California became the 50th state to license professional counselors when the Governor signed SB 788 on October 11, 2009. The bill became law on January 1, 2010, applications became available in July 2011 and the first counselors were licensed in January 2012.
Since 2012, those wishing to become a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) need to meet several requirements in the state of California:
Possess a master's or doctoral degree that has a focus on psychotherapy or counseling content
LPCCs must meet specific additional educational qualifications, in order to assess and treat couples and families
Register as a Associate Professional Clinical Counselor
Complete a criminal background check
Take and pass The California Law and Ethics Exam
Accrue 3000 hours of supervision
Apply for a California LPCC License
Take and pass The National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination
Obtain an LPCC license
While not at all necessary, it's been my experience that more younger graduates are going for Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT) training these days, as those programs automatically include the additional training to work with couples and families. LPCC training is meant to cover the general practice of counseling or psychotherapy. However, there are limitations. California law states that LPCC assessments may not include “the use of projective techniques in the assessment of personality, individually administered intelligence tests, neuropsychological testing, or utilization of a battery of three or more tests to determine the presence of psychosis, dementia, amnesia, cognitive impairment, or criminal behavior.” Additionally, California LPCC licensing requirements do not apply to members of the clergy or employees of governmental entities, educational institutions, or nonprofit and charitable agencies. In general, professionals may engage in work of a psychosocial nature consistent with the standards and ethics of their respective professions. They may not, however, advertise themselves as LPCCs. In California, the creation of the LPCC licensure standardized the training and licensing procedures for general professional clinical counselors, who were not already seeking training as a marriage and family therapist (MFT) or licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Over the next several posts, you'll see that there are many similarities to the licensure requirements among non-physicians. What changes is the nuance of how trainees complete their education, their educational focus, and the direction in which they may choose to take their career.
Opmerkingen