Prerequisites for licensure by examination. Every applicant for licensure examination by the board shall: 1. Meet the degree program requirements prescribed in 18VAC115-20-49, the course work requirements prescribed in 18VAC115-20-50 or 18VAC115-20-51, and the experience requirements prescribed in 18VAC115-20-52; and 2. Submit the following to the board: a. A completed application; b. Official transcripts documenting the applicant's completion of the degree program and coursework requirements prescribed in 18VAC115-20-49 and 18VAC115-20-50 or 18VAC115-20-51; c. Verification of Supervision forms documenting fulfillment of the experience requirements of 18VAC115-20-52 and copies of all required evaluation forms; d. Documentation of any other professional license or certificate ever held in another jurisdiction; and e. The application processing and initial licensure fee. 18VAC115-20-45. Prerequisites for licensure by endorsement. A. Every applicant for licensure by endorsement shall submit the following: 1. A completed application; 2. The application processing fee; 3. Verification of all professional licenses or certificates ever held in any other jurisdiction. In order to qualify for endorsement the applicant shall have no unresolved action against a license or certificate. The board will consider history of disciplinary action on a case-by-case basis; 4. Documentation of having completed education and experience requirements as specified in subsection B of this section; 5. Verification of a passing score on a licensure examination in the jurisdiction in which licensure was obtained; and 6. An affidavit of having read and understood the regulations and laws governing the practice of professional counseling in Virginia. B. Every applicant for licensure by endorsement shall meet one of the following: 1. Educational requirements consistent with those specified in 18VAC115-20-49 and 18VAC115-20-51 and experience requirements consistent with those specified in 18VAC115-20-52; or 2. If an applicant does not have educational and experience credentials consistent with those required by this chapter, he shall provide: a. Documentation of education and supervised experience that met the requirements of the jurisdiction in which he was initially licensed as verified by an official transcript and a certified copy of the original application materials; and b. Evidence of post-licensure clinical practice for five of the last six years immediately preceding his licensure application in Virginia. 3. In lieu of transcripts verifying education and documentation verifying supervised experience, the board may accept verification from the credentials registry of the American Association of State Counseling Boards or any other board-recognized entity. 18VAC115-20-49. Degree program requirements. A. Programs that are approved by CACREP or CORE are recognized as meeting the definition of graduate degree programs that prepare individuals to practice counseling and counseling treatment intervention as defined in _x0015_54.1-3500 of the Code of Virginia. B. The applicant shall have completed a graduate degree from a program that prepares individuals to practice counseling and counseling treatment intervention, as defined in _x0015_54.1-3500 of the Code of Virginia, which is offered by a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting agency and which meets the following criteria: 1. There must be a sequence of academic study with the expressed intent to prepare counselors as documented by the institution; 2. There must be an identifiable counselor training faculty and an identifiable body of students who complete that sequence of academic study; and 3. The academic unit must have clear authority and primary responsibility for the core and specialty areas. 18VAC115-20-50. (Expired.) 18VAC115-20-51. Coursework requirements. A. The applicant shall have completed 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of graduate study in the following core areas with a minimum of three semester hours or 4.0 quarter hours in each of the areas identified in subdivisions 1 through 12 of this subsection: 1. Professional identity, function and ethics; 2. Theories of counseling and psychotherapy; 3. Counseling and psychotherapy techniques; 4. Human growth and development; 5. Group counseling and psychotherapy, theories and techniques; 6. Career counseling and development theories and techniques; 7. Appraisal, evaluation and diagnostic procedures; 8. Abnormal behavior and psychopathology; 9. Multicultural counseling, theories and techniques; 10. Research; 11. Diagnosis and treatment of addictive disorders; 12. Marriage and family systems theory; and 13. Supervised internship of 600 hours to include 240 hours of face-to-face client contact. B. If 60 graduate hours in counseling were completed prior to April 12, 2000, the board may accept those hours if they meet the regulations in effect at the time the 60 hours were completed. 18VAC115-20-52. Residency. A. Registration. 1. Applicants who render counseling services shall: a. With their supervisor, register their supervisory contract on the appropriate forms for board approval before starting to practice under supervision; b. Have submitted an official transcript documenting a graduate degree as specified in 18VAC115-20-49 to include completion of the internship requirement specified in 18VAC115-20-50 or 18VAC115-20-51; and c. Pay the registration fee. 2. After September 3, 2008, applicants who are beginning their residencies in exempt settings shall register supervision with the board to assure acceptability at the time of application. B. Residency requirements. 1. The applicant for licensure shall have completed a 4,000-hour supervised residency in counseling practice with various populations, clinical problems and theoretical approaches in the following areas: a. Counseling and psychotherapy techniques; b. Appraisal, evaluation and diagnostic procedures; c. Treatment planning and implementation; d. Case management and recordkeeping; e. Professional identity and function; and f. Professional ethics and standards of practice. 2. The residency shall include a minimum of 200 hours of supervision between supervisor and resident occurring at a minimum of one hour and a maximum of four hours per 40 hours of work experience during the period of the residency. No more than half of these hours may be satisfied with group supervision. One hour of group supervision will be deemed equivalent to one hour of individual supervision. Supervision that is not concurrent with a residency will not be accepted, nor will residency hours be accrued in the absence of approved supervision. 3. The residency shall include 2,000 hours of face-to-face client contact. 4. A graduate-level internship completed in a program that meets the requirements set forth in 18VAC115-20-49 may count for no more than 600 hours of the required 4,000 hours of experience. The internship shall include 20 hours of individual on-site supervision, and 20 hours of individual or group off-site supervision. In order to count toward the residency, internship hours shall not begin until completion of 30 semester hours toward the graduate degree. 5. A graduate-level degree internship completed in a CACREP- ,CORE- or COAMFTE-approved program may count for no more than 900 of the required 4,000 hours of experience. 6. In order for any graduate-level internship to be counted toward a residency, either the clinical or faculty supervisor shall be licensed as set forth in subsection C of this section. 7. The board may consider special requests in the event that the regulations create an undue burden in regard to geography or disability which limits the resident's access to qualified supervision. 8. For applicants enrolled in an integrated course of study in an accredited institution leading to a graduate degree beyond the master's level, supervised experience may begin after the completion of 30 graduate semester hours or 45 graduate quarter hours, including an internship, and shall include graduate course work in the core areas as prescribed in 18VAC115-20-50 or 18VAC115-20-51. 9. Residents may not call themselves professional counselors, directly bill for services rendered, or in any way represent themselves as independent, autonomous practitioners or professional counselors. During the residency, residents shall use their names and the initials of their degree, and the title "Resident in Counseling" in all written communications. Clients shall be informed in writing of the resident's status and the supervisor's name, professional address, and phone number. 10. Residents shall not engage in practice under supervision in any areas for which they have not had appropriate education. General examination requirements; schedules; time limits. A. Every applicant for initial licensure by examination by the board as a professional counselor shall pass a written examination as prescribed by the board. B. Every applicant for licensure by endorsement shall have passed a licensure examination in the jurisdiction in which licensure was obtained. C. A candidate approved to sit for the examination shall take the examination within two years from the date of such initial approval. If the candidate has not taken the examination by the end of the two-year period here prescribed: 1. The initial approval to sit for the examination shall then become invalid; and 2. In order to be considered for the examination later, the applicant shall file a new application with the board. D. The board shall establish a passing score on the written examination.
