Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0450 - Counselors and Marital/Family Therapists
Chapter 0450-01 - General Rules Governing Professional Counselors
Section 0450-01-.04 - QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE
Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 0450-01-.04
Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Professional Counselor by Examination. To be eligible to submit an application, a candidate must show completion of the following qualifications:
(a) Be at least 18 years of age.
(b) Must provide evidence that he is highly
regarded in moral character and professional ethics (rule
0450-01-.05).
(c) Education. The
educational requirements must be completed prior to the date of application.
1. Sixty (60) graduate semester hours, based
upon a program of studies with a major in counseling, completed from an
institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the
Counsel for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, or a
comparable accrediting body.
2. The
graduate coursework should include, but is not limited to, core areas of (one
course may satisfy study in more than one of the study areas):
(i) Theories of human behavior, learning and
personality;
(ii) Abnormal
behavior;
(iii) Theories of
counseling and psychotherapy;
(iv)
Evaluation and appraisal procedures;
(v) Group dynamics, theories and
techniques;
(vi) Counseling
techniques;
(vii) Multicultural
counseling;
(viii)
Ethics;
(ix) Research;
(x) Clinical practicum or internship
(pursuant to T.C.A. §
63-22-104)
(d) A minimum of two (2) years of
supervised post master professional experience consisting of not less than ten
(10) hours per week and fifty (50) contact hours of supervision per year as
defined by Rule 0450-01-.10 (1).
(e) Pass the examination pursuant to rule
0450-01-.08.
(f) Until receipt of a
license to practice as a Professional Counselor, an applicant will be required
to practice under supervision, pursuant to Rule 0450-01-.10.
(2) Upgrading from Certified Professional Counselor Status to Licensed Professional Counselor Status
(a) Individuals certified on July 1, 1991, as
professional counselors may upgrade from certification to licensure by any of
the following methods:
1. Providing a copy of
his current CPC renewal certificate and verification to the board's
satisfaction, that he has had five years work experience, pursuant to rule
0450-01-.14, as a certified professional counselor.
2. Providing a copy of his current CPC
renewal certificate and evidence that he has been certified by the
NBCC.
3. Providing a copy of his
current CPC renewal certificate and complying with the requirements pursuant to
rule 0450-01-.04(1).
(b)
Upgrading from Certified Associate Professional Counselor Status to Licensed
Professional Counselor Status
1. Any person
certified as an Associate Counselor on July 1, 1991, shall be deemed to be a
Certified Professional Counselor, but only for the purpose of upgrading to
Licensed Professional Counselor.
2.
For the purpose of upgrading to Licensed Professional Counselor from Certified
Associate Counselor, the board will accept a passing score on the PES
examination, which was previously required for Associate Professional
Counselors, as fulfilling the requirement of 0450-01-.08.
(3) Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) by Reciprocity. Individuals seeking licensure by reciprocity must meet the following qualifications:
(a)
Hold a current, undisciplined, professional counselor or equivalent license
from another state of the United States which has entered into a mutual
reciprocity agreement with the Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors,
Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical Pastoral Therapists.
(b) Provide evidence that he or she is highly
regarded in moral character and professional ethics.
(c) Pass the Tennessee Jurisprudence
Examination pursuant to rule 0450-01-.08.
(4) Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Services Provider designation (LPC/MHSP). To be eligible to submit an application, a candidate must show completion of the following qualifications:
(a) Be at least 18 years of
age.
(b) Provide evidence that he
or she is highly regarded in moral character and professional ethics.
(c) Education. The educational requirements
must be completed prior to the date of application.
1. Sixty (60) graduate semester hours, based
upon a program of studies with a major in counseling, completed from an
institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the
Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs,
or a comparable accrediting body;
2. The graduate coursework should include,
but is not limited to, the following core areas (one course may satisfy study
in more than one of the study areas):
(i)
Theories of human behavior, learning and personality;
(ii) Abnormal behavior;
(iii) Theories of counseling and
psychotherapy;
(iv) Evaluation and
appraisal procedures;
(v) Group
dynamics, theories and techniques;
(vi) Counseling techniques;
(vii) Multicultural counseling;
(viii) Ethics;
(ix) Research;
(x) Clinical practicum or internship
(pursuant to T.C.A. §
63-22-104);
(xi) Use of the DSM;
(xii) Treatment and treatment
planning
3. Pursuant to
T.C.A. §
63-22-120, a minimum of nine (9)
graduate semester hours of coursework must be "specifically related to
diagnosis, treatment, appraisal and assessment of mental disorders." This will
be interpreted to mean passing nine (9) semester hours, either during the
course of a graduate degree or as postgraduate work, in courses in which
diagnosis, treatment and treatment planning, appraisal and assessment of mental
disorders, psychopathology, and the use of the DSM were the entire focus of the
course or comprised a substantial portion of the course work.
(d) Meet the following
requirements for post-masters professional experience:
1. Complete three thousand (3000) hours of
supervised post-masters professional experience, including one hundred and
fifty (150) contact hours of supervision obtained pursuant to Rule
0450-01-.10(6).
(i) One thousand and five
hundred (1500) of the three thousand (3000) hours of supervised post-masters
professional experience shall be face-to-face client contact hours.
(ii) One thousand and five hundred (1500) of
the three thousand (3000) hours of supervised post-masters professional
experience shall be clinically-related activities;
(e) Pass the National Counselors
Examination, the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination, and
the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam pursuant to Rule 0450-01-.08.
(5) Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Service Provider designation (LPC/MHSP), by reciprocity. Individuals seeking licensure by reciprocity as LPC/MHSPs must meet the following qualifications.
(a) Hold a
current, undisciplined, professional counselor license with a Mental Health
Service Provider designation, or its equivalent, from another state of the
United States which has entered into a mutual reciprocity agreement with the
Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and
Clinical Pastoral Therapists.
(b)
Provide evidence that he or she is highly regarded in moral character and
professional ethics.
(c) Pass the
Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination pursuant to rule 0450-01-.08.
(6) Temporarily Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Service Provider designation.
(a) A temporary license may be issued by the
Board for an applicant for licensed professional counselor designated as a
mental health service provider who has:
1.
Completed the academic course work and training (except for the required
supervised professional experience) required for the license; and
2. Successfully passed the National Counselor
Examination.
(b) A
temporary license obtained pursuant to this section authorizes an applicant to
perform the functions specified in T.C.A. §63-22-150(5),
while working under the supervision of an approved supervisor.
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 63-22-102, 63-22-104, 63-22-107, 63-22-116, 63-22-120, 63-22,121, 63-22-150, and Public Chapter 318, Acts of 1995.
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