§185. Unlicensed counseling

            A. No person shall hold himself out to be a counselor with a specific specialty to provide mental health or substance-related or addictive disorder treatment services, or attempt to provide counseling services in this state, and receive fees either from the patient or a third party, unless he is authorized to practice in the specific specialty area by the appropriate state or regulatory authority.

            B. Any person found to be in violation of this Section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

            C. All persons found to be in violation of this Section shall be reported to the Louisiana Department of Health, where a database shall be kept of all violators.

            Acts 2006, No. 612, §1; Acts 2017, No. 369, §2; Acts 2018, No. 206, §1.