Associate Professional Counselor Licensure Requirements Snapshot

Pennsylvania Licensure Requirements

A Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (LAPC) is an individual who is gaining supervised clinical experience to become a licensed professional counselor.
Under the supervision of an approved licensed supervisor, they:

• Apply counseling and mental health principles to help people grow, adjust, and manage stress throughout their lives, and to treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
• Evaluate, assess, diagnose, and treat a wide range of mental, emotional, social, and behavioral issues through individual, group, and family counseling, crisis intervention, career counseling, and more.
• Use verbal and nonverbal methods, including arts-based therapies like art, dance, music, and drama, to achieve treatment goals.
  

Degree Requirement:

Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree

Applicants must hold a Master's or Doctoral degree in Counseling, or a field closely related to the practice of professional counseling from an accredited educational institution.

For Doctoral Degree holders:

• The degree must be in Counseling, or a field closely related to professional counseling, including social work, psychiatry, psychology, art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, human services, counseling education, or child development and family studies.
• Alternatively, the doctoral degree may be in any applied behavioral science, awarded after completing a master’s degree in a field closely related to the practice of professional counseling, and must include advanced clinical instruction and coursework in any five of the educational requirements outlined in §  49.2(1)—(8) (relating to educational requirements).

For Master’s degree holders:

• The degree must be in Counseling, or a field closely related to professional counseling, including social work, psychology, art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, human services, counseling education, or child development and family studies.
• Alternatively, the master’s degree may be in any applied behavioral science that includes a practicum or internship and meets any five of the educational requirements outlined in §  49.2(1)—(8) (relating to educational requirements).

Examination Requirement: 

There is no examination requirement for licensure as a LAPC.

Supervision Requirement:

Applicants for the LAPC license must submit a supervision plan, including the credentials of their supervisor(s).

Supervision Plan Checklist

 You must submit a supervision plan that includes:

•    The name of each employer and location where client contact and supervision will occur.
•   A detailed job description for your duties at each location.

Find the full listing of conditions for acceptable supervised clinical experience.

Qualifications for Supervisors

To qualify for and obtain licensure as a LAPC, you must submit for board review, the curriculum vitae/resume for each qualified supervisor, detailing their employment or unemployment history from graduation to the present, in chronological order, including the name, city, and state of each employer; dates of employment or education; and a description of their practice activity.

At least half of the required supervision hours must be provided by a supervisor who is a licensed professional counselor with 5 years of experience within the last 10 years as a professional counselor.

The remaining hours may be supervised by an individual who either holds a professional counselor license with 5 years of experience in the last 10 years or holds a license with a Master’s degree in a related field and 5 years of experience in that field within the last 10 years.

Supervisors must meet the qualifications and standards outlined in the Board regulations:

• 49 Pa. Code § 49.1  (Definitions);
• 49 Pa. Code § 49.3  (Qualifications for supervisors);
• 49 Pa. Code § 49.13 (Licensed Professional Counselor);
• 49 Pa. Code § 49.14 (Standards for supervisors).

For more detailed information, please refer to the specific sections of the regulations.

Note: The Board will not review an individual's LAPC application until all required materials are received, including the supervision plan and the supervisor’s credentials.

Continuing Education:

3 Hours

Applicants must complete 3 hours of Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting for initial licensure.

After completing the required course, the provider will send notice of completion to the Board. Find a list of approved child abuse education providers.

Initial Licensing Fee: 

$75.00 - Application fee

Licensure Renewal Fee:

$95.00 - Biennial renewal of license

Age Requirement:

Applicants for licensure must be at least 21 years of age.