What if my degree did not include six semester units or nine quarter units of supervised practicum or field work experience?
The law requires that degrees granted in 1996 and after include six semester units or nine quarter units of supervised practicum or fieldwork. The law was amended in August 2010 to allow those with degrees issued before 1996 to have only three semester units or four and one half quarter units of practicum or fieldwork.
If counselors' degrees are acceptable because they have 6 of the 9 core courses in their pre-1996 degree, or 7 of the 9 required core courses in their 1996 or after degree, do they have to take any additional courses?
Yes. Counselors must bring their degrees up to the current standard by completing all of the 9 core content areas before they will be eligible for licensure. In order for a degree to be acceptable at all, it must contain 6 semester or 9 quarter units of supervised practicum or fieldwork and 6 of the 9, or 7 of the 9, core counseling courses, depending on the year it was granted. Because titles vary, the inclusion of the core counseling areas becomes the definition of an acceptable counseling degree.
Why do counselors need to take continuing education units, in addition to the core content areas required in the degree?
In order to be on par with the currently licensed MFTs and LCSWs, counselors must complete the continuing education that has been required of these licensees in recent years.
Note: With the exception of the course in psychopharmacology, which is a graduate or undergraduate university credit course, these can be taken as continuing education, if these subjects were not sufficiently covered in graduate coursework. See Providers of Coursework on this website for available courses.
What is a contact hour?
The bill uses the term "contact hour," which means an hour of instruction. These hours can be taken as continuing education through a provider approved by the BBS. They may be online, credit-no credit or home study courses, as well as in-person workshops, but audited courses are not acceptable. The contact hour requirement can also be met through undergraduate or graduate university courses. A three-semester-unit course is 45 hours of instruction. Accredited universities are automatically considered to be approved providers by the BBS.
Where can counselors take graduate core content courses and/or continuing education courses that they may be lacking?
View a list of providers to see universities that will offer required graduate courses to non-matriculated students through their extended education programs. The Providers of Coursework list also includes approved providers of contact hours or continuing education, required for grandparenting. Some providers offer all the continuing education courses needed for grandparenting. Providers do not need to be on CCCL's list, but they must be approved by the BBS. The BBS website www.bbs.ca.gov has a list of Approved Providers.
Can an approved provider offer the core content courses needed for grandparenting?
No. An approved provider can only offer the continuing education courses. The core content courses, seven of which must be included in the graduate degree, must be taken as graduate courses through an accredited or approved university. The university may offer these courses online and they may offer them through extended education, as long as units are awarded. The psychopharmacology course must be a university credit undergraduate or graduate course. A university may also offer the continuing education courses, if it choses to do so.
What about counselor educators, who have taught a core content class, but the course does not appear on his or her transcript?
The bill provides that a counselor educator, whose degree contains at least 7 of the 9 required core content areas, shall be given credit for coursework not contained in the degree, if the counselor educator provides documentation that he or she has taught the equivalent of the required content area in a graduate program in counseling or a related area.
