are two levels of answers to this. I was shocked, totally shocked..I called the OMH, they said that there was definitely something unethical here and to fill out the forms they would send and there would be an investigation…well I am an older mother with 3 teens to raise and in my agency often employees are walked out the door and we never find out why, and I did not care to be one of them so I have not completed the forms yet….the discussed program director is very very good friends with the supervisor of my licensure hours….before I knew it my supervisor told me that she decided she will only sign for 1,500 hrs, not the 3,000 she stated she would…In Dec 2014 I would have had my permit for 2 yrs, was ready to take the licensure exam in Sept…due to I have almost the 3,000 hrs…needed. In 1999 I graduated from a CACREP accredited program with Academic Distinction and completed the NBCC exam with every scale at least 2 standard deviations above the mean score. Have a quick question for any of those who may know the answer or may have some input. My name is Vecky Schmerler and I just moved to PR last year. It is also the first time that the organizations that represent counseling have put on paper and endorsed that we are one unified profession. One last point to be sure– allow no other licensing board from any other discipline to input on this because they only have their interests at heart and not ours. Licensure Waivers. “You need 300 hours of supervision,” she said smugly. I was even working towards signing up with http://www.amandarowanlcsw.com/exam-coaching/, i think i will just have to do more research into this. Professional Counselor Licensing Application This includes Professional Counselor by Examination, Reciprocity, Temporary, and Training License. Each an every one of you have complained about the rules as a bother a nuisance an obstacle to your earning a living not one person has commented or even thought about the client and what happens when something goes wrong. You can read more about the waiver process HERE. She tried to be helpful as we brainstormed and one of her ideas was to try to find a fellow student in the Counseling Psych program who (a) is a hoarder who will still have syllabi at their fingertips, and (b) hasn’t died of old age yet, and (c) can be found by some miraculous means. Now that we have a firm foundation with the Statement of Principles and the consensus definition of counseling, the 31 organizations that represent the counseling profession are focusing their efforts on licensure portability. Good luck. I am only in my graduate program at the moment, but know that I will be moving upon completion (after graduation, but before I accrue any supervision hours). What type of insanity is this! I should add, I have met all the education requirements, passed BOTH the NCE and NCMHCE, am already an LPC and an LMHC. Everyone posting to this forum is coming at this from the perspective of “I want to have employment options in this field” great awesome. I posted a similar sounding comment last night which is still being moderated. Changing employment will guarantee you will lose hours, as you are not allowed begin counting any hours until they have approved your job first (a process the Board took six months to approve for a fellow Resident back when I was in supervision… that’s 24 weeks x 40 hours a week = nearly 1000 lost hours).
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