Code of Colorado Regulations
700 - Department of Regulatory Agencies
737 - Division of Professions and Occupations - State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners
4 CCR 737-1 - LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR EXAMINERS RULES AND REGULATIONS
Section 4 CCR 737-1.14 - LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION (C.R.S. section 12-245-604)

Universal Citation: 4 CO Code Regs 737-1 § 14

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 5, March 10, 2024

A. Criteria for application.

1. The applicant must submit to the Board a completed application for licensure, all fees, official transcript(s), and all supporting documentation required by the Board in order for the Board to review the application for licensure.

2. Applications for licensure remain active for one (1) year. If the applicant fails to become licensed within this time period, s/he must submit a new application and fee and must meet the educational, experience, and examination requirements in effect at the time of the date of the new application. The Board, in its sole discretion, may extend an application upon written request accompanied by a showing of good cause.

3. An applicant for licensure must pass the required examination no more than five (5) years prior to the date of the application for licensure. Experience and supervision requirements that predate the application by more than five (5) years will not be accepted by the Board absent a showing of good cause, as determined by the Board. However, this may not apply in those exceptions allowable under statutes concerning professional counselor candidates.

4. All applicants for licensure have a continuing obligation to update their application with information changes from the original application at any time prior to licensure.

B. Education and Training Requirements. Many graduate programs in professional counseling go under other names. Some programs labeled as counseling programs are not primarily focused on professional counseling. The Board has therefore established the following factors to determine whether or not a particular program from which an applicant for licensure received the master's or doctoral degree qualifies as a master's or doctoral program with a major in professional counseling or its equivalent in compliance with sections 12-245-604(1)(c) and 12-245-601(3), C.R.S. To meet the statutory requirements, the master's or doctoral program must meet either (1) or (2), below:

1. Accredited program. The applicant obtained a master's or doctoral degree from a program that was approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). If enrolled after August 31, 2014, the applicant must be enrolled in an approved program comprised of not less than 60 semester credit hours; or

2. Equivalent program. Applicants who graduated from a non-CACREP approved program must establish educational equivalency through one of the following pathways:

a. Graduation from a program deemed by the Board, on an annual, to meet CACREP educational equivalency; OR

b. Candidates who graduated from a non-CACREP approved program or a program that has not been deemed educationally equivalent by the Board must submit their educational credentials to a Board approved credentialing agency for evaluation and determination of whether the program satisfies the requirements of this Rule.

(1) All of the following requirements shall be considered in order to establish equivalency:

(a.) The required master's or doctoral level study and masters or doctoral degree were obtained from a regionally-accredited institution of higher learning;

(b.) The program stood as a coherent and recognizable entity within the institution, offering an integrated and organized sequence of study planned to provide appropriate training for the practice of professional counseling;

(c.) There was an identifiable full-time faculty, with an individual responsible for the program who was a full-time faculty member and who met the requirements for approval as a supervisor or a person who presents proof satisfactory to the Board, that at the time of serving as the faculty member, s/he possessed essentially the same education, experience, and training as that necessary to qualify for licensure under the Act.

(d.) The program had an identifiable body of students who were matriculated in that program for a degree;

(e.) The master's or doctoral program included examination and grading procedures designed to evaluate the degree of mastery of the subject matter by the students:

(i) Except as provided in Subsection (2) below, for a master's or doctoral degree, the curriculum must include a minimum of forty-eight semester hours or seventy-two quarter hours of graduate study (for the master's degree) or a minimum of ninety-six semester hours or 144 quarter hours of graduate study (for the doctoral degree) and supervised field experience of not fewer than 700 hours that was counseling in nature, if enrolled prior to August 31, 2014.

(ii) If enrolled prior to August 31, 2014, an individual whose qualifying master degree upon which licensure is to be based included less than forty-eight semester hours or seventy-two quarter hours for a master's degree or ninety-six semester hours or 144 quarter hours for a doctoral degree, who did not complete 700 hours of supervised professional practice as a part of the degree program, or who did not complete course work in all of the content areas required by Rule 1.14 may complete these requirements post-degree in order to obtain licensure, if:

(aa) All course work, field, and post-degree coursework for licensure experiences are completed through an institution of higher education that is accredited by a regional accrediting organization accepted by the Board through Rule 1.14 or through a counseling program recognized by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP);

(bb) All course work and field experiences are taken and passed for credit; and

(cc) All individuals who did not complete 700 hours of supervised professional practice as part of the original degree program may submit evidence of post-degree work experience for consideration and credit at the discretion of the Board.

(2) If enrolled after August 31, 2014, an individual whose qualifying master degree upon which licensure is to be based included less than sixty semester hours for a master's degree, who did not complete 700 hours of supervised professional practice as a part of the degree program, or who did not complete course work in all of the content areas required by Rule 1.14 may complete these requirements post-degree in order to obtain licensure, if:

(a) All course work, field experiences and post-degree coursework for licensure are completed through an institution of higher education that is accredited by a regional accrediting organization accepted by the Board through Rule 1.14 or through a counseling program recognized by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP);

(b) All course work and field experiences are taken and passed for credit; and

(3) The core program required each student to demonstrate knowledge and skill competence in each of the following substantive content areas. Competence is demonstrated by passing suitable comprehensive examinations in each of the eight areas, successful completion of two or more graduate semester hours (three or more graduate quarter hours) in each of the eight areas, or by other suitable means as determined by the Board:

(a) Human growth and development- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of the nature and needs of individuals at any developmental level, normal and abnormal human behavior, personality theory, and learning theory within cultural contexts.

(b) Social and cultural foundations- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of societal changes and trends, human roles, societal subgroups, social mores and interaction patterns, and differing lifestyles.

(c) Helping relationships- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of philosophic bases of helping processes, counseling theories and their applications, basic and advanced helping skills, consultation theories and their applications, client and helper self-understanding and self-development, and facilitation of client or consultee change.

(4) Groups- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of group development, dynamics, and counseling theories; group leadership styles; basic and advanced group counseling methods and skills; and other group approaches.

(5) Lifestyles and career development- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of career development theories; occupational and educational information sources and systems; career and leisure counseling, guidance, and education; lifestyle and career decision-making; career development program planning and resources; and effectiveness evaluation.

(6) Appraisal- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of group and individual educational and psychometric theories and approaches to appraisal, data and information-gathering methods, validity and reliability, psychometric statistics, factors influencing appraisals, and use of appraisal results in helping processes.

(7) Research and evaluation- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of types of research, basic statistics, research-report development, research implementation, program evaluation, needs assessment, and ethical and legal considerations.

(8) Professional orientation- includes studies that provide a broad understanding of professional roles and functions, professional goals and objectives, professional organizations and associations, professional history and trends, ethical and legal standards, professional preparation standards, and professional credentialing.

(9) If the course titles as stated on the transcript do not clearly reflect the subject matters listed above, the applicant must document the course or combination of courses in which the material was covered.

(a) If the master's or doctoral degree was awarded prior to September 1, 1992, the Board will accept the degree irrespective of the number of semester hours or quarter hours of graduate study required to obtain the degree, provided the core program required each student to demonstrate knowledge and skill competence in seven of the eight substantive content areas listed above.

(b) Only graduate level courses are acceptable as establishing equivalency. The Board will not accept coursework counted or credited toward an undergraduate degree.

3. Foreign-trained applicants. Foreign-trained applicants must submit educational credentials to a credentialing agency utilized by the Board for evaluation of equivalency. After course equivalency is established, the Board will evaluate the educational credentials to determine whether or not the program is equivalent to a program approved by CACREP.

C. Post-Graduate Experience Requirements.

The Board will approve post-master's or post-doctoral supervised practice as meeting the requirements for licensure set out in section 12-245-604(1)(d), C.R.S., when that practice satisfies the requirements of this subsection.

1. Definitions. As used in section 12-245-604(1)(d), C.R.S., and this Rule, unless the context indicates otherwise:

a. "Individual supervision" means supervision rendered to one individual at a time.

b. "Group supervision" means supervision rendered to not more than ten individuals at one time.

c. "Post-master's experience" or "post-doctoral experience" means experience under approved supervision acquired subsequent to the date certified by the degree-granting institution as that on which all requirements for the master's or doctoral degree (whichever is applicable) have been completed.

d. "Practice in professional counseling" means all services included within the definition of psychotherapy in section 12-245-202(14), C.R.S., and particularly those services and practices included within the definition of professional counseling in section 12-245-603, C.R.S.

e. "Supervision" means personal direction and responsible direction provided by a supervisor approved by the Board, which may be in-person or telesupervision.

(1) "Personal direction" means direction actually rendered by the approved supervisor.

(2) "Responsible direction" or "direction" means the approved supervisor has sufficient knowledge of all clients for whom supervision is provided, including face-to-face contact with the client when necessary, to develop and to monitor effective service delivery procedures and the supervisee's treatment plan. Further, all decisions requiring the special skill, knowledge, and/or training of a licensed professional counselor are made in collaboration with, and with the approval of, the approved supervisor. Such decisions include, but are not limited to: type, duration, effectiveness, and method of professional counseling services provided; fees and billing procedures; approval of cases; and personal observation, evaluation, oversight, review, and correction of services provided by the supervisee.

f. "Consultation" describes a voluntary relationship between professionals of relative equal expertise or status wherein the consultant offers her/his best advice or information on an individual case or problem for use by the consultee as s/he deems appropriate in her/his professional judgment. Consultation is not supervision. Experience under contract for consultation will not be credited toward fulfillment of supervision requirements.

g. "Telesupervision" means clinical supervision conducted through audio/video technology such as videoconferencing or telephone.

2. Certification of Completion. Each applicant shall file with the Board, upon forms supplied by the Board, a verified statement signed under penalty of law by their approved supervisor(s) attesting to the applicant's satisfactory completion of the required postmaster's or post-doctoral practice of professional counseling under clinical supervision and attesting to the applicant's having met the generally accepted standards of practice during the supervised practice.

3. Supervision.

a. The Board may accept any of the following as a supervisor provided the proposed supervisor's experience is substantially equivalent to those within the scope of a licensed professional counselor:

(1) A licensed professional counselor who, at the time of the supervision, was licensed by the Board in the jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed.

(2) A licensed clinical social worker who, at the time of the supervision, was licensed by the Board in the jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed.

(3) A marriage and family therapist who, at the time of the supervision, was licensed by the Board in the jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed.

(4) A psychologist who, at the time of the supervision, was licensed by the Board in the jurisdiction in which the applicant's services were performed.

b. The approved supervisor must keep records that document they have effectively trained, evaluated and credited the applicant for licensure. The records must reflect the exact number of hours of applicable post-master's or post-doctoral practice of professional counseling and the exact number of hours of supervision completed in compliance with this Rule.

4. Supervised Post-Graduate Practice in Professional Counseling.

a. Applicants engaged in supervised, post-graduate practice, before September 25, 2020, are required to complete the following to qualify for licensure as a professional counselor:

(1) At least 2,000 hours of post-masters practice in professional counseling under supervision and cannot be completed in fewer than twenty-four months and may involve supervision by more than one supervisor as defined in these rules.

(2) At least 1,000 hours of post-doctorate practice in professional counseling under supervision and cannot be completed in fewer than twelve months and may involve supervision by more than one supervisor as defined in these rules

(3) The teaching of the practice of professional counseling may count up to 300 hours of post-doctoral practice in professional counseling under supervision, provided this teaching experience was supervised by a supervisor as defined in these Rules.

(4) For each 1,000 hours of supervised practice in professional counseling, applicants must receive a minimum of fifty hours of supervision. A minimum of thirty-five of the fifty hours must be individual supervision, which may be in-person or telesupervision. The remaining hours up to the fifty hours may be by group supervision. No other modes of supervision will be accepted.

(5) The post-graduate supervision hours must be reasonably distributed over each 1,000 hours of supervised practice in professional counseling in a manner consistent with the accrual of the hours of supervised postmaster's or post-doctoral practice.

(6) With respect to supervision of the teaching of professional counseling, the supervision hours must be reasonably distributed over the teaching experience in a manner consistent with the accrual of the hours of teaching experience.

b. Applicants engaging in supervised post-graduate practice on or after September 25, 2020, are required to complete the following to qualify for licensure as a professional counselor:

(2) At least 2,000 hours of post-doctorate practice in professional counseling under supervision and cannot be completed in fewer than twelve months and may involve supervision by more than one supervisor as defined in these rules

(3) Post-master and post-doctorate graduate practice in professional counseling under supervision required by section 12-245-604(1)(d), C.R.S., must include at least 2,000 hours of professional counseling, including at least 1,500 hours of face-to-face direct client contact under clinical supervision that is in-person or telesupervision, obtained in such a manner that they are reasonably uniformly distributed over a minimum of twelve months and must be documented as being completed not fewer than sixty days prior to the administration of the examination.

(4) The teaching of the practice of professional counseling may count up to 300 hours of post-doctoral practice in professional counseling under supervision, provided this teaching experience was supervised by a supervisor as defined in these Rules

D. Examination. In accordance with sections 12-245-204(4)(b), 12-245-604(1)(e), and 12 -245- 604(3), C.R.S., the Board establishes these requirements for the licensing examination to demonstrate professional competence in professional counseling, including special knowledge and skill in psychotherapy.

1. Jurisprudence Examination. Applicants shall be required to pass a Board developed jurisprudence examination.

2. National Examination. The examination in professional counseling shall be the counselor certification examination administered under contract with the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC).

a. Reexamination. In the event an applicant fails to receive a passing grade on the examination, s/he may apply to the NBCC for reexamination and is subject to the requirements of NBCC.

3. Application. An applicant for licensure shall apply directly to the NBCC, or such other testing service the Board may contract with at the time, to sit for the appropriate examination.

a. A student in their last semester or quarter of either a CACREP approved or non- CACREP approved graduate degree program may apply directly to the NBCC to sit for the professional counselor examination.

4. Exam Results. Examination results will be valid for up to five years after the date of the examination.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Colorado may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

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