South Dakota Administrative Rules › Title 20 - PUBLIC SAFETY › Article 20:68 - LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS › Chapter 20:68:03 - Academic requirements and approved programs › Section 20:68:03:02 - Approved counseling program

Current through Register Vol. 51, page 10, July 15, 2024
Academic requirements to become a professional counselor must
				  be completed through a board approved counseling program. An approved
				  counseling program is:
(1) A
				counseling program approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and
				Related Educational Programs; or
(2) An organized sequence of study in the
				area of counseling that includes graduate course work in each of the following
				areas:
(a) Counseling theory: including a
				study of basic theories, principles of counseling, and philosophical bases of
				the helping relationship;
(b)
				Counseling techniques: including individual counseling practices, methods,
				facilitative skills, and the application of these skills;
(c) Practicum: including a supervised
				training experience consisting of the provision of counseling to clients or
				groups seeking services from counselors;
(i) A
				practicum consists of no less than 100 hours, of which 40 hours are direct
				service;
(ii) Prior to the
				beginning of the practicum, the student must have completed a course in
				counseling theory and a course in counseling techniques; and
(iii) The practicum must be under the
				direction of a graduate faculty member;
(d) Internship: including an on-the-job
				experience in professional counseling under the tutelage of an on-site
				supervisor. The supervised internship may be no less than 600 hours of which
				240 hours must be in direct services;
(e) Human growth and development: including
				studies that provide a broad understanding of the nature and needs of an
				individual at all developmental levels. Emphasis is placed on psychological,
				sociological, and physiological approaches, human behavior (normal and
				abnormal), personality theory, and learning theory;
(f) Social and cultural foundations:
				including studies of change, ethnic groups, subcultures, changing roles of
				women, sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, urban and rural societies, population
				patterns, cultural mores, use of leisure time, and differing life
				patterns;
(g) Group: including the
				study of group dynamics, group processes, practices and methods of group
				counseling, supervised practice, facilitative skills, and theory and types of
				groups;
(h) Life-style and career
				development: including vocational-choice theory, relationship of career choice
				to life-style, sources of occupational and educational information, approaches
				to career decision-making processes, and career development exploration
				techniques;
(i) Appraisal of the
				individual: including the development of a framework for understanding the
				individual, methods of data-gathering and interpretation, case study
				approaches, individual and group psychological and educational testing, and the
				study of individual differences with consideration of ethnic, cultural, and
				gender factors;
(j) Research and
				evaluation: including statistics, research design, the development of research
				and demonstration proposals, and the development and evaluation of program
				objectives; and
(k) Professional,
				legal, and ethical considerations: including the study of professional
				counseling organizations, codes of ethics, legal considerations, standards of
				preparation, certification and licensure, and the professional role identity of
				counselors.