(4) Plan of Supervision.
(a) Applicants for associate licensed
counselor must furnish to the Board, on a form approved by the Board, a
Proposed Plan of Supervision (PPoS) by a Supervising Counselor. The hours of
supervision listed in the plan for supervision are to be provided by the
Supervising Counselor whose signature appears on the document. The Supervising
Counselor must personally provide to the ALC a minimum of two (2) total hours
of supervision averaged weekly over the course of the time of supervision with
that supervisor to include a minimum of one (1) hour of one-to-one,
face-to-face, personal individual supervision weekly. Supervision provided must
be a minimum weekly average of two (2) hours which must include at least fifty
percent (50%) of Direct one-to-one, face-to-face in-person individual
supervision. Supervision must be provided in accordance with Alabama Law and
Code ABEC Codes and Rules.
ALC's must provide these direct and
indirect counseling service hours to residents of Alabama.
All supervision of an ALC is to be provided by the Supervising
Counselor identified on the license of the ALC. Concurrent supervision is
supervision of the direct service provided by an ALC by more than one
supervisor for the same clients in order to meet licensure or certification
requirements of an entity other than the Alabama Board of Examiners in
Counseling. Concurrent supervision of an ALC's service to the same clients by
more than one supervisor is prohibited by the Alabama Board of Examiners in
Counseling.
Any LPC-S who has received two (2) hours of continuing
education training in providing virtual supervision as required by
255-X-3-.03
may provide up to 75% of supervision for licensure as "Other Supervision" and
may use real-time, synchronous technology and/or virtual formats. Of the total
supervision time, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of supervision must be
direct, individual, in-person, one-to-one, face-to-face, synchronous, and
physically present (not utilizing distance/virtual formats or methos of
interaction). Supervision must be provided in accordance with Alabama Law and
Code, and ABEC Codes and Rules.
(b) Applicants must comply with the following
regulations:
1. The supervising ALC must
submit the proposed plan of supervision to the Alabama Board of Examiners in
Counseling.
2. A supervision
progress report, on a form provided by the Board, must be submitted at the end
of the supervision, by the Supervising Counselor whose name appears on the plan
for supervision required in 255-X-3-.02(4)(a). Final supervision reports must
verify a minimum of (an average of) two (2) total hours of supervision each
week for the duration of the supervision. At least fifty percent (50%) of those
hours must be one-to-one, face-to-face, in-person individual supervision. Any
supervision reports representing less than a minimum of the required two (2)
hours of total supervision each week for the duration of the supervision shall
have the ALC's total client service hours for the supervised time period with
that supervisor prorated to match the percentage of the supervision when
comparted to the required supervision hours. Only counseling experience
supervised by the Supervising Counselor whose name appears on the ALC's license
may accrue toward meeting the supervised experience requirements in
255-X-3-.01(3)(b).
Final supervision reports shall be submitted to the board no
later than thirty (30) days after the termination of supervision. A Supervising
Counselor must submit a final supervision progress report to the board upon the
termination of supervision of the ALC for any reason. Any disputes concerning
the content of supervision progress reports must be resolved by the ALC and
Supervising Counselor before the submission of the report.
3. Both the Supervising Counselor and the ALC
have responsibility for maintaining ongoing records of supervision sessions and
records of direct and indirect counseling service. The records are to be
available for review by both parties to verify data contained in supervision
progress reports. These records must also be available for examination by the
Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling for a period of three years following
termination of the ALC's supervision.
4. The Supervising Counselor has clinical
authority concerning the functioning of the ALC in order to maintain ultimate
responsibility for the welfare of every client.
5. All Supervising Counselor must establish
and exercise oversight of client care with all clients of ALCs whom they
supervise to plan effective service delivery procedures. The progress of the
practice shall be monitored to ensure that full professional responsibility and
liability will be accepted by the supervising LPC for all services rendered.
The supervising LPC shall be available for emergency consultation and
intervention.
6. The Supervising
Counselor shall establish and maintain a level of supervisory contact
consistent with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice approved by the
Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling and be fully accountable in the event
that professional, ethical, or legal issues are raised. The ALC shall have read
and shall be bound by the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
7. Associate Licensed Counselors performing
counseling services must be under the exclusive supervision of the Supervising
Counselor required in 255-X-3-.02(4)(a).
8. The practices of the ALC shall be
commensurate with the skills of the ALC and all practice procedures shall be
planned in consultation with the Supervising Counselor.
9. Associate Licensed Counselors performing
counseling services or announcing such services to the public or professional
community shall clarify that they are under the supervision of the Supervising
Counselor. In performing or announcing counseling services in which the term,
or any derivative of the term, "Associate Licensed Counselor" is employed, such
descriptions must be offered in the following manner: "John Doe, M.A.,
Associate Licensed Counselor under the supervision of Jane Smith, Ph.D.,
Supervising Counselor." Activities that are not performance or announcement of
counseling services (e.g., presentations, etc.) shall not require such a
description.
10. The Supervising
Counselor is to notify the Board immediately in writing of any change in the
status of the ALC's supervision or in the event supervision cannot begin upon
the issue of the ALC's license. The Supervising Counselor must submit to the
Board a final supervision report, on a form approved by the Board, when the ALC
has accrued the required number of supervised experience hours or if the
approved plan of supervision is terminated for any reason.
11. After meeting the requirements specified
in subdivisions (5) and (6) of Section
34-8A-7
of the Code of Ala. 1975, the Associate Licensed
Counselor must petition the Board in writing to be reviewed for licensure as a
licensed professional counselor.
12. Licensees must continue supervision to
maintain their ALC license. If a licensee is no longer under LPC-S supervision
their ALC license is invalid, and they cannot provide clinical services. They
must return their license certificate to the ABEC until that time that they
acquire a Supervising Counselor approved as an LPC-S by ABEC, submit a new
PPoS, and are issued a new ALC license certificate. This will include the time
that the licensee has applied for, and is awaiting the Board review of, their
LPC or other applications.
