2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 8 - The Professions › Article 163 - Mental Health Practitioners › 8402 - Mental Health Counseling.

§  8402.  Mental  health  counseling. 1. Definition of the practice of
mental health counseling. The  practice  of  the  profession  of  mental
health counseling is defined as:
(a) the evaluation, assessment, amelioration, treatment, modification,
or  adjustment  to  a  disability,  problem,  or  disorder  of behavior,
character, development, emotion, personality or relationships by the use
of verbal or behavioral methods with individuals, couples,  families  or
groups in private practice, group, or organized settings; and
(b) the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and
psychotherapy to identify, evaluate and treat dysfunctions and disorders
for purposes of providing appropriate mental health counseling services.
2.  Practice of mental health counseling and use of the titles "mental
health counselor" and "licensed mental health counselor". Only a  person
licensed  or  exempt  under  this  article  shall practice mental health
counseling or use the title "mental health  counselor".  Only  a  person
licensed  under this article shall use the title "licensed mental health
counselor" or any other designation tending to imply that the person  is
licensed to practice mental health counseling.
3.  Requirements  for a professional license. To qualify for a license
as a "licensed mental health counselor", an applicant shall fulfill  the
following requirements:
(a) Application: File an application with the department;
(b)  Education:  Have  received  an education, including a master's or
higher degree in counseling from a program registered by the  department
or  determined  by  the  department  to  be  the  substantial equivalent
thereof, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. The graduate
coursework shall include, but not be limited to, the following areas:
(i) human growth and development;
(ii) social and cultural foundations of counseling;
(iii) counseling theory and practice and psychopathology;
(iv) group dynamics;
(v) lifestyle and career development;
(vi) assessment and appraisal of individuals, couples and families and
groups;
(vii) research and program evaluation;
(viii) professional orientation and ethics;
(ix) foundations of mental health counseling and consultation;
(x) clinical instruction; and
(xi) completion  of  a  minimum  one  year  supervised  internship  or
practicum in mental health counseling;
(c)  Experience:  An  applicant  shall  complete  a  minimum  of three
thousand hours of post-master's supervised experience  relevant  to  the
practice  of  mental  health counseling satisfactory to the board and in
accordance with the commissioner's regulations. Satisfactory  experience
obtained  in an entity operating under a waiver issued by the department
pursuant to section sixty-five hundred three-a  of  this  title  may  be
accepted  by  the  department,  notwithstanding that such experience may
have  been  obtained  prior  to  the  effective  date  of  such  section
sixty-five  hundred three-a and/or prior to the entity having obtained a
waiver. The department may, for good cause  shown,  accept  satisfactory
experience  that was obtained in a setting that would have been eligible
for a waiver but which has not obtained a waiver from the department  or
experience  that  was  obtained in good faith by the applicant under the
belief  that  appropriate  authorization  had  been  obtained  for   the
experience,  provided  that such experience meets all other requirements
for acceptable experience;
(d) Examination: Pass an examination satisfactory to the board and  in
accordance with the commissioner's regulations;
(e) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age;
(f)  Character:  Be  of  good  moral  character  as  determined by the
department; and
(g) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an initial
license and a fee of one hundred  seventy  dollars  for  each  triennial
registration period.