Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)?
A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) is a core mental health provider credentialed by the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Psycho-Educational Specialists. They are qualified to provide formal assessment, diagnosis, and treatment services within the scope of their training, education, and experience. According to South Carolina Law, "assessment" in the practice of counseling and therapy means selecting, administering, scoring, and interpreting evaluative or standardized instruments; assessing, diagnosing, and treating, using standard diagnostic nomenclature, a client's attitudes, abilities, achievements, interests, personal characteristics, disabilities, and mental, emotional, and behavioral problems that are typical of the developmental life cycle; and the use of methods and techniques for understanding human behavior in relation to, coping with, adapting to, or changing life situations. A counselor may assess more serious problems as categorized in standard diagnostic nomenclature but only if the counselor has been specifically trained to assess and treat that particular problem. "Practice of professional counseling" means functioning as a psychotherapist and may include, but is not limited to, providing individual therapy, family counseling, group therapy, marital counseling, play therapy, couples counseling, chemical abuse or dependency counseling, vocational counseling, school counseling, rehabilitation counseling, intervention, human growth and development counseling, behavioral modification counseling, and hypnotherapy. The practice of professional counseling may include assessment, crisis intervention, guidance, and counseling to facilitate normal growth and development, including educational and career development, utilization of functional assessment and counseling for persons requesting assistance in adjustment to a disability or handicapping condition, and consultation and research. The use of specific methods, techniques, or modalities within the practice of licensed professional counseling is restricted to professional counselors appropriately trained in the use of these methods, techniques, or modalities.
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- What is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC)?
A Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC) is a counselor with an advanced specialty credential and Board Certification within the field and discipline of counseling. It is granted by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). CCMHCs have been recognized by Tricare (formerly OCHAMPUS) as authorized providers of mental health services to beneficiaries. Other insurance carriers have extended similar recognition to CCMHCs. Contact your specific insurance company to determine coverage. In addition to holding the NBCC credential, requirements for the CCMHC credential include the following: 60 semester hours of graduate coursework including Theories of Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Personality; Abnormal Psychology and Psychopathology; Human Growth and Development Theory; Career Development; Professional Orientation and Ethics for Counselors; Research; Appraisal; and Social/Cultural Foundations. The academic course of study must have included 9 to 15 semester hours of clinical training in supervised practica/internship relevant to the practice of clinical mental health counseling. A minimum of two years of supervised post-master's clinical practice is required, which includes 3,000 hours of direct client contact in a clinical setting with 100 hours of face-to-face clinical counseling supervision over two years. In addition, a passing score on the Examination of Clinical Counseling Practice (ECCP) is required. (If a counselor passed the NCMHCE for state credentialing, he or she would not be required to take the ECCP). Candidates for the CCMHC credential are required to submit an audio or video tape of a clinical counseling session for review following receipt of a passing score on the ECCP. NOTE: All coursework must have been completed for graduate credit at regionally accredited colleges or universities.
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