NCBLPC - NC Board of Licensed Professional Counselors

Supervision Information

Supervision as defined by NC Law:
.0205 COUNSELING EXPERIENCE
Counseling [counseling services as defined in G.S. 90-330(a)(3)] experience applicable to the experience requirement for licensure consists of a minimum of 2000 hours of supervised professional practice. No more than 750 hours may be obtained as part of the master's degree. The remaining 1250 hours must be obtained after the master's degree has been awarded. The post-master's experience shall be for a period of at least two years. To be applicable, experience shall be gained at a rate of not less than eight hours per week. At least 100 hours of individual or group clinical supervision shall be documented during the minimum of 2000 hours of supervised professional practice at a rate of not less than one hour of clinical supervision per 40 hours of experience, and at least three-quarters of the hours of clinical supervision shall be individual.
History Note: Authority G.S. 90-334(i); 90-336(b)(2);
Eff. July 1, 1995;
Amended Eff. July 1, 2006.

.0207 PROFESSIONAL SETTING
A professional setting is one in which actual counseling occurs, i.e., counseling services are offered to an identified clientele on a regular basis. Professional settings shall include, but not be limited to, such public and private settings as: mental health centers, hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, university and community college counseling centers, and supervised independent practices.
History Note: Statutory Authority G.S. 90-334(i); 90-336(b)(2);
Eff. July 1, 1995.

.0208 SUPERVISED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Supervised professional practice consists of counseling experience under the supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor, as defined in Rule .0209 of this Section, including a minimum of one hour of individual or group clinical supervision per 40 hours of counseling practice. At least three-quarters of the hours of clinical supervision shall be individual. Persons who are exempt from licensure under the provisions of G.S. 90-332.1(a)(4) and who wish to counsel as employed supervised counselors in supervised professional practices under G.S. 90-336(b)(2) shall have their arrangements for supervised practice approved by the Board prior to engaging in practice. Persons who wish to counsel as employed supervised counselors in independent (private) practices must be under the on-site supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor who provides supervision on a case-by-case basis, and must have their arrangements for supervised practice approved by the Board prior to engaging in practice.
History Note: Authority G.S. 90-332.1(a)(4); 90-334(i); 90-336(b)(2);
Eff. July 1, 1995;
Amended Eff. July 1, 2006.

.0209 QUALIFIED CLINICAL SUPERVISOR
A qualified clinical supervisor is a licensed professional counselor with at least a master's degree in counseling and a minimum of five years of counseling experience, with a minimum of two years post licensure experience or other equivalently licensed and experienced qualified mental health professionals, as determined by the Board. Equivalently experienced means that the licensed professional must have a minimum of five years counseling experience, with a minimum of two years post-licensure experience.
History Note: Authority G.S. 90-330(a)(4); 90-334(i); 90-336(b)(2);
Eff. July 1, 1995;
Amended Eff. July 1, 2006.

.0210     INDIVIDUAL CLINICAL SUPERVISION
               Individual clinical supervision consists of face-to-face contact between supervisee and supervisor during which the supervisee's counseling experience is discussed and critiqued. The discussion and critique shall be based on live observations, video-tapes, audio-tapes, or verbatim transcripts of actual counseling sessions conducted by the supervisee. Supervisee self-reports and process (case) notes may be used to supplement the more direct forms and records of the supervisee's counseling sessions, but may not be used exclusively in lieu of them.
History Note: Statutory Authority G.S. 90-334(i); 90-336(b)(2);
                              Eff. July 1, 1995.

.0211     GROUP CLINICAL SUPERVISION
               Group clinical supervision consists of face-to-face contact between groups of supervisees (not to exceed 10 supervisees per group) and supervisor during which the supervisees' counseling experiences are discussed and critiqued. The discussion and critique shall be based on live observations, video-tapes, audio-tapes, or verbatim transcripts of actual counseling sessions conducted by the supervisees. Supervisee self-reports and process (case) notes may be used to supplement the more direct forms and records of the supervisees' counseling sessions, but may not be used exclusively in lieu of them.
History Note: Statutory Authority G.S. 90-334(i); 90-336(b)(2);
                              Eff. July 1, 1995.

.0212 FACE TO FACE SUPERVISION DEFINED
For the purposes of this Chapter, face to face supervision means supervision that is live, interactive, and visual. Video supervision with no interaction with the facilitator does not qualify for face to face supervision.
History Note: Authority G.S. 90-334(h);
Eff. July 1, 2006.

Frequently Asked Questions about Supervision & approved Supervisors:

Q. What form do I use to report supervised hours completed as part of my practicum or internship?
A.
The Professional Reference & Verification of Supervision Form used to report qualified hours completed before an application is sent to the board. Please use this form to report hours from your practicum and internship.

Q. Why does supervised professional practice require on-site, case-by-case supervision?
A.
The people who wrote the LPC licensing law and the legislators who passed the law did not intend for people right out of graduate school to work as counselors with no more than one hour of supervision for every 40 hours worked. The law included a list of exempt sites where people could work without licenses; exempt sites are places where licensure applicants may get supervised practice. On-site supervision is provided at all the listed exempt sites and that is why they are exempt; on-site supervision helps protect clients (and employers) from errors in judgment made by inexperienced counselors.

Q. How can I qualify as a supervisor if I have the right credentials and more than five years of experience, but I was licensed less than five years ago?
A.
Since you do not have five years of post-licensure experience, send documentation of five of your years of experience when you apply for approval. This is board policy at the present time. Please be aware that the board has changed this policy to require two years of post-licensure experience.

Q. Does my supervisor for licensure have to work at the same place I work?
A.
No. While exempt sites where applicants can work to get their hours for licensure must have on-site supervision, supervisors for licensure do not have to be on-site, but they do have to be board-approved in advance. Many applicants choose a supervisor for licensure who is not their on-site supervisor. Applicants working in private practice which is not listed in the law as an exempt site must have a qualified on-site supervisor in order to be in compliance with the law.

Q. Will any of my work experience count toward licensure?
A.
There is no provision in our law for counting work experience, unless your employment situation fits all criteria for supervised professional practice. To count, your work would have had to be post-masters practice of counseling in a professional setting, with supervision of the type and amount required by law, and your masters degree would have to meet licensure requirements.

Q. If I have met all educational requirements, passed the NCE, and done most of my supervised practice hours, can I open my own practice if I have supervision?
A.
Since our licensure law was passed in 1994, it has not been possible in NC for unlicensed counselors to work independently or as sub-contractors. The law says that one cannot hold oneself out to the public as a counselor or charge for services until one is licensed, because counseling licensure requires post-masters supervision and supervised practice is a critically important part of a competent counselor's training and preparation. The LPC board expanded the definition of supervised professional practice two years ago to include private practices. Until the board clarified this definition, a license was required to work in a private counseling practice. The expanded definition says a supervised professional practice is one where there is on-site, case-by-case supervision, the same type of supervision provided by the other exempt sites. And because the law says one cannot offer their services to the public or charge for services until licensed, unlicensed counselors do have to be employees.

Q. I am getting my supervised practice hours in an exempt setting but my job title is not "counselor" or "therapist." How can I be sure the board will consider this work "counseling?"
A.
Please send a copy of your job description and ask your on-site supervisor to write a letter describing in detail what you actually do at work. The board will use these documents to decide if your job fits the definition of "practice of counseling" in our law and advise you in writing of our decision.