Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)
Note: Counselors need two years post-master's experience to qualify for grandparenting.
Summary of REQUIREMENTS during GRANDPARENTING PERIOD: January 1, 2011 – June 30, 2011.
Note: Applicants will submit their qualifications to the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) during this six-month period. If there are deficiencies, the applicant will have 12 months from the date of notification from the BBS to complete requirements. Requirements that may be completed during this 12-month period may include deficiencies in the years of experience, supervised hours, coursework and examinations.
Education: A master’s or doctoral degree from an accredited institution, which is counseling or psychotherapy in content, includes 6 semester units or 9 quarter units of supervised practicum or fieldwork study, (See exception for pre-1996 degrees below) and contains at least 3 semester units, or four and one half quarter units, of coursework in the following 9 core content areas. More than one course may be used to fulfill a core content area.
Note: Supervised practicum or fieldwork study cannot be added to the degree. All 9 core content areas must be completed before licensure, but some can be added post-degree, as follows:
Degrees issued Jan 1, 1996 and after shall include a minimum of 48 semester units and 7 of the 9 core content areas and six semester units or nine quarter units of supervised practicum or field study experience. All 9 core content areas must be completed before licensure.
Degrees issued prior to Jan 1, 1996 shall include a minimum of 30 semester units and include 6 of the 9 core content areas (NEW!) and three semester units or four and one half quarter units of supervised practicum or field study experience. All 9 core content areas must be completed before licensure.
Required core content areas:
(A) Counseling and psychotherapeutic theories and techniques (includes counseling theories, selection of counseling interventions, orientation to wellness and prevention, etc.)
(B) Human growth and development across the lifespan (includes psychopathology, normal and abnormal behavior, developmental crises)
(C) Career development theories and techniques
(D) Group counseling theories and techniques
(E) Assessment, appraisal and testing
(F) Multicultural counseling theories and techniques
(G) Principles of diagnosis, treatment planning and prevention of mental and emotional disorders and dysfunctional behavior
(H) Research and evaluation
(I) Professional orientation, ethics and law in counseling
In addition to, or as part of the graduate degree, instruction in each the following content areas must be completed prior to licensure:
Note: With the exception of the course in psychopharmacology, which is a university graduate or undergraduate credit course, the following requirements can be fulfilled with graduate or undergraduate university courses, online courses, home study courses or continuing education courses offered by BBS approved providers. See Providers of Coursework on this website for available courses.
Contact hours are clock hours or hours of instruction.
(1) Minimum of 15 contact hours of instruction in alcoholism and other chemical substance dependency
(2) Minimum of 10 contact hours of instruction in human sexuality
(3) Minimum of 15 contact hours of instruction in spousal or partner abuse
(4) Minimum of seven contact hours of instruction in child abuse assessment & reporting
(5) Minimum of 18 contact hours of instruction in California law and professional ethics, if not included in required core content area
(6) Minimum of 10 contact hours of instruction in aging and long-term care
(7) Minimum of 15 contact hours of instruction in crisis/trauma counselingNote: Unlike the above courses, which may be taken as continuing education credit, the following course may be taken post-degree, but it must be a graduate or undergraduate university credit course.
(8) A two-semester-unit survey course or three-quarter-unit survey course in psychopharmacology
Supervision: Two years full-time or the equivalent, post-degree counseling experience, that includes 1,700 hours of experience in a clinical setting supervised by a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed psychologist, a licensed physician and surgeon specializing in psychiatry, or a master’s level counselor or therapist who is certified by a national certifying or registering organization, including, but not limited to, the National Board for Certified Counselors or the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.
Note: Counselors who have not been supervised may earn the 1,700 supervised hours between now and application for grandparenting and then complete any additional hours needed in the 12 months allowed for completion of deficiencies. The BBS will not oversee supervision for grandparenting, but a form for the supevisor to sign will be included in the LPCC application packet, which will be available from the BBS about December 2010. See Questions About Supervision for Grandparenting in Frequently Asked Questions for further detail here.
Examination: Passing score on the following exams:
The National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Examination CRCE) and
The National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE) and
A California jurisprudence and ethics examination, yet to be developed by the BBS
View Exams for Grandparenting to see information on the national exam schedules.
Note: The BBS will develop and administer the California law and ethics (jurisprudence) exam. The required course on California law and ethics should be good preparation.
Renewal: A license issued under the grandparenting regulations is valid for six years, provided it is renewed annually. After the six-year period, the license will be cancelled unless the licensee renews the license annually and passes exams required for licensure on or after January 1, 2012, or documents that he or she has already passed those exams. The Board of Behavioral Sciences has until 2012 to adopt the national exams or develop California licensing exams, which grandparented licensees will have to pass to retain licensure.
Currently licensed MFTs and LCSWs in the State of California can be grandparented as LPCCs, if they meet the above education requirements, the 9 core content areas. They do not have to document the above additional continuing education requirements, since these courses have been required for their license renewal over the past few years. They have already met the supervision requirement.
The BBS Board has recently determined that MFTs and LCSWs will need to pass an examination on the differences between the practices of their professions and the practice of professional clinical counseling, in order to be grandparented as a LPCC. These differences appear to be in the areas of research, appraisal/testing, and career development. These "gap" exams are under development.
MFTs and LCSWs should contact their professional organizations if they have further questions.
Click here to see entire section 4999.54 in the bill, regarding grandparenting, and 4999.56, regarding renewal.
