Counseling Licensure in Nevada
Nevada oversight of licensure for Counselor’s is administrated by the Board of Examiners for Marriage & Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors. Nevada has several requirements around meeting specific examination, education and work experience benchmarks in order to receive the title of Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
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You will need to complete several components in order to be granted the title of Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Nevada:
- You will need to complete a Graduate program in Counseling and receive a Master’s of Counseling degree from a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited school.
- Complete a practicum and internship that is supervised by an appropriate board approved supervisor during the course of your Master’s program.
- Pass a criminal background check.
- Apply with the Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage & Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors take your National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Mental Health Counselor Examination (NMHCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) for the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) title.
- Accumulate the necessary hours to complete the supervised experience requirement.
- Obtain three letters of professional reference.
- Apply to the Nevada Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy to receive your Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) title.
Educational Requirements
- You will need to complete a couple of achievements in terms of education as part of the licensure process.
You will want to begin your educational journey by laying the ground work through earning a Bachelor of Counseling degree. You will find that many Master of Counseling programs are more likely to favor those students who possess a Bachelor of Counseling degree. If for some reason it is not desirable or feasible to get a Bachelor of Counseling degree, then you will want to make sure that your undergrad degree is in a relevant Behavioral Science degree such as Psychology, Social Work or Human Services. - The next step is to apply to and get accepted into a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited Master of Counseling program.
- You must complete a practicum as well as an internship during your graduate studies. These must be supervised by a supervisor deemed appropriate by the board.
Supervised Experience
You will now need to accumulate a sufficient amount of supervised professional experience:
- The first step is to register with the board as an intern.
- You will need to complete a background check.
- You will need to complete 3000 hours over a two year period.
- A minimum of 1500 hours must be direct client care.
- You need at least 300 hours of supervision.
- You can gain up to 50 hours of training and 200 hours of teaching as work experience.
- You have a maximum of 20 hours per week of direct client contact in a counseling capacity.
- You will need 160 hours of supervision from your main supervisor and 40 by a secondary supervisor.
- You primary supervisor must have an active license in the state of Nevada in one of the following disciplines: Psychiatrist, LCPC, Psychologist, Mental Health Professional or Social Worker.
- You will need to report your progress every six months to the board, including hours worked, supervision and an evaluation from your supervisor.
Apply for and Take Your NCE
The next step on your journey towards licensure is to apply with the Board to sit for the NCE:
- Apply to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage & Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors to take your National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Mental Health Counselor Examination (NMHCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) if you.
- Pass the NCE or NMHCE with a score acceptable to the Nevada Committee.
Apply for Your LCPC Title
You may now apply to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage & Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors for your full LCPC title.
- Apply to the Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage & Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors for your LCPC title.
- This will require three professional letters of reference.
- You can find the appropriate form here:
Continuing Education and License Renewal
You must renew your license every year. You must be able to show that you have earned Continuing Education credits. You will also have some minor testing by the board in regards to ethics, professionalism and child support which you can answer as part of your yearly reapplication.
- You will need to complete 20 hours of continuing education credits.
You will want to make a habit of checking on the Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage & Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors website every few months to review any changes to licensure law. You can find the website here: http://marriage.state.nv.us/