24 Del. Admin. Code § 3000-2.0

Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 7, January 1, 2025

Section 3000-2.0 - Licensure for Professional Counselors of Mental Health (LPCMH)

2.1 Graduate Transcript. The applicant's master's degree in Clinical Mental Health counseling shall be documented by an official transcript submitted directly to the Board by the accredited educational institution granting the degree. In cases where an applicant's master's degree required remediation by the certifying organization the completion date of remediation courses shall be considered the conferment date of the degree of record for all matters before the Board.

Applicants who did not obtain a degree in clinical mental health counseling must have completed a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours of coursework that encompasses the current Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards for a clinical mental health counseling program including the Clinical Mental Health Counseling specialty standards, practicum, and internship requirements. Applicants who did not obtain a degree in clinical mental health counseling must submit a course evaluation sheet with their application.

2.2 All applicants must have passed the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or other examination acceptable to the Board.

2.3 Professional Mental Health Counseling Experience. All applicants must provide documentation of 3,200 hours of supervised professional mental health counseling acceptable to the Board obtained over a period of not less than 2 years and not more than 4 years, at least 1,600 hours of which shall be supervised clinical experience acceptable to the Board. In order to be acceptable to the Board, the supervision must involve the provision of face-to-face professional mental health clinical counseling services with clients and other matters directly related to the treatment of clients, in a setting that is clearly designated to provide professional mental health clinical counseling services and is subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Face-to-face includes both in person and live video conferencing. Educational or guidance counseling is not considered clinical mental health counseling. However, professional counseling experience done under the auspices of a mental health organization providing contracting services to a school or school system may be acceptable to the Board.

2.4 Required Supervision Hours. Applicants must provide documentation of completion of 3,200 hours of mental health counseling services over a period of no less than 2 but no more than 4 consecutive years.

2.4.1 Of the required 3,200 hours of total experience, 1,600 hours must have been completed under the professional direct supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of subsections 2.5 - 2.5.3. Direct supervision acceptable to the Board shall mean supervision overseeing the supervisee's application of clinical counseling principles, methods or procedures to assist individuals in achieving more effective personal and social adjustment. The 1,600 hours of supervised clinical experience must be fulfilled as follows:

2.4.1.1 At least 1,500 of the 1,600 hours must be in the actual provision of face-to-face direct mental health counseling services. Of the 1,500 hours at least 750 of the hours must be individual face-to-face client sessions and must include the actual provision of direct mental health counseling services; the additional 750 hours may be individual, group, couple or family counseling services, or some combination of those services:

2.4.1.2 At least 100 hours must be face-to-face professional direct supervision with the applicant's supervisor.

2.4.1.2.1 Individual Direct Supervision. Individual supervision shall consist of one-to-one, face-to-face meetings between the supervisor and supervisee. The entire 100 hour requirement may be fulfilled by individual supervision.

2.4.1.2.2 Group Supervision. Group supervision shall consist of face-to-face meetings between the supervisor and no more than 6 supervisees. No more than 40 hours of group supervision shall be acceptable towards fulfillment of the 100 hour direct supervision requirement.

2.4.2 Hours completed under the supervision of an individual who does not meet the requirements of subsections 2.5 - 2.5.3 will not count towards the fulfillment of the 1,500 hours of supervised experience but may count towards the fulfillment of the 1,600 hours of experience not required to be a supervised.

2.4.3 Supervision shall be verified by the "Direct Supervision Reference Form," which must be submitted directly to the Board by the approved clinical supervisor. Each supervisor must affirm that the applicant is prepared to practice independently without reservations.

2.5 Acceptable Supervisors. Supervision provided by a Professional Counselor of Mental Health licensed in any state or U.S. territory is acceptable to the Board.

2.5.1 Supervision by a non-LPCMH may be approved by the Board if the applicant can establish that the supervision was provided by a licensed behavioral health professional with a specialty or expertise in a clinical competency essential to the applicant's training. The applicant must provide the Board a compelling clinical reason fur utilizing a non-LPCMH supervisor.

Examples of potentially acceptable licensed behavioral health professionals include licensed marriage and family therapists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, physicians, and advanced practice registered nurses.

2.5.2 If a proposed supervisor is not a professional licensed by the Delaware Board of Professional Counselors of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Counselors, the proposed supervisor must attest, on a form provided by the Board for this purpose, that the proposed supervisor has read and is familiar with the requirements for licensure in Delaware, including the applicable statutes, rules and regulations and that the proposed supervisor has the training to provide clinical supervision.

2.5.3 In addition to these requirements, the applicant's supervisor must:

2.5.3.1 Have been in practice for at least 2 years post-licensure without having been subject to any disciplinary actions;

2.5.3.2 Have obtained a minimum of 3 hours of CEs in clinical supervision within 2 years of the application or a total of 12 CEs in clinical supervision lifetime; and

2.5.3.3 Have no more than 10 total supervisees at a time.

2.5.4 An applicant is permitted to have been supervised by more than 1 supervisor.

2.6 Licensure by Reciprocity Requirements

2.6.1 Proof of Licensure Status - The applicant shall hold an active professional counseling license in good standing from another state. Verification of licensure status shall be submitted directly to the Board by that state on the "Verification of Licensure or Certification from Another State" form.

2.6.2 Notarized Statement of Prior Licensing Jurisdictions - The applicant shall submit a notarized statement listing all licensing jurisdictions in which he/she formerly practiced and a signed "Release of Information" granting the Board permission to contact said jurisdictions for verification of disciplinary history and current status.

2.6.3 Determination of Substantial Similarity of Licensing Standards - The applicant shall submit a copy of the statute and rules of licensure from the state issuing his/her license. The burden of proof is upon the applicant to demonstrate that the statute and rules of the licensing state are at least equivalent to the educational, experience and supervision requirements of this State. Based upon the information presented, the Board shall make a determination regarding whether the licensing requirements of the applicant's licensing state are substantially similar to those of Delaware.

2.7 Ethics - The practice of all persons licensed as LPCMHs shall conform to the principles of the National Board for Certified Counselors' Code of Ethics (Code). Violation of the Code shall constitute grounds for discipline.

24 Del. Admin. Code § 3000-2.0

4 DE Reg. 970 (12/01/00)
5 DE Reg. 2109 (05/01/02)
10 DE Reg. 872 (11/01/06)
11 DE Reg. 225 (08/01/07)
11 DE Reg. 1066 (02/01/08)
15 DE Reg. 1055 (01/01/12)
16 DE Reg. 105 (07/01/12)
17 DE Reg. 755 (1/1/2014)
18 DE Reg. 900 (5/1/2015)
18 DE Reg. 902 (5/1/2015)
20 DE Reg. 376 (11/1/2016)
22 DE Reg. 78 (7/1/2018)
28 DE Reg. 467 (12/1/2024) (Final)