21 NCAC 53 .0206             GRADUATE COUNSELING EXPERIENCE

(a)  Applicants who apply prior to July 1, 2022, shall complete a graduate counseling experience, which shall consist of the following separate courses:

(1)           one or more courses in practicum totaling at least three semester hours or five quarter hours;

(2)           one or more courses in internship totaling at least three semester hours or five quarter hours; and

(3)           at least 17 hours of graduate counseling supervision as defined in Rules .0210 and .0211 of this Section.

Supervised graduate counseling shall comply with the requirements of Rule .0212 of this Section, shall be verified by a university faculty member on the Verification of Graduate Counseling Experience Form as described in Paragraph (d) of this Rule, and shall consist of 300 hours of graduate counseling experience at a rate of not less than one hour of clinical supervision per 40 hours of graduate counseling experience, as defined by Rule .0701(2)(b) of this Chapter. At least 180 hours of this counseling experience shall be direct counseling experience as defined in Rule .0205 of this Section.

(b)  Applicants who apply on or after July 1, 2022, shall complete a graduate counseling experience, which shall consist of the following separate courses:

(1)           one or more courses in practicum that meet the standards related to practicum of the current edition of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) at the time of the receipt of application as defined in Rule .0308(a) of this Chapter. All CACREP course standards are hereby incorporated by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions. The standards may be accessed at www.cacrep.org at no cost. The practicum courses shall include graduate counseling supervision as defined by the current edition of the CACREP standards at the time of application; and

(2)           one or more courses in internship that meet the standards related to internship of the current edition of CACREP at the time of the receipt of application as defined in Rule .0308(a) of this Chapter. The internship courses shall include graduate counseling supervision as defined by the current edition of the CACREP standards at the time of application.

(c)  Applicants who apply on or after July 1, 2025, shall complete all internship experiences in a clinical mental health setting that provides substantial opportunities to assess, appraise, diagnose, and treat mental health disorders and shall consist of "direct counseling experience" as defined in Rule .0205(a) of this Section. Clinical mental health settings may include private practices; college counseling centers; community agencies; managed behavioral health care organizations; integrated delivery systems hospitals; employee assistance programs; specialty treatment centers; vocational rehabilitation centers; marriage, couple, and family practices; addiction counseling sites; or school-based clinical mental health counseling sites.

(d)  All applicants for licensure shall submit a Verification of Graduate Counseling Experience Form that shall contain:

(1)           the name, title, contact information and signature of the person verifying graduate counseling experience;

(2)           the name of agency where graduate counseling experience occurred;

(3)           information regarding university supervisor for the graduate counseling experience;

(4)           the name, title and credentials of the site supervisor;

(5)           total hours of individual and group clinical supervision received during graduate counseling experience;

(6)           whether the experience is practicum or internship;

(7)           the beginning and end dates of clinical experience;

(8)           the total number of direct and indirect hours, as defined by CACREP;

(9)           the total hours of direct and indirect client contact as defined by CACREP; and

(10)         For applicants applying on or after July 1, 2025, identify the type of clinical mental health setting and describe the counseling experience acquired by the applicant in the following areas: assessment, appraisal, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders.

(11)         The form is available on the Board's website at www.ncblcmhc.org.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 90-332.1(a)(3); 90-334(h); 90-334(i); 90-336(b1); 90-336(b2);

Eff. July 1, 1995;

Amended Eff. July 1, 2014; January 1, 2010;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. April 27, 2019;

Amended Eff. February 1, 2023; March 1, 2022.