BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 243
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 11, 2013

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER  
                                     PROTECTION
                              Richard S. Gordon, Chair
                      SB 243 (Wyland) - As Amended:  May 7, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :   34-0
           
          SUBJECT  :   Professional Clinical Counselors.

           SUMMARY :   Revises the current training and education  
          requirements for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors  
          (LPCCs) in order for them to complete the training required for  
          treatment of couples or families during a degree program, rather  
          than after the program.   Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Deletes the current requirement that LPCCs obtain additional  
            training and education beyond the minimum training and  
            education required for licensure, and instead allows that  
            training and education to be obtained during a degree program,  
            as specified.

          2)Adds the direct counseling of couples or families to the 1750  
            hours of direct counseling currently required of LPCC  
            applicants, as specified.

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Establishes the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor Act  
            and authorizes the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to  
            license and regulate LPCCs.  (Business and Professions Code  
            (BPC) Section 4999.10)

          2)Defines professional clinical counseling to mean "the  
            application of counseling intervention and psychotherapeutic  
            techniques to identify and remediate cognitive, mental, and  
            emotional issues including personal growth, adjustment to  
            disability, crisis intervention, and psychosocial and  
            environmental problems." (BPC 4999.20)

          3)States that professional clinical counseling does not include  
            the assessment or treatment of couples or families unless the  
            professional clinical counselor has completed additional  
            training and education beyond the minimum training and  








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            education required for licensure as specified. (BPC 4999.20)

          4)States that in order to qualify for the LPCC licensure  
            examination, applicants complete a minimum of 3000 post-degree  
            hours of supervised clinical mental health experience related  
            to the practice of professional clinical counseling performed  
            over a period of not less than two years, which shall include  
            not less than 1750 hours of direct counseling with individuals  
            or groups among other specified requirements. (BPC 4999.46)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of the bill  .  Currently, LPCCs are not authorized to  
            provide counseling services for the assessment or treatment of  
            couples or families unless they have completed additional  
            training and education beyond the minimum requirement for  
            licensure.  As the Board of Behavior Sciences interprets  
            existing law,  LPCCs who are interested in providing these  
            services are required to take additional coursework or  
            training outside of a master's or doctoral degree program,  
            when many degree programs specifically offer marriage and  
            family coursework as a part of the degree program.  This bill  
            simply revises current law to allow LPCCs to obtain the  
            required training and education during their master's or  
            doctoral degree program, rather than after, in order to  
            provide treatment and services for couples and families.  This  
            bill is sponsored by the California Association for Licensed  
            Professional Clinical Counselors.

           2)Author's statement  .  According to the author, "Existing  
            law specifies that Professional clinical counseling does  
            not include the assessment or treatment of couples or  
            families unless the professional clinical counselor has  
            completed all of the following additional training and  
            education, beyond the minimum training and education  
            required for licensure?Because the additional education  
            requirement for the LPCC license includes the language  
            'beyond the minimum training and education required,' the  
            [BBS] is interpreting this language to mean that  
            specialized coursework taken within an individual's  
            master's degree education cannot be accepted as the  
            'additional education' required for the practice of  








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            working with couples or families. It is also interpreted  
            that LPCC hours cannot be included within the required  
            3000 post-degree supervised hours. This unintentionally  
            required subsequent coursework and supervised hours in  
            addition to existing degree requirements. These  
            interpretations do not reflect the intent of the original  
            bill." 

           3)Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor  .  SB 788 (Wyland),  
            Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009, established the LPCC Act.   
            LPCCs are the newest of the four licensure groups for mental  
            health related services regulated by the BBS.  California was  
            the 50th state to establish licensure for this profession.   
            LPCCs can use a variety of psychological techniques to help  
            their clients, including individual, group, marriage and  
            family therapy.  Mental health services are provided in  
            numerous settings including, but not limited to, community  
            mental health clinics, private practice, and hospital  
            settings.  LPCCs can be licensed to treat couples, families,  
            individuals and children. 

           4)Licensure Requirements  .  In order to obtain licensure as an  
            LPCC, an applicant who began graduate study on or after August  
            1, 2012 is required to obtain a master's or doctoral degree  
            from an accredited or approved institution, which covers  
            counseling or psychotherapy in content, and includes  
            supervised practicum in specified content areas.  In addition,  
            an applicant must obtain a minimum of 3000 post-degree hours  
            of experience supervised by a LPCC, Licensed Marriage and  
            Family Therapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, licensed  
            psychologist or licensed physician and surgeon who is  
            certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry  
            and Neurology.  

          Of the 3000 hours required, not less than 1750 hours must  
            involve direct counseling with individuals or groups in a  
            clinical mental health counseling setting and 150 hours in a  
            hospital or community mental health setting.  In addition, an  
            applicant must receive a passing score on the National  
            Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE) and the  
            California Law and Ethics Exam, which are taken upon  
            completion of the supervised hours.  

          Under current law, in order to provide marriage and family  
            therapy services upon licensure, the LPCC must also complete  








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            education and training requirements beyond the minimum  
            education requirements outlined by their degree program  
            including six semester or nine quarter units of study focused  
            on the application of marriage and family therapy, not less  
            than 500 hours of supervised experience working directly with  
            couples, families or children, and at least six hours of  
            continuing education related to marriage and family therapy.   
            This bill seeks to allow an applicant for licensure to obtain  
            coursework on marriage and family services during an  
            appropriate degree program as opposed to obtaining coursework  
            after earning the degree. 
             
          5)Education  .  According to the BBS Web site, there are  
            approximately 35 schools that offer coursework in a master's  
            degree or doctoral program for licensure as an LPCC.  The  
            appropriate coursework must be obtained from a program that  
            that is regionally accredited or at an institution that is  
            approved by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education.   
            There are degree programs which offer the appropriate  
            education relevant to the assessment and treatment of couples  
            or families as part of their degree program.  Without the  
            change that this bill proposes, students will need to repeat  
            the course work post-degree which could be costly and  
            difficult, and would potentially delay licensure.   

          6)Arguments in support  .  The California Association for Licensed  
            Professional Clinical Counselors writes in support: "The LPCC  
            scope of practice prevents LPCCs from seeing families and  
            couples, unless they have additional education and training in  
            marriage and family therapy beyond the requirements for LPCC  
            licensure.  This means that the additional optional education  
            must be above and beyond the degree requirements for the LPCC  
            license, and that the couples and family supervised hours must  
            be above and beyond the 3000 post-degree hours required by the  
            LPCC license."  

            The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists  
            writes in support, "Although the law says the education and  
            experience must be in addition to, and not part of, what is  
            required for licensure, this was not the intent of the  
            legislation.  This legislation will fix this confusing  
            language and allow for the education and experience to be  
            acquired as part of their 3000 hour requirement, as intended  
            by the original legislation."









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           7)Previous legislation  .  SB 146 (Wyland), Chapter 381, Statutes  
            of 2011, extended existing law that applies to LMFTs to apply  
            to LPCCs as well.  
             
             SB 788 (Wyland), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2009, established  
            the LPCC Act which provides for the licensing and regulation  
            of LPCCs by BBS.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical  
          Counselors (sponsor)
          American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy-California  
          Division
          Board of Behavioral Sciences
          California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)  
          319-3301