Qualifications For Licensure

(1) Professional Counselor by Examination. To be eligible to submit an application, a candidate must show completion of the following qualifications: (a) Be at least 18 years of age. (b) Must provide evidence that he is highly regarded in moral character and professional ethics (rule 0450-01-.05). (c) Education. The educational requirements must be completed prior to the date of application. 1. Sixty (60) graduate semester hours, based upon a program of studies with a major in counseling, completed from an institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Counsel for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, or a comparable accrediting body. 2. The graduate coursework should include, but is not limited to, core areas of (one course may satisfy study in more than one of the study areas): (i) Theories of human behavior, learning and personality; (ii) Abnormal behavior; (iii) Theories of counseling and psychotherapy; (iv) Evaluation and appraisal procedures; (v) Group dynamics, theories and techniques; (vi) Counseling techniques; (vii) Multicultural counseling; (viii) Ethics; (ix) Research; (x) Clinical practicum or internship (pursuant to T.C.A. § 63-22-104) (d) A minimum of two (2) years of supervised post master professional experience consisting of not less than ten (10) hours per week and fifty (50) contact hours of supervision per year as defined by Rule 0450-01-.10(1). (e) Pass the examination pursuant to rule 0450-01-.08. (f) Until receipt of a license to practice as a Professional Counselor, an applicant will be required to practice under supervision, pursuant to Rule 0450-01-.10. (2) Upgrading from Certified Professional Counselor Status to Licensed Professional Counselor Status (a) Individuals certified on July 1, 1991, as professional counselors may upgrade from certification to licensure by any of the following methods: GENERAL RULES GOVERNING PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS CHAPTER 0450-01 1. Providing a copy of his current CPC renewal certificate and verification to the board’s satisfaction, that he has had five years work experience, pursuant to rule 0450-01-.14, as a certified professional counselor. 2. Providing a copy of his current CPC renewal certificate and evidence that he has been certified by the NBCC. 3. Providing a copy of his current CPC renewal certificate and complying with the requirements pursuant to rule 0450-01-.04(1). (b) Upgrading from Certified Associate Professional Counselor Status to Licensed Professional Counselor Status 1. Any person certified as an Associate Counselor on July 1, 1991, shall be deemed to be a Certified Professional Counselor, but only for the purpose of upgrading to Licensed Professional Counselor. 2. For the purpose of upgrading to Licensed Professional Counselor from Certified Associate Counselor, the board will accept a passing score on the PES examination, which was previously required for Associate Professional Counselors, as fulfilling the requirement of 0450-01-.08. (3) Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) by Reciprocity. Individuals seeking licensure by reciprocity must meet the following qualifications: (a) Hold a current, undisciplined, professional counselor or equivalent license from another state of the United States which has entered into a mutual reciprocity agreement with the Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical Pastoral Therapists. (b) Provide evidence that he or she is highly regarded in moral character and professional ethics. (c) Pass the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination pursuant to rule 0450-01-.08. (4) Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Services Provider designation (LPC/MHSP). To be eligible to submit an application, a candidate must show completion of the following qualifications: (a) Be at least 18 years of age. (b) Provide evidence that he or she is highly regarded in moral character and professional ethics. (c) Education. The educational requirements must be completed prior to the date of application. 1. Sixty (60) graduate semester hours, based upon a program of studies with a major in counseling, completed from an institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, or a comparable accrediting body; 2. The graduate coursework should include, but is not limited to, the following core areas (one course may satisfy study in more than one of the study areas): GENERAL RULES GOVERNING PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS CHAPTER 0450-01 (i) Theories of human behavior, learning and personality; (ii) Abnormal behavior; (iii) Theories of counseling and psychotherapy; (iv) Evaluation and appraisal procedures; (v) Group dynamics, theories and techniques; (vi) Counseling techniques; (vii) Multicultural counseling; (viii) Ethics; (ix) Research; (x) Clinical practicum or internship (pursuant to T.C.A. § 63-22-104); (xi) Use of the DSM; (xii) Treatment and treatment planning 3. Pursuant to T.C.A. § 63-22-120, a minimum of nine (9) graduate semester hours of coursework must be “specifically related to diagnosis, treatment, appraisal and assessment of mental disorders.” This will be interpreted to mean passing nine (9) semester hours, either during the course of a graduate degree or as post- graduate work, in courses in which diagnosis, treatment and treatment planning, appraisal and assessment of mental disorders, psychopathology, and the use of the DSM were the entire focus of the course or comprised a substantial portion of the course work. (d) Meet the following requirements for post-masters professional experience: 1. Complete three thousand (3000) hours of supervised post-masters professional experience, including one hundred and fifty (150) contact hours of supervision obtained pursuant to Rule 0450-01-.10(6). (i) One thousand and five hundred (1500) of the three thousand (3000) hours of supervised post-masters professional experience shall be face-to-face client contact hours. (ii) One thousand and five hundred (1500) of the three thousand (3000) hours of supervised post-masters professional experience shall be clinically- related activities; (e) Pass the National Counselors Examination, the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination, and the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam pursuant to Rule 0450-01-.08. (5) Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Service Provider designation (LPC/MHSP), by reciprocity. Individuals seeking licensure by reciprocity as LPC/MHSPs must meet the following qualifications. GENERAL RULES GOVERNING PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS CHAPTER 0450-01 (a) Hold a current, undisciplined, professional counselor license with a Mental Health Service Provider designation, or its equivalent, from another state of the United States which has entered into a mutual reciprocity agreement with the Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical Pastoral Therapists. (b) Provide evidence that he or she is highly regarded in moral character and professional ethics. (c) Pass the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination pursuant to rule 0450-01-.08. (6) Temporarily Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Service Provider designation. (a) A temporary license may be issued by the Board for an applicant for licensed professional counselor designated as a mental health service provider who has: 1. Completed the academic course work and training (except for the required supervised professional experience) required for the license; and 2. Successfully passed the National Counselor Examination. (b) A temporary license obtained pursuant to this section authorizes an applicant to perform the functions specified in T.C.A. § 63-22-150(5), while working under the supervision of an approved supervisor.