Ā§453D-7Ā  Application for licensure as a
mental health counselor.Ā  (a)Ā  An applicant shall
be issued a license by the department if the applicant provides satisfactory
evidence to the department that the applicant is qualified for licensure
pursuant to the requirements of this chapter and meets the following
qualifications:



(1)Ā  A master's degree or doctoral degree from an
accredited educational institution in counseling or in an allied field related
to the practice of mental health counseling that includes or is supplemented by
graduate level course work in counseling comprising a minimum of forty-eight
semester hours or seventy-two quarter hours in the following course areas, with
a minimum of three semester hours or five quarter hours in each course area as
indicated below:



(A)Ā  Human growth and development, including
but not limited to the study of life span development, strategies to facilitate
that development and transitions, theories of learning and personality
development, and human behavior to include crisis, disabilities, addictive
behavior, and environmental factors;



(B)Ā  Social and cultural foundations, including but not limited
to the study of issues and trends in a multicultural and diverse society,
including characteristics of diverse groups that may include but are not
limited to age, race, religious or sexual preference, physical disability,
ethnicity and culture, gender, socioeconomics, intellectual ability, and
individual, family, and group strategies with diverse populations;



(C)Ā  Counseling theories and applications, including but not
limited to counseling and consultation, including both individual and systems
perspectives, interviewing, assessment, and counseling skills, as well as
applying principles, methods, and theories of counseling, treatment and
counseling of mental and emotional disorders, and educational techniques aimed
at preventing such disorders with individuals and families;



(D)Ā  Group theory and practice, including but not limited to
principles of group dynamics, group process, group leadership styles, theories
and methods of group counseling, and the application of theory to the group
processes;



(E)Ā  Career and lifestyle development, including but not limited
to the study of vocational development theories and decision-making models,
assessment instruments, and techniques, types, sources, and uses of
occupational and educational information systems, career development
applications, and career counseling processes, techniques, and resources;



(F)Ā  Appraisal of human behavior, including but not limited to
assessment and diagnosis of disorders with an emphasis on DSM-IV categories,
and an understanding of these disorders relative to the counseling context;



(G)Ā  Tests and measurements, including but not limited to
theoretical and historical bases for assessment techniques, assessment methods,
including analysis of various types of tests to select, administer, interpret,
and use assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling;



(H)Ā  Research and program evaluation, including but not limited
to research design and methods, statistical analysis, principles, practices,
and application of needs assessment, and program evaluation; and



(I)Ā  Professional orientation and ethics, including but not
limited to the history of the helping profession, professional roles and
functions, ethical standards, confidentiality, professional organizations, and
the public policy process, including advocacy on behalf of the profession and
its clientele;



(2)Ā  At least two academic terms of supervised mental
health practicum intern experience for graduate credit of at least three
semester hours or five quarter hours per academic term in a mental health
counseling setting with three hundred hours of supervised client contact; the
practicum experience shall be completed under the clinical supervision of a
person who is licensed as a mental health counselor, psychologist, clinical
social worker, advanced practice registered nurse with a specialty in mental
health, marriage and family therapist, or physician with a specialty in
psychiatry;



(3)Ā  Completion of not less than three thousand hours of
post-graduate experience in the practice of mental health counseling with one
hundred hours of face-to-face clinical supervision that shall be completed in
no less than two years and in no more than four years, under the clinical
supervision of a person who is a licensed mental health counselor,
psychologist, clinical social worker, advanced practice registered nurse with a
specialty in mental health, marriage and family therapist, or physician with a
specialty in psychiatry; and



(4)Ā  Passed the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and
Certification.



(b)Ā  An individual who:



(1)Ā  Holds current, unencumbered certification as a
national certified counselor or a national certified rehabilitation counselor
prior to the effective date of this chapter;



(2)Ā  Has passed the National Counselor Examination for
Licensure and Certification, National Clinical Mental Health Counselors
Examination of the National Board for Certified Counselors, or Commission on
Rehabilitation Counselor Certification examination after January 1, 2000, and
before July 1, 2005; and



(3)Ā  Within one year of the effective date of this
chapter, applies for licensure and pays the applicable license fee, shall be
deemed to have met the requirements of this section.



(c)Ā  For an applicant who graduated from an
accredited educational institution as specified in subsection (a)(1) before
July 1, 2007, the department shall also deem acceptable:



(1)Ā  For practicum intern
experience, written certification from an official of the institution of higher
education attesting that the applicant has completed the academic terms,
graduate credit hours, and supervised client contact hours in subsection (a)(2)
and that the applicantā€™s practicum intern experience is equivalent to a mental
health graduate level practicum program; and



(2)Ā  For post-graduate experience, written certification from an
officer and the clinical supervisor of the agency at which the applicant has
earned experience attesting that the applicant has completed the hours of
experience and supervision in subsection (a)(3) within the time frame set forth
in that subsection, and that the applicantā€™s post-graduate experience is
equivalent to the practice of mental health counseling.



The license requirements for clinical supervisors
under subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) shall not apply to this subsection. [L
2004, c 209, pt of Ā§2; am L 2006, c 14, Ā§3; am L 2007, c 252, Ā§2]



 



Note



 



Ā  The effective date of this chapter referred to in subsection
(b), is July 1, 2005; except that sections 453D-2 and 453D-3 took effect July
12, 2004.