Notwithstanding subsection 36-32-65(2)(b), the board may issue a license as a professional counselor--mental health to an applicant who has received a master's or a doctoral degree, consisting of less than sixty credit hours but no less than forty-eight credit hours in counseling, if the applicant otherwise satisfies the requirements for licensure in § 36-32-65.
An applicant who is issued a license as a professional counselor--mental health under this section is not eligible to participate in the counseling licensure compact adopted by § 36-32A-2.