Interested in Becoming a Professional

Counselor/ Psychotherapist?

§  There are various fields of study that qualify a person to become a professional counselor or psychotherapist.

§  A graduate degree (a master’s degree or doctorate degree) is required in a profession/ field of study that is recognized for providing training in advanced counseling/ psychotherapy.

ú  Some of the more common fields of study that are recognized for providing such training are:

·         Clinical Psychology

·         Clinical Social Work

·         Counseling

ú  Often such a graduate degree must be earned from an accredited program.

·         In the case of Psychology, this is the American Psychological Association

°         Website: www.apa.org

·         In the case of Social Work, this is the Council on Social Work Education.

°         Website: http://www.cswe.org/CSWE/

·         In the case of Counseling, this is Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Programs.

°         Website: http://www.cacrep.org/

§  To become a professional counselor/ psychotherapist, a person must meet any registration, certification, and/ or licensure requirements that have been established by state law in the state that he/ she desires to practice in.

ú  Laws regulating such practice vary by professional discipline and by state.

ú  These state requirements are overseen by state-based professional practice boards.

·         For psychology, the North Carolina Psychology Board.

°         Credentials that can be earned:

à        Licensed Psychologist

à         Licensed Psychological Associate

°         Website: http://www.ncpsychologyboard.org/

·         For Social Work, the North Carolina Certification and Licensure Board regulates clinical social work practice in North Carolina.

°         Credentials that can be earned to qualify for the practice of clinical social work:

à        Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

°         The Board offers other types of certification and licensure for social workers, including one for bachelor’s level social workers; however, these do not qualify a worker to provide clinical social work services, i.e., advanced counseling/ psychotherapy.

°         Website: http://70.61.113.172/

·         For Counseling, the North Carolina Board of Licensed Professional Counselors regulates professional practice for with a graduate degree in Counseling who desire to practice advanced counseling in North Carolina.

°         Credentials that can be earned to qualify a person to practice advanced counseling:

à        Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

°         Website: www.ncblpc.org

ú  Failure to satisfy any registration, certification, and/ or licensure criteria established by state law means that a person cannot practice advanced counseling/ psychotherapy legally.

·         I.e., if a person practices advanced counseling/ psychotherapy without the proper registration, certification, and/ or licensure required by state law, he/ she is practicing illegally.

·         The state controls and can grant and remove such registration, certification, and/ or licensure at its discretion if a professional fails to meet registration, certification, and/ or licensure regulations.

§  Beyond obtaining a graduate degree in a recognized and accredited field of study, a minimum of 2 years full-time post-master’s clinical experience is often required before a person is eligible to practice independently.

ú  Such post-master’s practice must be supervised by a professional who meets the qualifications established for supervisors by the professional practice board that the individual is seeking registration, certification, and/ or licensure with.

ú  In the case of Clinical Psychology, a person who holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology who is licensed to practice in North Carolina must obtain/ pay for ongoing clinical supervision until such a time that he/ she obtains doctorate licensure or ceases practice.

ú  In the case of Social Work and Counseling, a person who holds a master’s degree can practice independently after 2 years of full-time post-master’s supervised clinical experience.

§  Among other things, most practice boards require applicants to pass a registration, certification, and/ or licensure test and to meet continuing education requirements in order to be eligible for registration, certification, and/ or licensure.

§  The different graduate fields of study that can qualify a person for registration, certification, and/ or licensure to practice advanced counseling/ psychotherapy and the different types of registration, certification, and licensure that are available to such individuals offer different practice privileges and employment opportunities.

ú  It is important to have an understanding of these this prior to selecting a graduate program and even bachelor’s degree program.

§   The professional practice of substance abuse counseling is regulated by the state; this is true in North Carolina.

ú  Those who are credentialed by the state to provide professional substance abuse counseling cannot provide professional counseling/ psychotherapy services to clients who experience difficulties that are not substance abuse related unless, of course, such a professional obtains registration, certification, and/ or licensure by another professional practice board which is legally empowered to authorized this.

§  Area programs offering degrees that can lead to registration, certification, and/ or licensure as a professional counselor/ psychotherapist are:

ú  Western Carolina University at www.wcu.edu

·         Offers master ’s degrees in Psychology, Counseling, and Social Work.

ú  The University of North Carolina at Asheville at www.unca.edu

·         Offers a master’s degree in Social Work.

§  Although not necessary, earning a bachelor’s degree in a relevant helping/ behavioral science discipline from an accredited college or university is necessary for a person to qualify for admission into a graduate program in a profession that leads to credentialing as a professional counselor/ psychotherapist.

ú  It can be very advantageous if such a bachelor’s degree is earned in the field of study that the person desires to pursue a graduate degree in.

·         In some cases, this can decrease the amount of study that a person has to complete to qualify for the graduate degree.

°         E.g. Social Work

§  Other professional practice boards that exist which can regulate the practice of advanced counseling/ psychotherapy are Marriage & Family Therapy practice boards and pastoral counseling practice boards.

ú  The existence, structure, and requirements of such boards vary by state.

ú  In North Carolina the North Carolina Marriage & Family Therapy Licensure Board regulates practice for those who qualify for licensure as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT).

·         One of the requirements for such licensure is a master’s degree in Marriage & Family Therapy or a master’s degree in an allied mental health field.

·         Website: http://www.nclmft.org/nclmft/

ú  In the case of pastoral counseling in North Carolina, pastoral counseling that is practiced for a fee requires licensure.

·         The NC State Board of Fee-Based Practicing Pastoral Counselors regulates this practice.

§  There are medical personnel who can be qualified under state law to practice advanced counseling/ psychotherapy include medical doctors (often psychiatrists) and master’s level nurse practitioners with expertise in mental health.

ú  Nursing personnel without a master’s degree and mental health expertise are usually not qualified to provide advanced counseling/ psychotherapy under state law.