Summary: Ethical And Legal Issues In Professional Counseling
Unit 7: Florida Licensure and Certification
Shereena Khan
COUN5217 Ethical and Legal Issues in Professional Counseling
August 28, 2016
Dr. Angela Banks-Johnson Florida License and Certification
In the pursuit of becoming a mental health counselor (MHC) certain licenses and certifications are needed. While the requirements vary by state, this paper will focus on the requirements graduate students need in order to become a MHC in the state of Florida. Upon completing the required educational courses, acquiring an internship is the next step. Along with the internship, graduate students must have a certain amount of supervised field hours. Once these requirements have been finalized, the applicant is now able to complete …show more content…
In the state of Florida, obtaining a master’s degree in mental health counseling program that is accredited by The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the initial step. Afterwards, two years of supervised experience under a qualified MHC or equivalent is needed. Supervisees must complete 1,500 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy with a minimum of 100 hours of supervision. Once the supervised internship has concluded, the potential counselor is now able to take the national clinical mental health counseling examination. Upon passing the exam, counselors need to complete an eight hour laws and rules course and a three hour course on human immunodeficiency virus and immune deficiency syndromes no more than six months after licensure. Within the six months, counselors are also responsible for completing a domestic violence course (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, (n.d.).
The Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C., n.d.) has available resources for graduate students to look up relevant laws that are applicable to licensure requirements. In order to stay relevant, all that is needed is a free online registration. Once registration has been completed a list of ‘favorite rules and chapters’ can be added and monitored for changes. There is also an option for alerts via …show more content…
According to Brennan (2013), “standards of ethical practices are set forth in the codes of professional bodies and in the laws of each state.” The codes found in the F.A.C website guide counselors in practicing counseling in a legal and an ethical manner. In example, a counselor that is seeking to renew their license can refer to section 64B4-6.001 “Renewal of Active License” to learn the about the requests Florida asks of its MHC’s that are seeking renewal of their licenses. The law summarizes that counselors need to complete 30 hours of continuing education courses in order to have their license renewed (F.A.C,
Shereena Khan
COUN5217 Ethical and Legal Issues in Professional Counseling
August 28, 2016
Dr. Angela Banks-Johnson Florida License and Certification
In the pursuit of becoming a mental health counselor (MHC) certain licenses and certifications are needed. While the requirements vary by state, this paper will focus on the requirements graduate students need in order to become a MHC in the state of Florida. Upon completing the required educational courses, acquiring an internship is the next step. Along with the internship, graduate students must have a certain amount of supervised field hours. Once these requirements have been finalized, the applicant is now able to complete …show more content…
In the state of Florida, obtaining a master’s degree in mental health counseling program that is accredited by The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the initial step. Afterwards, two years of supervised experience under a qualified MHC or equivalent is needed. Supervisees must complete 1,500 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy with a minimum of 100 hours of supervision. Once the supervised internship has concluded, the potential counselor is now able to take the national clinical mental health counseling examination. Upon passing the exam, counselors need to complete an eight hour laws and rules course and a three hour course on human immunodeficiency virus and immune deficiency syndromes no more than six months after licensure. Within the six months, counselors are also responsible for completing a domestic violence course (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, (n.d.).
The Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C., n.d.) has available resources for graduate students to look up relevant laws that are applicable to licensure requirements. In order to stay relevant, all that is needed is a free online registration. Once registration has been completed a list of ‘favorite rules and chapters’ can be added and monitored for changes. There is also an option for alerts via …show more content…
According to Brennan (2013), “standards of ethical practices are set forth in the codes of professional bodies and in the laws of each state.” The codes found in the F.A.C website guide counselors in practicing counseling in a legal and an ethical manner. In example, a counselor that is seeking to renew their license can refer to section 64B4-6.001 “Renewal of Active License” to learn the about the requests Florida asks of its MHC’s that are seeking renewal of their licenses. The law summarizes that counselors need to complete 30 hours of continuing education courses in order to have their license renewed (F.A.C,