§1107. Requirements for licensed professional counselor; provisional license; temporary license or temporary provisional license; renewal of license or temporary provisional license

            A. The board shall issue a license to each applicant who files an application upon a form and in such manner as the board prescribes, accompanied by such fee as required by R.S. 37:1106, and who furnishes satisfactory evidence to the board that he:

            (1) Is at least twenty-one years of age.

            (2) Is of good moral character.

            (3) Is not in violation of any of the provisions of this Chapter and the rules and regulations adopted hereunder.

            (4) Can document a minimum of three thousand hours of supervised experience during a minimum of two years of post-master's degree experience in professional mental health counseling under the supervision of a licensed professional counselor. Five hundred hours of supervised experience may be gained for each thirty graduate semester hours earned beyond the master's degree, provided that such hours are clearly related to the field of mental health counseling and are acceptable to the board, provided that in no case the applicant has less than two thousand hours of supervised experience.

            (5) Has declared special competencies and demonstrated professional competence therein by passing a written and, at the discretion of the board, an oral examination, as the board shall prescribe.

            (6)(a) Has received a graduate degree the substance of which is professional mental health counseling in content from a regionally accredited institution of higher education offering a graduate program in counseling that is approved by the board and has accumulated at least forty-eight graduate semester hours prior to September 1, 2015, and at least sixty graduate hours after September 1, 2015. All applicants shall complete a course in each of the eight required areas specified in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph and shall complete a supervised internship in mental health counseling as defined in the rules and regulations adopted by the board pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. Applicants may apply post-masters counseling courses towards licensure if their degree program consisted of less than sixty hours.

            (b) The following eight areas are required to have at least one semester course:

            (i) Counseling/theories of personality.

            (ii) Human growth and development.

            (iii) Abnormal behavior.

            (iv) Techniques of counseling.

            (v) Group dynamics, processes, and counseling.

            (vi) Lifestyle and career development.

            (vii) Appraisal of individuals.

            (viii) Ethics.

            (c) The following two areas are encouraged for inclusion in graduate training:

            (i) Substance abuse.

            (ii) Marriage and family studies.

            (d) Techniques of counseling.

            (e) Group dynamics, processes, and counseling.

            (f) Lifestyle and career development.

            (g) Appraisal of individuals.

            (h) Substance abuse.

            (i) Marriage and family studies.

            B. The board shall license to practice all persons who present satisfactory evidence of qualifications as specified in this Section and under provisions of the rules and regulations of the board. Such licensure shall be signed by the chairman and vice chairman of the board under the seal of the board.

            C. No license shall be denied any applicant based upon the applicant's race, religion, creed, national origin, sex, or physical impairment.

            D.(1) A licensed professional counselor shall renew his license every two years in the month of June by meeting the requirement that forty clock hours of continuing education be obtained prior to each renewal date every two years in an area of professional mental health counseling as approved by the board and by paying a renewal fee. The chairman shall issue a document renewing the license for a term of two years.

            (2) The license of any mental health counselor who fails to have his license renewed biannually during the month of June shall lapse; however, the failure to renew said license shall not deprive said counselor of the right of renewal thereafter. A lapsed license may be renewed within a period of two years after the expired renewal date upon payment of all fees in arrears and presentation of evidence of completion of the continuing education requirement. Application for renewal after two years from the date of expiration will not be considered for renewal; the individual must apply under the current licensure guidelines.

            E.(1) A licensed professional counselor engaging in the appraisal of individuals shall furnish satisfactory evidence of formal graduate training in statistics, sampling theory, test construction, test and measurements and individual differences. Formal training shall include a practicum and supervised practice with appraisal instruments.

            (2) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as authorizing persons licensed herein to use appraisal instruments, devices, or procedures for the purpose of treatment planning, diagnosis, classification, or description of mental and emotional disorders and disabilities, or of disorders of personality or behavior, which are outside the scope of this Chapter.

            F. The board may issue a provisional license as a provisional licensed professional counselor to an applicant who meets qualifications established by the board. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act establishing such qualifications and requirements for the issuance of a provisional license as necessary for the adequate protection of the health and welfare of the residents of this state. Such qualifications shall include, at a minimum, that the applicant shall be at least twenty-one years old, of good moral character, in compliance with all applicable provisions of law or board regulations, and possess a graduate degree the substance of which is mental health counseling.

            G.(1) Pending the results of the criminal history information inquiry, the board may issue a temporary license or a temporary provisional license authorizing the practice of mental health counseling, for a period of time not to exceed ninety calendar days from the date of issuance.

            (2) The board shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act establishing the necessary qualifications, requirements, and formalities for the issuance of such licenses as are necessary for the adequate protection of the health and welfare of the residents of this state.

            Acts 1987, No. 892, §1, eff. July 20, 1987; Acts 1993, No. 544, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1301, §1; Acts 1999, No. 72, §1; Acts 2011, No. 320, §1, eff. June 28, 2011; Acts 2013, No. 173, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2014; Acts 2014, No. 484, §1, eff. May 1, 2015.