Licensed Professional Counselor
Wednesday, 11. April 2012
Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed Professional Counselor (or LPC) is a licensing for the mental health professionals. The title is also known as Licensed Mental Health Counselor (or LMHC). Both the terminologies are widely used in the U.S. states including Maine, Illinois and Tennessee where a two-tier system has been adopted and both these terminologies – LPC and LMHC are in use. Also, in these states, the mental health professionals who belong to a higher tier have the privilege of practicing independently. However, in most of the other states, the LPCs or LMHCs can practice independently. In the United States, the Licensed Professional Counselors can be categorized into six types who provide psychotherapy.
Eligibility
In the United States, a candidate is given license as a Licensed Professional Counselor at the state level and the minimum eligibility is master’s degree in counseling or any related field.
Besides this educational qualification, the LPCs are also required to obtain a supervised clinical experience. This apart, they also have to undergo and qualify a state licensing exam which comprises the following: