Counseling Licensure in Alaska
There are always a number of steps to take for every state to earn licensure. You will always want to be aware of the current laws surrounding licensure in the state of Alaska. You will need to meet the requirements below to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). You can find information on the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (ABPC) website here:
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For Alaska you must follow these steps:
- Finish the required educational elements.
- Compile the necessary hours of supervised work experience.
- Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (ABPC) for testing.
- Take and pass the National Counselor Examination.
- Provide the ABPC with at least two letters of recommendation from
Education Required
- The first step is to earn your Bachelor’s degree in Counseling or a highly related field such as Psychology, Social Work or Human Services.
- Apply for and be accepted to a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited university for a Master’s of Counseling program.
- If your program is not accredited with CACREP, you can also meet coursework requirements as provided by the ABPC (Which you can find more info on here🙂
Supervised Work Experience
- Alaska requires that prospective counselors meet the required work experience of 3000 hours of supervised experience in mental health counseling in a two year time frame.
- This work must be supervised by a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
Apply to Take the National Counselor Examination (NCE)
- You must provide proof of meeting all prior requirements to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (ABPC) in order to be granted permission to take the National Counselor Examination (NCE).
Examination to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- You must take and receive a passing score on the National Counselor Examination (NCE) which is administered and developed by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).
- You can learn more about exam preparation at the NBCC website which you can find here:
Final Steps
- You will need to provide the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors with two letters of recommendation from Licensed Professional Counselors or a highly related mental health field. These professionals must have experience working with you professionally in some capacity.
- Download the Alaska Counseling Certification form which you can find on the ABPC website here:
- Fill out the form and send it to the ABPC.
Continuing Education Requirements
- You are required by the ABPC to earn 40 credit hours of continuing education with at least 6 hours of ethics during each biennium.
Remember rules, laws and regulations can and do change over time and it is always important to make sure that your understanding of the current law is up to date. It is always wise to review current regulations on the Alaska Board of
Professional Counselors (ABPC) website which you can find by clicking on the following link: