BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 243 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 243 (Wyland) As Amended May 7, 2013 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :34-0 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 12-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Gordon, Jones, Bocanegra, | | | | |Campos, Dickinson, | | | | |Eggman, Hagman, | | | | |Maienschein, Mullin, | | | | |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 1,750 hours of direct counseling currently required of LPCC applicants, as specified. 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 (BBS) interprets existing law, LPCCs who are interested in providing these SB 243 Page 2 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 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)The Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor license . 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, and 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. SB 243 Page 3 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 3,000 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 3,000 hours required, not less than 1,750 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 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. 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. Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 319-3301 SB 243 Page 4 FN: 0001128