CCCL is committed to making 2008 "The Year of Counselor Licensure!"

• Next steps: The bill must be approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 4^th and then it must be approved by a majority of the Senators in a floor vote. Since the bill has been amended in the Senate, it must go back to the Assembly floor for concurrence before it is signed by the Governor.  All of this will take place over the next several months.  If the bill completes all of these steps successfully, it will go into effect January 1, 2009.
  
  
• Working with the opposition:
  CCCL has been working in good faith to address the concerns outlined by the California Psychological Association (CPA).  Many amendments have been taken in the hope that CPA would move to a neutral position on the bill, but their position continues to be "Oppose unless amend".
  
  The American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)-California Chapter continues to oppose and is telling its members that the LPC license would diminish the status of the MFT license and might even edge MFTs out of their licensed status in the future.  This has never been the intent in California and, in fact, this has not happened in the 47 states where both disciplines are licensed.
  
  
• Support and Neutrality:
  Last year, CCCL worked with the CA Association of Marriage & Family Therapy and the Clinical Society of Social Workers and gained their neutrality by addressing their concerns with the bill.  We overcame opposition from the Board of Behavioral Sciences and the CA Psychiatric Association, both of which now support AB 1486.
  
  

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We need every California counselor to get involved and help us to press forward in this effort:

• Advocacy and Rapid Response Network:
  
  CCCL needs counselors to participate in a grassroots network throughout California. Counselors will be given the tools and guidance well in advance in order to request support for the bill from their State Senator and Assembly Member. Please let us know if you will participate in this new CCCL networking opportunity by responding to info@caccl.org.
  
  CCCL Database: Counselors who register their contact information under How to Support on this website will receive periodic updates on our progress. CCCL communicates through email, so it is important for counselors to keep us informed of their current email address.
  
  Financial Contributions: CCCL is dependent on contributions from counselors to cover its legislative expenses. In order to maintain the effort, CCCL must continue to build its treasury. Please download the form under How to Support on this website and mail it with your donation.
  

Requirements: The requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor (LPC) are comparable to those of Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) and Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) in California and with Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) in 49 states.

• A master’s or doctoral degree in counseling or psychotherapy, from an accredited institution of higher education, consisting of no less than 48 semester units or 72 quarter units.  Specific coursework is required.  (Required courses are described on this website under Requirements)
• Completion of three thousand (3,000) hours of post-degree supervised experience in the practice of professional counseling, performed over a period of not less than two (2) years under the supervision of an approved supervisor
• Successful passage of licensure examinations adopted by the BBS  (The National Counselor Examination (NCE) and the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE) are recommended, as well as a California jurisprudence and ethics exam.)

Scope of Practice: The scope of practice is founded on the premise that Licensed Professional Counselors must first meet the requirements for the general practice of professional counseling and then they may develop a specialty that is narrowly focused, requiring advanced knowledge in a particular area. It is not intended that the State would regulate counseling specialties. The Scope of Practice in its entirety is found on this website under Requirements.

Exemptions

• Employees in government entities, schools, colleges, universities, and non-profit and charitable institutions, if their counseling practice is under the supervision of the institution and is part of the position for which they have been hired
  
• Clergy of any religious denomination, provided services are within the scope of regular ministerial duties
  
• Lawyers admitted to practice law in the state or doctors licensed to practice medicine, when providing services as part of their professional practice
  
• Qualified persons who do work of a psychosocial nature, but who do not identify themselves as Professional Counselors and do not practice psychotherapy.
  

Grandfathering
Requirements for education, experience and examination for grandfathering during the first 12 months of implementation are specified in the bill. Grandfathering requirements are found on this website under Requirements.

Continuing Education
Renewal of the license will require 36 hours of continuing education every two years.