West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 27 - Counseling › Title 27 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN COUNSELING › Series 27-01 - Licensing Rule › Section 27-1-6 - Qualifications of New Applicants

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
6.1.
				Education: The education requirements for the licensure of applicants are set
				forth in W. Va. Code
§
30-31-8. To meet those requirements, an
				applicant shall have one of the following degrees:
6.1.a. A master's or doctoral degree from an
				institution with a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of
				Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the Council for the
				Accreditation for Education Preparation (CAEP), the North Central Association
				of Colleges and Schools (NCACS), the Southern Association of Colleges and
				Schools (SACS), or a comparable accrediting body. Acceptable graduate degrees
				include a specialization in clinical mental health counseling, marriage and
				family counseling, pastoral counseling, rehabilitation counseling, school
				counseling, and substance abuse or addictions counseling.
6.1.b. Applicants shall complete a minimum of
				sixty (60) semester hours or ninety (90) quarter hours of graduate course work
				inclusive of a master's or doctoral degree in counseling with a minimum of
				three (3) semester hours in each of the following areas or their equivalent, as
				determined by the Board:
(1) Counseling
				theories: includes a study of basic theories and principles of counseling and
				philosophic basis of the helping relationship;
(2) Counseling techniques: includes
				individual counseling practices, methods, facilitative skills, and the
				application of these skills;
(3)
				Human growth and development: includes the nature and needs of individuals at
				all developmental levels, following psychological, sociological and
				physiological approaches. It includes human behavior (normal and abnormal),
				personality theory, learning theory, dynamics of stress, and medical/functional
				implications of disability;
(4)
				Social and cultural foundations: includes studies of social change, ethnic
				groups, subcultures, mores, urban and rural societies, population patterns, use
				of leisure time, work, and differing life patterns;
(5) Individual appraisal: includes individual
				differences, methods of data gathering and interpretation, individual and group
				testing, and case study;
(6)
				Professional responsibilities: includes goals and objectives of professional
				counseling organizations, codes of ethics, legal considerations, standards of
				preparation, certification and licensing, advocacy, confidentiality, and the
				role identity of counselors;
(7)
				Principles of etiology, assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and
				prevention of mental and emotional disorders and dysfunctional
				behavior;
(8) Addictions
				counseling: includes the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of addictive
				disorders;
(9) Group dynamics,
				processes, counseling and consulting: includes theories, practices, methods,
				dynamics, facilitative skills, and supervised practice;
(10) Lifestyle and career development:
				includes vocational-choice theory, the relationship between career choice and
				life-style, occupational and educational information, career decision-making
				processes, career development exploration and placement techniques;
(11) Marriage, couples, and/or family
				counseling/therapy;
(12) Research
				and evaluation: includes statistics, research design, research proposals and
				evaluation;
(13) Supervised
				practicum: includes the provision of counseling to bona fide clients and groups
				seeking services from counselors under the direction of a graduate faculty
				member who is a licensed professional counselor or related mental health
				professional, and includes critiquing of counseling either observed or recorded
				on audio or video tape; and
(14)
				Supervised internship: includes actual on-the-job counseling experience under
				the tutelage of an on-site supervisor who is a licensed professional counselor
				or related mental health professional;
6.1.c. The applicant shall have sufficient
				semester credit hour courses in any of the following counseling related
				elective subjects to equal the semester credit hour course requirements as
				outlined in 6.1.b. subdivision of this rule
(1) Human Sexuality;
(2) Psychopharmacology;
(3) Crisis intervention;
(4) Biological basis of behavior;
(5) Counseling special populations, including
				forensic populations, sex offenders, children and adolescents, adults, elderly,
				gender specific populations, seriously mentally ill individuals, and
				individuals affected by domestic violence, dual diagnosis, co-morbidity or
				co-occurring disorders;
(6)
				Rehabilitation counseling;
(7)
				Counseling interventions; or
(8)
				Additional or advanced courses in any required curriculum category listed in
				paragraphs 6.1.b.1 through 14; and of this rule.
6.1.d. The Credentialing Committee, composed
				of the two (2) counselor educators and other Board staff, shall review all
				matters regarding education requirements. The Credentialing Committee may make
				a final determination regarding the sufficiency of the applicant's education or
				may refer the matter to the entire Board for determination. Any determination
				made by the Committee or Board may be appealed in accordance with the
				procedures set forth in §
										27-6-5 of the Board's rules.