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Licensure in Psychology

NMHU Psychology Department

The student successfully completing the Clinical/Counseling Psychology track will have met the educational and training requirements (including the clinical practicum hours) to qualify for licensure as a counselor in the state of New Mexico (LMHC) and other states.

There are state-by-state differences in licensure requirements, and the requirements for licensure described in some states have some ambiguity. In many states, the Board that licenses master’s- level counselors has been influenced by CACREP accreditation language. Our M.S. in Clinical/Counseling Psychology is accredited by MPCAC, which itself is CHEA-accredited. Our MPCAC-accredited program meets the 8 core educational requirements of CACREP.

However, there is a level of uncertainty that is introduced depending on the extent to which state licensing Boards require applicants graduate only from CACREP-accredited programs, or because of the way the Boards interpret CACREP standards or impose additional educational requirements on applicants.

States typically require that applicants for licensure also pass the NCE (National Counselor Examination), and, for licensure as an independent (unsupervised) clinician, require additional hours of supervised work experience following completion of a master’s degree. Because the NCE and post-degree supervised clinical work are beyond the scope of what a master’s degree can provide, this information only covers whether our program meets the educational criteria needed for state-level licensure.

The table below shows the likelihood that the M.S. program in Clinical/Counseling Psychology fully meets each state’s licensure requirements. The M.S. program in Clinical/Counseling Psychology meets the licensure requirements for 24 states, does not meet requirements for 21 states, and we are unable to determine whether our program meets requirements for 5 states.

State Meets educational requirements for licensing? Licensing Agency
Alabama Meets Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling
Alaska Does Not Meet Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Arizona Does Not Meet Arizona State Board of Behavioral Health Examiners
Arkansas Does Not Meet Arkansas Board of Examiners in Counseling and Marriage & Family Therapy
California Does Not Meet Board of Behavioral Sciences
Colorado Meets Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor Board
Connecticut Does Not Meet Department of Public Health

 

Delaware

 

Meets

Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals

 

Florida

 

Meets

Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling

 

Georgia

 

Meets

Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists

 

Hawaii

 

Meets

Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional & Vocational Licensing Division

 

Idaho

 

Meets

Idaho Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists

 

Illinois

 

Does Not Meet

Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
Indiana Unable to Determine Indiana Professional Licensing Agency
Iowa Unable to Determine Iowa Dept. of Public Health-Board of Behavioral science
Kansas Unable to Determine Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board
Kentucky Does Not Meet Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

 

Louisiana

 

Meets

Louisiana State Board of Licensed Professional Counselors
Maine Does Not Meet Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure
Maryland Does Not Meet Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists

 

Massachusetts

 

Meets

Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions
Michigan Unable to Determine Dept. Of Licensing And Regulatory Affairs
Minnesota Does Not Meet Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy

 

Mississippi

 

Does Not Meet

Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors
Missouri Meets Missouri Division of Professional Registration
Montana Meets Montana Board of Behavioral Health

 

Nebraska

 

Meets

Nebraska Dpt. Of Health and Human Services – Mental Health and Social Work Practice

 

Nevada

 

Does Not Meet

State of Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists & Clinical Professional Counselors
New Hampshire

 

Does Not Meet

 

NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification

New Jersey Meets NJ Division of Consumer Affairs
New Mexico Meets New Mexico Licensing & Regulation Dept.
New York Unable to Determine NYSED – Office of the Professions

 

North Carolina

 

Does Not Meet

North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC)
North Dakota Meets North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners

 

Ohio

 

Does Not Meet

Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Oklahoma Meets State Board of Behavioral Health

 

Oregon

 

Meets

Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists

 

Pennsylvania

 

Meets

PA DOS – State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors
Rhode Island Meets RI Department of Health

 

 

 

South Carolina

 

 

 

Meets

South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho- Educational Specialists
South Dakota Meets South Dakota Department of Social Services

 

 

Tennessee

 

 

Meets

Dept. Of Health – Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists

 

Texas

 

Does Not Meet

Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors/Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council

 

Utah

 

Does Not Meet

Utah Department of Commerce Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing
Vermont Does Not Meet Vermont Board of Allied Mental Health Professionals
Virginia Does Not Meet Virginia Board of Counseling
Washington Meets Washington State Department of Health
West Virginia Does Not Meet West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling

 

Wisconsin

 

Does Not Meet

State of Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Wyoming Meets Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board

 

Explanation of determinations for whether M.S. in Clinical/Counseling Psychology program meets educational requirements for state licensure as master’s-level counselor.

Meets: Indicates our program appears to fully meet the state’s described educational criteria (including pre-master’s clinical practicum/internship requirements).

Does Not Meet: Indicates that there is evidence our program does not meet the state’s educational criteria. The two common reasons for our program not meeting a state’s educational criteria include:

  1. the state will only license applicants from CACREP-accredited programs, or
  2. our program lacks a specific course requirement for licensure (most commonly: Addictions Counseling and/or Marriage and Family Counseling).

Unable to Determine: Insufficient information about whether the coursework required by the state is met by our program’s coursework, or applicants from non-CACREP-accredited master’s programs need to undergo an evaluation by the Board or an outside agency, and that evaluation alone will determine whether the applicant’s graduate program meets licensing standards for that state.