Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule defines the educational
requirements for professional counselors.
(1) In order to qualify for supervision,
provisional licensure, or licensure as a professional counselor, an applicant
shall have received a graduate degree at the master's, specialist, or doctoral
level that consisted of a course of study with a major in counseling from an
acceptable educational institution.
(A) An
acceptable educational institution shall mean a regionally accredited
institution approved by the United States Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education.
(B) A master's
degree with a major in counseling shall consist of at least forty-eight (48)
semester hours or seventy-two (72) quarter hours.
(C) Any course offered primarily via
correspondence course, Internet (such as a chat room or discussion group),
electronic mail (email), or other delivery method or system, or whether by
audio or video tape, or any other form of communication that does not allow the
participants to interact verbally and visually, shall not be acceptable for
course work pursuant to
20 CSR
2095-2.010(4)(A)-(K) even if credit
is awarded by the educational institution and the offering appears on the
transcript.
1. For the purpose of this rule,
non-interactive communication shall be defined as those courses in which the
student has no means of simultaneously interacting with the course instructor
visually and verbally during the transmission of course information.
(D) Continuing education or work
experience shall not be considered as a form of graduate course work, even if
credit is awarded by the educational institution and the offering appears on
the transcript.
(2)
Pursuant to sections 337.510.1(1) and 337.520(1)5, RSMo, a course of study with
a major in counseling shall teach counseling principles, theories, techniques,
and counseling interventions and shall be defined as one (1) of the following:
(A) A graduate degree accredited by the
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
(CACREP), or its successor organization, or the Counseling on Rehabilitation
Education, Incorporated (CORE), or its successor organization;
(B) A graduate degree in counseling or
guidance and counseling; or
(C) A
graduate degree in counseling psychology, clinical psychology, or school
psychology that includes a three (3)-semester hour graduate course in each core
area as defined in
20 CSR 2095-2.010(4)(A)
through (J).
(3) An applicant with a master's degree that
is less than forty-eight (48) semester hours or seventy-two (72) quarter hours
may submit a written request to the committee to conduct an educational review
to determine compliance with
20 CSR 2095-2.010(2)(B)
or (C). To be licensed, the applicant shall
submit a written plan to the committee to obtain the required graduate course
work to meet the forty-eight (48) semester-hour or seventy-two (72)
quarter-hour and core course work requirements.
(4) The applicant shall have the burden of
demonstrating that the degree consisted of a course of study with a major in
counseling. If the applicant's transcript does not clearly delineate that the
degree consisted of a course of study with a major in counseling, the applicant
may be required to obtain a letter from the chair of the department of
counseling education, or other appropriate school official, stating that the
applicant has a master's, specialist, or doctoral degree consisting of a course
of study with a major in counseling. The letter shall be on official letterhead
of the college or university. The applicant may also be required to provide
evidence that the degree program included no less than one (1) three (3)
semester-hour or one (1) five (5) quarter-hour graduate course in each of the
following core areas:
(A) Counseling
Theory-Courses acceptable for this area shall cover the various major theories
and techniques of counseling; and
(B) Human Growth and Development- Courses
acceptable for this area shall cover various stages of the human growth cycle
and include information about theories of development or various aspects of
development; and
(C) Social and
Cultural Diversity-Courses acceptable for this area cover various cultural and
social class issues in areas such as race, sexual orientation, aging,
disability, socioeconomic, ethnic, gender related, or other issues of diversity
that emerge in a pluralistic society; and
(D) Helping Relationship-Courses acceptable
for this area cover theoretical foundations pertaining to professional skill
training that enable the counselor to understand the client's problems more
fully and accurately and to interview effectively; and
(E) Group Counseling-Courses acceptable for
this area cover the theories, principles, and techniques of providing
counseling or psychotherapy with groups of people; and
(F) Career Development-Courses acceptable for
this area cover concepts about how career development unfolds, the lifelong
processes, and the influences upon clients or patients that lead to work
values, occupational choice, creation of a career pattern, decision-making
style, integration of roles, issues concerning identity, and patterns of work
adjustment; and
(G)
Appraisal-Courses acceptable for this area cover structured and unstructured
assessment of the mental health functions and psychopathology of a person;
and
(H) Research Methods-Courses
acceptable for this area cover principles, methods, techniques, and tools used
in performing research in counseling; and
(I) Professional Orientation-Courses
acceptable for this area cover such areas as professionalism, legal issues and
responsibilities, ethics, fields of training, and practice specialization;
and
(J) Diagnosis-Courses
acceptable for this area provide an understanding and a working knowledge of
psychodiagnostics using classification systems with an emphasis on the current
edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Course content regarding the DSM must include understanding the organizational
structure, professional terminology used in the manual, and competence in its
application as it is used in the assessment process and subsequent treatment
planning; and
(K) At least six (6)
semester hours or nine (9) quarter hours of graduate level supervised
practicum, internship, or field experience in the practice of counseling.
1. Any practicum, internship, or field
experience shall be clearly delineated on the transcript with graduate level
credit and a passing grade.
(5) In determining whether a degree program
included no less than one (1) three (3) semester-hour or a five (5)
quarter-hour graduate course in a core area, the following shall apply:
(A) It shall be the applicant's
responsibility to document that the course was an in-depth study of a
particular core area through course descriptions from official school
catalogues, course syllabi, bulletins, or with written documentation from an
appropriate school official;
(B) A
seminar course shall be acceptable if the applicant is awarded a passing grade
and graduate credit is clearly delineated on the transcript;
(C) Reading courses or independent study
shall be submitted to the committee for review;
(D) Undergraduate course work shall not be in
compliance with core requirements unless graduate credit is clearly delineated
on the transcript;
(E) When
evaluating transcripts based upon a quarter-hour system, the committee shall
consider a quarter hour of graduate credit as two-thirds (2/3) of a semester
hour. A semester hour of graduate credit shall be defined as fifteen (15) clock
hours of regularly scheduled classroom study; and
(F) No more than six (6) semester hours or
nine (9) quarter hours in seminar course work or independent study shall be
applicable to the total number of hours of graduate study comprising a course
of study with a major in counseling.
(6) Upon receipt of official educational
transcripts from the college or university and/or information relating to the
program, and upon payment of the fee for an educational review as defined in 20
CSR 2095-1.040(1), the committee will review education credentials or a
proposed plan for obtaining the appropriate education in compliance with these
rules. All information shall be submitted to the committee no later than thirty
(30) days prior to the next regularly scheduled committee meeting. Information
received fewer than thirty (30) days before a committee meeting may be reviewed
at the committee's discretion.
(7)
Graduate course work consisting of a course of study with a major in counseling
and from a school, college, university, or other institution of higher learning
outside of the United States, may be considered in compliance with these rules
if, at the time the school, college, university, or other institution of higher
learning where the applicant was enrolled or graduated, maintained a standard
of training substantially equivalent to the standards of training of those
institutions accredited by one of the regional accredited commissions
recognized by the United States Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education. The committee shall determine if the standard of training was
substantially the same as those institutions accredited by one (1) of the
regional accrediting commissions recognized by the United States Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education.
(A) It
shall be the applicant's responsibility to document that the course work
consisted of a course of study with a major in counseling, is substantially the
same as those institutions accredited by one (1) of the regional accrediting
commissions recognized by the United States Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education through course descriptions from official school
catalogues, course syllabi, bulletins, or with written documentation from an
appropriate school official explaining how the course was an in-depth study of
a particular core area as defined in subsections (4)(A)-(K).
*Original authority: 337.510, RSMo 1985, amended 1989,
1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 337.520, RSMo 1985, amended 1989, 1993,
1995.
