P.R. Laws tit. 20, § 3247
The Board shall issue a license as professional counselor to the person who presents an application in the form and manner established by the Board through regulations, and that meets the requirements established in this chapter, that are:
(a) Be of legal age, under the provisions of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico.
(b) Be a legal resident of Puerto Rico.
(c) Have not committed a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, which shall be evidenced by a negative certificate of penal record issued by the Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police.
(d) Has paid to the Department of the Treasury the fees established by regulations, for the granting of such license.
(e) State under oath that he/she is committed to comply with the Code of Ethics established by the Board through regulations for the practice of professional counselors.
(f) Has obtained as minimum training a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling or a Master’s Degree in Counseling. Any of these degrees should have been obtained from an institution accredited by the Council on Higher Education of Puerto Rico (CHE) or from an institution of another state or country whose degree is validated by the CHE, which includes courses whose content, combined with practice or internship, covers eight (8) out of ten (10) of the following ten (10) areas of theory:
(1) Basic counseling theory
(2) Assistance process
(3) Human development and dysfunctional behavior
(4) Occupational development
(5) Group counseling process
(6) Assistance and evaluation
(7) Social and cultural grounds
(8) Theory and practice of investigation
(9) Ethical and professional issues
(10) Consulting
It shall be the duty of the candidate to specify to the Board his/her area of specialization in counseling, if any. For the purposes of this subsection, it shall be the duty of the Board to establish through regulations, the necessary procedures and requirements that the candidate must meet for the recognition of said specialty.
(g) Has demonstrated his/her knowledge of the professional field by passing the written examination administered and required by the Examining Board. However, the Examining Board shall authorize administering the written examination to candidates to obtain the Master’s Degree required by this chapter, subject to the regulations established thereby.
(h) That upon the approval of the examination required in subsection (g) of this section he/she has completed a minimum of five hundred (500) hours of practice supervised by a certified mentor.
History —Aug. 9, 2002, No. 147, § 8.