32-3301. Licensed professional counselor; licensure; requirements

A. A person who wishes to be licensed by the board to engage in the practice of professional counseling as a licensed professional counselor shall:

1. Meet the education requirements of subsection B of this section and the work experience requirements of subsection F of this section.

2. Pass an examination approved by the board.

B. An applicant for licensure shall furnish documentation as prescribed by the board by rule that the person has received a master's or higher degree with a major emphasis in counseling from a regionally accredited college or university in a program of study that includes at least sixty semester credit hours or ninety quarter credit hours at one of the following:

1. A program accredited by the council for the accreditation of counseling and related educational programs or the national council on rehabilitation education.

2. A program with a curriculum that has been approved by the board pursuant to section 32-3253.

3. A program with a curriculum meeting requirements as prescribed by the board by rule.

C. A program that is not accredited by the council for the accreditation of counseling and related educations programs or the national council on rehabilitation education must require seven hundred hours of supervised clinical hours and twenty-four semester hours or thirty-two quarter hours in courses in the following eight core content areas as prescribed by the board by rule:

1. Professional orientation and ethical practice.

2. Social and cultural diversity.

3. Human growth and development.

4. Career development.

5. Helping relationships.

6. Group work.

7. Assessment.

8. Research and program evaluation.

D. Credit hours offered above those prescribed pursuant to subsection C of this section must be in studies that provide a broad understanding in counseling related subjects as prescribed by the board by rule.

E. The board may accept equivalent coursework in which core content area subject matter is embedded or contained within another course, including another subject matter.

F. An applicant for licensure shall furnish documentation as prescribed by the board by rule that the applicant has received at least three thousand two hundred hours in at least twenty-four months in post-master's degree work experience in the practice of professional counseling under supervision that meets the requirements prescribed by the board by rule. An applicant may use a doctoral-clinical internship to satisfy the requirement for one year of work experience under supervision.

G. The three thousand two hundred hours required pursuant to subsection F of this section must include at least one thousand six hundred hours of direct client contact, not more than one thousand six hundred hours of indirect client service and at least one hundred hours of clinical supervision as prescribed by the board by rule. For the direct client contact hours, not more than four hundred hours may be in psychoeducation. The board by rule may prescribe the number of hours required for functions related to direct client contact and indirect client service.

H. An applicant who is deficient in hours required pursuant to subsection B of this section may satisfy those requirements by successfully completing post-master's degree coursework.

I. An applicant who completed a degree before July 1, 1989 and whose course of study did not include a practicum may substitute a one-year doctoral-clinical internship or an additional year of documented post-master's degree work experience in order to satisfy the requirements of subsection B of this section.