MARYLAND LCPC ALERT

What do those letters mean? What is LCPC? Do you know what you need to do to become a LCPC?

Well according to the federal government, if you attended a graduate program in Maryland, whatever you went through to get that designation does not matter. This is a big problem for a few thousand LCPCs that attended graduate programs in Maryland. This is a major problem overall. Once again someone decided that LCPCs have more fire-trimmed hoops to jump through. The struggle continues.

I need some help trying to understand this whole political process that has blocked out a group of individuals dedicated to helping other individuals in need. I need someone to tell me where we go from here, why are we still in this same place. Can you put all the cards on the table please.

Mr Federal Government and Mr and Mrs Association please check your records again. Something is not adding up right. Why do I keep getting emails and letters saying LCPCs are not recognized by the federal government if hey didn't attend a specific type of school. Why did I get a email that says by the way, now the federal government is going to recognize LCPCs, but none of the graduate programs in Maryland are acceptable. What??

How is it that a group of people working with the disenfranchised are steadily becoming even more disenfranchised than the people they work with? Somebody help me understand this whole process. In today's economy how can a national organization not support professionals that have been supportive of them? I'm going to need a whole lot of help on this one.

By the way, LCPC stands for Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.
You know what else LCPC stands for:
Requirements (LCPC)
(1) One of the following in a professional counseling or related field from an accredited educational institution approved by the Board:
(a) A master’s degree with a minimum of 60 graduate semester credit hours or 90 graduate quarter credit hours or
(b) A doctoral degree with a minimum of 90 graduate semester credit hours or 135 graduate quarter credit hours.
(2) A minimum of 3 graduate semester credit hours or 5 graduate quarter hours of instruction in each of the following areas:
HUMAN GROWTH AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF COUNSELING
COUNSELING THEORY
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES
GROUP DYNAMICS, PROCESSING, AND COUNSELING
LIFESTYLE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
APPRAISAL
RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
PROFESSIONAL, LEGAL, AND ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY
SUPERVISED FIELD EXPERIENCED
ALCOHOL AND DRUG COUNSELING
DIAGNOSIS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
A. For Master's level applicants, 3 years with a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience in professional counseling under an approved supervisor. Of the 3 years, 2 years shall be post-graduate clinical supervision hours. One year may be acquired before the awarding of the master's degree.
B. For Doctoral level applicants, 2 years with a minimum of 2,000 hours of supervised clinical experience in professional counseling. Of the 2 years 1,000 shall be acquired after the doctoral degree has been awarded.
EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT
Achieve a passing score on the National Counselors Examination of the National Board for Certified Counselors and the State Law Test.

You tell me what you think LCPC means. You tell me whether we will survive or if the economy will eat us alive. You tell me why no one saw this one coming.