(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, an applicant for a license as a professional counselor shall, prior to January 1, 2019, submit evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of having: (A) Completed sixty graduate semester hours in or related to the discipline of counseling at a regionally accredited institution of higher education, that included coursework in each of the following areas: (i) Human growth and development, (ii) social and cultural foundations, (iii) counseling theories and techniques or helping relationships, (iv) group dynamics, (v) processing and counseling, (vi) career and lifestyle development, (vii) appraisals or tests and measurements for individuals and groups, (viii) research and evaluation, and (ix) professional orientation to counseling; (B) earned, from a regionally accredited institution of higher education a master’s or doctoral degree in social work, marriage and family therapy, counseling, psychology or a related mental health field; (C) acquired three thousand hours of postgraduate-degree-supervised experience in the practice of professional counseling, performed over a period of not less than one year, that included a minimum of one hundred hours of direct supervision by (i) a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 who has obtained certification in psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, (ii) a psychologist licensed pursuant to chapter 383, (iii) an advanced practice registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378 and certified as a clinical specialist in adult psychiatric and mental health nursing with the American Nurses Credentialing Center, (iv) a marital and family therapist licensed pursuant to chapter 383a, (v) a clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 383b, (vi) a professional counselor licensed, or prior to October 1, 1998, eligible for licensure, pursuant to section 20-195cc, or (vii) a physician certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, psychologist, advanced practice registered nurse certified as a clinical specialist in adult psychiatric and mental health nursing with the American Nurses Credentialing Center, marital and family therapist, clinical social worker or professional counselor licensed or certified as such or as a person entitled to perform similar services, under a different designation, in another state or jurisdiction whose requirements for practicing in such capacity are substantially similar to or higher than those of this state; and (D) passed an examination prescribed by the commissioner. Any such applicant who, on or before July 1, 2017, is a matriculating student in good standing in a graduate degree program at a regionally accredited institution of higher education in one of the fields required under subparagraph (B) of this subdivision on or before July 1, 2017, but who cannot reasonably complete the requirements set forth in this subdivision prior to January 1, 2019, as determined by the commissioner, may apply for a license under this subdivision on and after January 1, 2019.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, an applicant for a license as a professional counselor shall, on and after January 1, 2019, submit evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of having: (A) (i) Earned a graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling as part of a program of higher learning accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, or a successor organization, or (ii) (I) completed at least sixty graduate semester hours in counseling or a related mental health field at a regionally accredited institution of higher education that included coursework in each of the following areas: Human growth and development; social and cultural foundations; counseling theories; counseling techniques; group counseling; career counseling; appraisals or tests and measurements to individuals and groups; research and evaluation; professional orientation to mental health counseling; addiction and substance abuse counseling; trauma and crisis counseling; and diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders, (II) earned from a regionally accredited institution of higher education a graduate degree in counseling or a related mental health field, (III) completed a one-hundred-hour practicum in counseling taught by a faculty member licensed or certified as a professional counselor or its equivalent in another state, and (IV) completed a six-hundred-hour clinical mental health counseling internship taught by a faculty member licensed or certified as a professional counselor or its equivalent in another state; (B) acquired three thousand hours of postgraduate experience under professional supervision, including a minimum of one hundred hours of direct professional supervision, in the practice of professional counseling, performed over a period of not less than two years; and (C) passed an examination prescribed by the commissioner.

(b) An applicant for licensure by endorsement shall present evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that the applicant is licensed or certified as a professional counselor, or as a person entitled to perform similar services under a different designation, in another state or jurisdiction whose requirements for practicing in such capacity are substantially similar to or higher than those of this state and that there are no disciplinary actions or unresolved complaints pending.

(c) An applicant who is licensed or certified as a professional counselor or its equivalent in another state, territory or commonwealth of the United States may substitute three years of licensed or certified work experience in the practice of professional counseling in lieu of the requirements of subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, or subparagraph (B) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, as applicable, provided the commissioner finds that such experience is equal to or greater than the requirements of this state.

(P.A. 97-311, S. 4; P.A. 98-43, S. 2; P.A. 99-126, S. 4, 5; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4, S. 14, 58; P.A. 02-89, S. 47; P.A. 06-195, S. 48; P.A. 07-252, S. 47; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 67; P.A. 14-231, S. 35; P.A. 17-94, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 98-43 inserted reference to subsection (b) in Subsec. (a) and deleted reference to “January 1, 1999”, modified degree requirements in Subsec. (a)(1)(A), divided Subsec. (a)(2) into subparagraphs, added Subparas. (C) and (G), added “or prior to October 1, 1998, eligible for licensure” in new Subpara. (F), changed “Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, prior to January 1, 1999” to “Prior to July 1, 1999” in Subsec. (b), changed “shall” to “may, in lieu of the requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this section” in Subsec. (b), changed practice requirement in Subsec. (b)(2) from two years “immediately preceding October 1, 1997” to two years “within a five-year period immediately preceding application” and made gender-neutral technical changes in Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c); P.A. 99-126 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting requirement of completion of an examination prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Health, effective June 8, 1999; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4 amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), designating existing Subdivs. (1) and (2) therein as Subparas. (A) and (B), and adding new Subdiv. (2) re license requirements in lieu of Subsec. (a) prior to December 30, 2001, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 02-89 deleted as obsolete Subsec. (b)(1) authorizing an applicant in lieu of the requirements of Subsec. (a) to submit prior to July 1, 1999, satisfactory evidence of earning any of certain educational degrees, practicing professional counseling for a minimum of two years in the preceding five years and passing an examination prescribed by the commissioner and redesignated existing Subsec. (b)(2) as Subsec. (b); P.A. 06-195 amended Subsec. (a) to modify degree requirements in Subdiv. (1) and newly designated Subdiv. (2)(A) to (C), inclusive, to allow for master’s, sixth-year and doctoral degree work in a discipline related to counseling, rather than professional counseling, and renumber existing Subdivs. (2) and (3) as Subdivs. (3) and (4), respectively; P.A. 07-252 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting references to National Board for Certified Counselors, modifying coursework and degree requirements in Subdivs. (1) and (2), including deletion of requirement re 42 graduate semester hours for master’s degree work, and making conforming changes, effective July 12, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to eliminate requirement that applicant have a sixth-year degree in the discipline of counseling, effective October 6, 2007; P.A. 14-231 deleted former Subsec. (b) re applicant for a license prior to December 30, 2001, redesignated existing Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (b) and added new Subsec. (c) re applicant currently licensed or certified in another state, territory or commonwealth may substitute work experience; P.A. 17-94 amended Subsec. (a) by designating provisions re evidence to be submitted by applicant for license as professional counselor prior to January 1, 2019 as new Subdiv. (1), redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as new Subparas. (A) to (D), adding provision re applicant who is matriculating student on or before July 1, 2017, adding new Subdiv. (2) re evidence to be submitted by applicant for license as professional counselor on and after January 1, 2019, amended Subsec. (c) by replacing reference to Subdiv. (3) with references to Subsec. (a)(1)(C) and (a)(2)(B), and adding “as applicable”, and made technical and conforming changes.