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CACREP Mental Health Counselors: A Case Study

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All states compel professional counselors to progress through a licensing process and most states developed their criterions through CACREP. Yet, CACREP entertains more than one set of criteria. Several states have guidelines comparable to the general professional counselor whereas others employ the benchmarks for mental health counseling. Consequently, Florida has stringent requirements governing licensure for mental health counselors. The following sections compare Connecticut’s and Nevada’s requirements for licensure to Florida’s. Educational Requirements Florida requires a master’s degree from a CACREP mental health program that comprises of 60 semester hours or 80 quarter hours of clinical and educational instruction including 12 specified content areas, plus a course in human sexuality and substance abuse. Candidates must pass the NCMHCE. Later, within six months of licensure, one must take classes in Rules of Laws, Medical Error …show more content…

An applicant must obtain a master’s or doctoral degree from a mental health field and accumulate 60 graduate semester hours in counseling from a regionally accredited institution of higher education including 9 courses specific to counseling. Candidates must pass a DPH exam in counseling. In October of 2017, the state is changing its requirements for graduate programs to add 100 hours of practicum with at least 40 hours of direct client contact and 600 hours in mental health counseling internship consisting of 240 hours of direct client contact. (Department of Health, 2016) Nevada requires a master’s or doctoral level degree to become a licensed clinical professional counselor from a CACREP program. The counseling program must have 10 content specific areas. Candidates must take the NCMHCE before licensure and must have board approval to register for the exam. (State of Nevada Board of Examiners, 2016) Supervision Hours

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