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Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 4999.46

Licensure

Redline — January 1, 2011 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2021
As of January 1, 2011
(a) To qualify for the licensure examinations specified in subdivision (c) of Section 4999.52, applicants shall complete clinical mental health experience under the general supervision of an approved supervisor as defined in Section 4999.12.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), all applicants shall have an active associate registration with the board in order to gain postdegree hours of supervised experience.
(b) (1) Postdegree hours of experience gained before the issuance of an associate registration shall be credited toward licensure if all of the following apply:
(A) The registration applicant applies for the associate registration and the board receives the application within 90 days of the granting of the qualifying master’s degree or doctoral degree.
(B) For applicants completing graduate study on or after January 1, 2020, the experience is obtained at a workplace that, prior to the registration applicant gaining supervised experience hours, requires completed Live Scan fingerprinting. The applicant shall provide the board with a copy of that completed State of California “Request for Live Scan Service” form with their application for licensure.
(C) The board subsequently grants the associate registration.
(2) The applicant shall not be employed or volunteer in a private practice or a professional corporation until they have been issued an associate registration by the board.
(b) The experience shall include a minimum of 3,000 postdegree hours of supervised clinical mental health experience related to the practice of professional clinical counseling, performed over a period of not less than two years (104 weeks), which shall include: (1) Not more than 40 hours in any seven consecutive days. (2) Not less than 1,750 hours of direct counseling with individuals or groups in a setting described in Section 4999.44 using a variety of psychotherapeutic techniques and recognized counseling interventions within the scope of practice of licensed professional clinical counselors. (3) Not more than 500 hours of experience providing group therapy or group counseling. (4) Not more than 250 hours of experience providing counseling or crisis counseling on the telephone. (5) Not less than 150 hours of clinical experience in a hospital or community mental health setting. (6) Not more than a combined total of 1,250 hours of experience in the following related activities: (A) Direct supervisor contact. (B) Client centered advocacy. (C) Not more than 250 hours of experience administering tests and evaluating psychological tests of clients, writing clinical reports, writing progress notes, or writing process notes. (D) Not more than 250 hours of verified attendance at workshops, training sessions, or conferences directly related to professional clinical counseling that are approved by the applicant’s supervisor.
(c) Supervised experience that is obtained for the purposes of qualifying for licensure shall be related to the practice of professional clinical counseling and comply with the following: (1) A minimum of 3,000 postdegree hours performed over a period of not less than two years (104 weeks). (2) Not more than 40 hours in any seven consecutive days. (3) Not less than 1,750 hours of direct clinical counseling with individuals, groups, couples, or families using a variety of psychotherapeutic techniques and recognized counseling interventions. (4) A maximum of 1,250 hours of nonclinical practice, consisting of direct supervisor contact, administering and evaluating psychological tests, writing clinical reports, writing progress or process notes, client-centered advocacy, and workshops, seminars, training sessions, or conferences directly related to professional clinical counseling that have been approved by the applicant’s supervisor. (5) A maximum of 1,200 hours gained under the supervision of a licensed educational psychologist providing educationally related mental health services that are consistent with the scope of practice of an educational psychologist, as specified in Section 4989.14.
(d) An individual who submits an application for licensure between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020, may alternatively qualify under the experience requirements of this section that were in place on January 1, 2015.
(c) No hours of clinical mental health experience may be gained more than six years prior to the date the application for examination eligibility was filed.
(e) Experience hours shall not have been gained more than six years prior to the date the application for licensure was received by the board.
(d) An applicant shall register with the board as an intern in order to be credited for postdegree hours of experience toward licensure. Postdegree hours of experience shall be credited toward licensure, provided that the applicant applies for intern registration within 90 days of the granting of the qualifying degree and is registered as an intern by the board.
(e) All applicants and interns shall be at all times under the supervision of a supervisor who shall be responsible for ensuring that the extent, kind, and quality of counseling performed is consistent with the training and experience of the person being supervised, and who shall be responsible to the board for compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations governing the practice of professional clinical counseling.
(f) Experience obtained under the supervision of a spouse or relative by blood or marriage shall not be credited toward the required hours of supervised experience. Experience obtained under the supervision of a supervisor with whom the applicant has had or currently has a personal, professional, or business relationship that undermines the authority or effectiveness of the supervision shall not be credited toward the required hours of supervised experience.
(g) Supervision shall include at least one hour of direct supervisor contact in each week for which experience is credited in each work setting.
(1) No more than five hours of supervision, whether individual or group, shall be credited during any single week.
(2) An intern shall receive at least one additional hour of direct supervisor contact for every week in which more than 10 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy is performed in each setting in which experience is gained.
(3) For purposes of this section, “one hour of direct supervisor contact” means one hour of face-to-face contact on an individual basis or two hours of face-to-face contact in a group of not more than eight persons in segments lasting no less than one continuous hour.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), an intern working in a governmental entity, a school, a college, or a university, or an institution that is both nonprofit and charitable, may obtain the required weekly direct supervisor contact via two-way, real-time videoconferencing. The supervisor shall be responsible for ensuring that client confidentiality is upheld.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date.

Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.