24.219.604    LCPC EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

(1) For the purpose of meeting the 3000-hour requirement of 37-23-202(1)(b), MCA, an applicant must provide verification of 3000 hours of counseling practice supervised by a qualified supervisor. "3000 hours" is defined as clock hours of experience working in a counseling setting. The hours shall have been completed in their entirety at the time of submission of the application.

(a) 1500 of these hours may be obtained prior to completion of the academic degree. This can include hours earned in practicums, internships and work sites approved by the program faculty.

(i) Exclusive of the advanced practicum requirement, the degree candidate shall receive one hour of face-to-face supervision and/or consultation for every 15 hours of work from a licensed mental health professional, a licensed member of the faculty staff or an on-site counseling professional deemed appropriate by the faculty staff.

(ii) Appropriate sites for this predegree counseling experience is left to the discretion of the counseling faculty of the institution offering the degree.

(iii) All treatment interventions and assessment results and interpretations shall be reviewed and approved by the supervisor or appropriate faculty prior to their use or implementation.

(b) At least 1500 hours must be obtained post-degree and after all of the academic requirements have been completed, which shall include at least:

(i) 1000 hours direct face-to-face client contact in a clinical setting. No more than 250 client contact hours of which may be in a group or co-facilitative counseling situation.

(ii) Clinical setting is defined as any public and/or private agency whose primary functions are:

(A) conducting psychosocial assessments and diagnoses for the purpose of establishing treatment goals and objectives;

(B) planning, implementing and evaluating treatment plans that use treatment interventions to facilitate human development and to identify and remediate mental, emotional or behavioral disorders and associated distresses that interfere with mental health, social functioning, or the functioning of established social units;

(C) selecting, administering, scoring, and interpreting psychosocial assessment instruments to assess personal characteristics and using nonstandardized methods and techniques for understanding human behavior in relation to coping with or adapting to changing life situations;

(D) implementing counseling treatment interventions using those cognitive, affective, behavioral sciences that are specifically implemented in the context of a therapeutic relationship; or

(E) evaluating information to identify needs or problems of an individual or social units to determine the advisability of referral to other specialists, informing the individual(s) of the judgment, and communicating as requested or considered appropriate with the referral sources. 

(c) All reports and/or assessment interpretations and results sent to other public or private agencies that affects the current social status of a client must be reviewed by and contain the approval and signature of the supervisor. These reports shall identify the supervisee's "in-training" nonlicensed status or identify that the supervisee is a professional counselor licensure candidate.

(d) All therapeutic interventions and the assessment results and interpretations used in the planning and/or implementation of those therapeutic interventions shall be reviewed and preapproved by the supervisor on a continual and ongoing basis.

(e) All professional communications, both private and public, including advertisements, shall clearly indicate the supervisee's "in-training" and nonlicensed status or indicate that the supervisee is a professional counselor licensure candidate.

(f) The applicant or licensure candidate must receive a minimum of one hour of face-to-face supervision and consultation for every 20 hours of work experience. No more than 80 hours of work experience may transpire without receiving the required hours of supervision and/or consultation. Less frequent supervision may take place only with prior approval of the licensure board. Any hours earned without appropriate supervision will not be counted towards licensure.

(2) Supervision guidelines are as follows:

(a) A supervisor must be a qualified supervisor.

(b) A supervision agreement shall be in writing and in a format approved by the board. The agreement shall include, but not be limited to:

(i) the applicant's or licensure candidate's and supervisor's names, signatures, and dates;

(ii) terms of the agreement including the duties of the applicant or candidate and supervisor, the obligations of the applicant or candidate and supervisor under this rule, frequency and method of supervision, duration and termination provisions; and

(iii) a statement of compliance with applicable patient privacy laws and the supervisor's qualifications.

(c) A supervisor's relationship with the applicant or licensure candidate shall not constitute a conflict of interest, such as, but not limited to, being in a cohabitation or financially dependent relationship with the applicant or licensure candidate, or being the applicant's or licensure candidate's parent, child, spouse, or sibling.

(d) A record of supervision must be maintained by the applicant or licensure candidate and may be requested by the board in its review of the application. The record of supervision must include:

(i) date and length of supervision in increments not less than 15 minutes;

(ii) names of applicant or licensure candidate, supervisor (including type of license and number), and signatures of both;

(iii) content summary (excluding confidential information);

(iv) evidence of the applicant's or licensure candidate's minimal competencies in the areas of an identified theory base, application of a differential diagnosis, establishing and monitoring a treatment plan, development and appropriate use of the professional relationship, assessing the client for risk of imminent danger, and implementing a professional and ethical relationship with clients and colleagues;

(v) content demonstrating the applicant's or licensure candidate's developing competence in the areas identified in; and

(vi) attestation of the record of supervision by the supervisor. Falsification or misrepresentation of the record of supervision shall be considered unprofessional conduct and may result in discipline of the supervisor's license.

(e) A supervisor must attest to the above under penalty of law. Falsification or misrepresentation of any of the above may be considered misrepresentation and a violation of professional ethics, which may result in discipline of the supervisor's license.

History: 37-1-131, 37-22-201, MCA; IMP, 37-1-131, 37-23-202, MCA; NEW, 1986 MAR p. 662, Eff. 4/25/86; AMD, 1989 MAR p. 319, Eff. 2/24/89; AMD, 1993 MAR p. 1325, Eff. 6/25/93; AMD, 1994 MAR p. 26, Eff. 12/24/93; AMD, 1997 MAR p. 986, Eff. 6/3/97; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 558, Eff. 4/6/01; AMD, 2003 MAR p. 14, Eff. 10/18/02; TRANS, from Commerce, 2004 MAR p. 1477; AMD, 2009 MAR p. 2158, Eff. 11/13/09; AMD, 2016 MAR p. 221, Eff. 2/6/16.