Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule defines the requirements for
supervised counseling experience.
(1) As applied to periods of supervision
beginning on or after January 1, 1989, the phrase "acceptable supervised
counseling experience," as used in section
337.510(1),
RSMo, shall mean training in counseling as
defined in section
337.500(6) and (7),
RSMo, registered with and approved by the
committee and beginning after the graduate degree consisting of a course of
study with a major in counseling has been conferred. All educational
requirements as defined in sections (1) and (3) shall have been met before any
supervised counseling experience commences.
(A) For the purpose of provisional licensure
or licensure as a professional counselor, supervision shall be obtained from a
licensed professional counselor, licensed psychologist, or psychiatrist. For
the purpose of this regulation an inactive, provisional, expired, temporary,
retired, probated, or suspended license shall not meet this requirement. The
registered supervisor shall not be a relative of the applicant or have engaged
in the activities described in
20 CSR
2095-3.010(12)(A)-(F) during the
supervised counseling experience.
(B) For the purpose of this rule, a relative
of the applicant for supervision shall include but not be limited to a spouse,
parent, child, sibling, of the whole or half-blood, adopted sibling,
grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin, or one who is or has been related in the
first degree by marriage.
(2) The applicant shall obtain the
appropriate form for filing the application for registration of supervision by
writing to the Committee for Professional Counselors, PO Box 1335, Jefferson
City, MO 65102-1335, calling (573) 751-0018, sending a fax to (573) 751-0735,
or sending an email to profcoun-selors@pr.mo.gov. The TDD number is (800)
735-2996. The applicant shall submit to a background check and pay all
applicable fees pursuant to 20 CSR 2095-1.040.
(A) For the purpose of conducting a
background check, the applicant shall provide proof of submission of
fingerprints to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's approved vendor(s) for both
a Missouri State Highway Patrol and Federal Bureau of Investigation background
check. Proof shall consist of any documentation acceptable to the committee.
Any fees due for the background check shall be paid by the applicant directly
to the Missouri State Highway Patrol or its approved vendor(s).
(B) All proposed supervision arrangements
beginning on or after July 1, 1989, shall be approved by the committee. An
application for supervision or change of supervision shall not be considered as
officially filed with the committee unless it is typewritten or printed in
black ink, signed, accompanied by all documents required by the committee and
the applicant pays the required application fee. The effective or starting date
of supervision shall be the date the application is received in the committee's
office and contingent upon the committee's approval. Following the review of
the application for supervision by the committee, the applicant shall be
informed in writing of the committee's decision.
(C) The completed application for supervision
or change of supervision including all supporting material required by the
committee shall be received at least thirty (30) days before the meeting of the
committee. Applications received less than thirty (30) days before the next
regularly scheduled committee meeting may be reviewed at the committee's
discretion.
(3) To begin
supervised counseling experience, the applicant shall have a master's,
specialist, or doctoral degree in counseling or another mental health
discipline as defined in
20 CSR
2095-2.010(2) and have received
graduate credit for at least three (3) semester hours or five (5) quarter hours
in counseling theory as defined in
20 CSR
2095-2.010(4)(A) and at least two (2)
semester hours or four (4) quarter hours in supervised practicum as defined in
20 CSR
2095-2.010(3)(B) 1. The committee may
approve the applicant for supervision while the applicant completes core course
deficiencies. All core course deficiencies shall be completed prior to being
eligible for provisional licensure or licensure as a professional
counselor.
(4) An applicant
approved for supervision or provisional licensure based upon a master's degree
pursuant to section 337.510.1(c), RSMo, shall obtain, in no more than sixty
(60) calendar months:
(A) A minimum of three
thousand (3,000) total hours of supervised counseling experience. Hours may be
obtained on a part-time or full-time basis and the counselor-in-training or
provisional licensed professional counselor may receive reimbursement from the
employer or supervisor or provide therapeutic services on a voluntary basis;
and
(B) A minimum of twenty-four
(24) calendar months of continuous supervised counseling experience. The
counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor shall
obtain an average of at least fifteen (15) hours of supervised counseling
experience per week in order for the experience to be considered by the
committee. If a counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional
counselor is unable to obtain at least an average of fifteen (15) hours per
week, he/she must advise the committee in writing regarding the reason that
such hours cannot be obtained. The committee shall determine if such hours can
be acceptable for licensure.
(C) A
minimum of twelve hundred (1,200) hours of the three thousand (3,000) hours of
supervised counseling experience shall be direct client contact.
1. For the purpose of these regulations,
direct client contact shall be defined as face-to-face interaction between the
client/patient or group and the counselor-in-training or provisional licensed
professional counselor in the same room.
(5) An applicant approved for supervised
counseling experience based upon a specialist or doctoral degree in counseling
or other mental health discipline as defined in
20 CSR
2095-2.010(2) or based upon thirty
(30) hours of post master's course work in counseling or other mental health
discipline as defined in
20 CSR
2095-2.010(2) shall obtain, in no
more than thirty-six (36) calendar months:
(A) A minimum of fifteen hundred (1,500)
hours of supervised counseling experience. Hours may be obtained on a part-time
or fulltime basis and the counselor-in-training or provisional licensed
professional counselor may receive reimbursement from the employer or
supervisor or provide therapeutic services on a voluntary basis; and
(B) A minimum of twelve (12) calendar months
of supervised counseling experience. The counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor must obtain an average of at least fifteen (15)
hours of supervised counseling experience per week in order for the experience
to be considered by the committee. If a counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor is unable to obtain at least fifteen (15) hours
per week, s/he must advise the committee in writing regarding the reason that
such hours cannot be obtained. The committee shall determine if such hours can
be acceptable for licensure.
(C) A
minimum of six hundred (600) hours of supervised counseling experience shall be
direct client contact.
(6) The counselor-in-training, provisional
licensed professional counselor, and registered supervisor shall either be
employed at the same counseling setting or affiliated to the setting by
contract. A counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional
counselor shall not operate a private practice. An applicant may register
multiple counseling settings and register more than one (1) supervisor in
compliance with
20 CSR
2095-2.020 by submitting an application for
registering or changing supervision and paying the applicable fee as defined in
20 CSR 2095-1.020.
(A) A counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor may be employed at a licensee's private
practice. The counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional
counselor shall solicit therapeutic services according to the full order,
control, oversight, and guidance of the registered supervisor.
(B) Payment for counseling services provided
by a counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor shall
be made to the supervisor registered and approved by the committee or
organization employing or affiliated with the counselor-in-training or
provisional licensed professional counselor.
(7) A counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor shall receive at least one (1) hour of
face-to-face supervision per week from the registered supervisor. All
face-to-face supervision shall be included in the total number of supervised
experience hours required in this rule.
(A) A
minimum of two (2) weeks of each month shall consist of one (1) hour of
face-to-face per week supervision by the registered supervisor with the
counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor;
and
(B) A maximum of two (2) weeks
each month may consist of one (1) hour per week of group face-to-face
supervision facilitated by the registered supervisor and counselors-in-training
or provisional licensed professional counselors.
1. No more than three (3)
counselors-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselors may
participate in a group supervision session.
2. When there are more than three (3)
counselors-in-training, provisional licensed professional counselors, or other
professionals present the hour shall count toward the three thousand (3,000)
hours of supervision and shall not qualify for one (1) hour face-to-face
individual or group supervision.
(C) The use of electronic communication, to
include a cellular telephone or Internet, is not acceptable for meeting the
supervisory requirement of this rule unless the communication is
contemporaneously or simultaneously visually and verbally interactive between
the registered supervisor and counselor-in-training or provisional licensed
professional counselor.
(8) The supervised counseling experience
shall encompass those activities as defined within the scope of practice as
defined in section
337.500(6) and
(7), RSMo.
(A) The counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor shall provide services subject to the
registered supervisor's order, control, oversight, guidance, and full
professional responsibility.
(B)
The counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor shall
continue to receive supervision until licensed as a professional
counselor.
(9) A
counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor shall not
engage in marketing or advertising without including the name and license
number of the registered supervisor approved by the committee.
(10) A counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor shall document all treatment records or reports
by listing the name of the counselor-in-training or provisional licensed
professional counselor and the applicable credentials; the name of the
registered supervisor and the license number of the registered supervisor.
(A) A counselor-in-training may use the
acronym CIT for counselor-in-training and a provisional licensed professional
counselor may use PLPC. No other acronyms shall be acceptable for the
counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor.
(B) An example format to be used in
documenting treatment records and plans is as follows, Counselor Name,
CIT, PLPC, under the supervision of Supervisor Name, license number
000000.
(C) If the
registered supervisor is unable to sign the treatment records or reports, it
shall be acceptable to provide a brief, written memorandum or note to the file
that is signed by the registered supervisor indicating the information
regarding the client has been discussed with the counselor-in-training or the
provisional licensed professional counselor.
(11) A counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor shall comply with all laws and rules relating
to the practice of counseling and shall apply for licensure within thirty (30)
days of completing the supervised counseling experience. Any
counselor-in-training or provisional licensed professional counselor who fails
to apply within the thirty (30)-day time period is prohibited from practicing
counseling. If additional time is required to submit an application, the
applicant shall send a letter to the committee regarding the reason for
additional time and the committee shall advise the counselor-in-training or
provisional licensed professional counselor whether additional time is
approved.
(A) A counselor-in-training or
provisional licensed professional counselors may submit an application for
licensure up to thirty (30) days in advance of completing the required hours
and months of supervision. Applications received more than sixty (60) days in
advance of completion of the required hours and months of supervision shall be
rejected by the committee as untimely.
(12) A counselor-in-training or provisional
licensed professional counselor shall request and return a change of
supervision form within fifteen (15) working days of changing a counseling
setting or registered supervisor previously approved by the committee. The
change of supervision form shall be accompanied by the required fee as outlined
in 20 CSR
2095-1.020(1)(C) and shall be
considered effective upon receipt of the application in the committee office
and contingent upon approval by the committee. If the application for a change
in supervision is denied, the applicant shall be informed, in writing, of the
reason(s) for the denial.
(13) An
applicant may submit supervised experience obtained out of state from a
licensed professional counselor, licensed psychologist, or psychiatrist for
review by the committee. For the purpose of this regulation, an inactive,
provisional, expired, temporary, retired, probated, or suspended license shall
not meet this requirement.
(14) An
applicant may submit supervised experience obtained in a state that does not
have a counselor licensing law or from a state whose licensing laws are not
substantially the same as those of this state for review by the
committee.
*Original authority: 337.510, RSMo 1985, amended 1989,
1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 337.520, RSMo 1985, amended 1989, 1993,
1995.
