Applicants Matriculating After July 1, 2017

Applicants who  matriculated into a graduate degree program on or after July 1, 2017, shall have:

Earned a graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling as part of a program of higher learning accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling Related Education Programs;

OR

Completed at least sixty graduate semester hours in counseling or a related mental health field at a regionally accredited institution of higher education that included coursework in each of the following areas: Human growth and development; social and cultural foundations; counseling theories; counseling techniques; group counseling; career counseling; appraisals or tests and measurements to individuals and groups; research and evaluation; professional orientation to mental health counseling; addiction and substance abuse counseling; trauma and crisis counseling; and diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders,

Earned from a regionally accredited institution of higher education a graduate degree in counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy or psychology;

Completed a one-hundred-hour practicum in counseling taught by a faculty member licensed or certified as a professional counselor or its equivalent in another state;

Completed a six-hundred-hour clinical mental health counseling internship taught by a faculty member licensed or certified as a professional counselor or its equivalent in another state;

AND

Acquired three thousand hours of postgraduate experience under professional supervision, including a minimum of one hundred hours of direct professional supervision, in the practice of professional counseling, performed over a period of not less than two years;

"Under professional supervision" means the practice of professional counseling under the supervision of a licensed professional counselor, a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370, who is certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, an advanced practice registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378, who is certified as a psychiatric and mental health clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a psychologist licensed pursuant to chapter 383, a marital and family therapist licensed pursuant to chapter 383a or a licensed clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 383b.

"Direct professional supervision means face-to-face consultation between one supervisor, who is a professional counselor described above, and one person receiving supervision that consists of not less than a monthly review with a written evaluation and assessment by the supervisor of such person's practice of professional counseling.

Successfully completed the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors.
 
If an applicant has not successfully completed the NCE or NCMHCE and wishes to sit for the examination for purposes of obtaining a Connecticut license, you need to register online via NBCC's website at http://www.nbcc.org/.  Choose the 'ProCounselor Login' tab in the upper right-hand corner of the page.  Select 'Register to Take a State Licensure Exam'.
 
Documentation Requirements

An applicant for licensure shall arrange for the submission of following documentation directly from the source:
 
An official transcript and course of study form sent directly from each educational institution attended verifying all graduate level coursework completed and degree(s) conferred;
 
Verification form sent directly from the appropriate authority documentating three thousand (3000) hours of postgraduate supervised experience and one hundred hours of postgraduate-degree supervision;
 
A score report for the NCE or NCMHCE sent directly to this Department from the NBCC

Verification from each state licensing authority where a license, certificate or registration as a professional counselor is, or has ever been held.  The purpose of the verification is to document that the applicant has not be the subject of any type of disciplinary action;

Verification, sent directly from each state licensing authority where a license, certificate or registration as a professional counselor is or has ever been held.  Most jurisdictions charge a fee for this service.  Please contact the jurisdiction prior to submission of the form;

A completed application and fee in the amount of $200.  Applications are only accepted online.  Please select this link to apply online.

All supporting documents should be submitted directly from the source to: 

 
Connecticut Department of Public Health
Professional Counselor Licensure
410 Capitol Ave., MS #12 APP
P.O. Box 340308
Hartford, CT 06134
Phone: (860) 509-7603
Fax:  (860) 707-1980