Counseling Licensure in Georgia
Georgia requires that counselors meet a specific series of metrics and conditions in order to obtain licensure as a counselor. There are two levels of licensure, the Associate Licensed Counselor which is the title required to complete your supervised work experience and the full licensed the Licensed Professional Counselor. You will want to review the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors website.
The order of operations to get your license to practice Counseling in Georgia is as follows:
- Earn your Master’s degree in Counseling from an accredited program.
- Complete an internship during your Master’s program.
- Apply to become an Associate Licensed Counselor.
- Complete the supervised experience portion.
- Apply for and take your National Counselor Examination (NCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).
- Apply for your Licensed Professional Counselor title.
Educational Requirements
Georgia law requires you meet the following requirements:
- Earn your Bachelor’s degree in Counseling or a related behavioral science such as Social Work, Human Services, Marriage and Family Therapy or Psychology.
- Get accepted to a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited Master of Counseling program or one that is accredited by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.
- You must meet six of the required course areas as described on the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors website which you can find here:
Internship
You must complete an internship during your Master’s program.
- Complete a 100 hour supervised work experience internship during your Graduate program.
Apply for the Associate Licensed Counselor Title
In order to begin accumulating supervised work experience, you will need to apply for your title.
- Apply with the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors to become an Associate Licensed Counselor.
- Pass a criminal background check.
- You can find the form here: http://sos.georgia.gov/cgi-bin/plbforms.asp?board=41
Supervised Experience
You must complete a number of years of supervised professional experience depending on your education.
- If you have a Master’s degree you must complete a four year internship as an Associate Licensed Counselor under the direction of a Licensed Professional Counselor.
- If you have completed an Internship this is reduced to three years.
- If you have a specialist in Counseling degree with an internship this is reduced to two years.
- If you have a Doctorate in Counseling you will only need to complete a one year internship as an Associate Licensed Counselor.
Apply for and Take Your Exam
After completing your supervised professional experience portion, you must now complete the exam portion of the requirements.
- You must apply with the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors (GBPC) to take your exam.
- You must take the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Mental Health Counselors Exam (NMHCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) and pass with a score acceptable to the GBPC.
Apply for Your License
After completing all of the above steps you are now ready to apply for your full license.
- You must apply with the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors (GBPC) for your title Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
- You must include all the relevant materials and verifications.
- You can find the form here: http://sos.georgia.gov/cgi-bin/plbforms.asp?board=41
Continuing Education
Once you have your LPC title, you will need to complete continuing education credits in order to maintain licensure.
- You must complete 35 hours of continuing education every two years.
- 5 hours must be in professional ethics.
- 15 hours in core classes for professional counseling.
- The remaining 15 can be for other job titles but must be relevant to mental health counseling.
You will always want to stay abreast of any significant changes to code or law by routinely visiting the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors website which you can find here: http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/counselors/