Important Information for Applicants and Supervisors: Written Plan for Professional Counseling Experience and Supervision

The purpose of the experience questions on the Application for Licensed Associate Counselor of Mental Health is to document and verify how much acceptable post-Masters experience in actual mental health counseling the applicant has already completed. Once you know how much experience the applicant has completed and how much direct supervision he or she has received, you will know how much more experience and supervision the applicant needs to complete while an Associate Counselor of Mental Health so that he or she will later meet the requirements for Delaware licensure as a Professional Counselor of Mental Health. Click Post-Masters Mental Health Counseling Experience Requirements for more information.

The hours of experience and supervision that the applicant has not yet completed are documented on the Written Plan for Professional Counseling Experience and Supervision. To assure that both the applicant and the supervisor understand the plan, both must sign off on it.

When answering the experience questions on the application, it is important for both applicant and his or her supervisor(s) to understand the following:

• The hours of direct supervision that the applicant has already completed plus the planned hours of direct supervision (as documented in the Written Plan) must total at least the mandatory 1600 hours of direct supervision. In addition,
  • The applicant's completed hours of face-to-face sessions between applicant and supervisor plus the planned hours of face-to-face sessions must total at least 100 hours.
  • The applicant's completed hours of one-on-one sessions with the supervisor plus the planned hours of one-on-one sessions must total at least 60 hours.
    
    
• The hours of experience the applicant has already completed-whether or not under direct supervision of an approved clinical supervisor-added to the hours of experience in the Written Plan must total the required hours for licensure. In other words,
  • If the applicant does not have 30 post-Masters credit hours in the counseling field, all of the applicant's completed experience added to his or her planned experience must total at least 3200 hours.
  • If the applicant has 30 post-Masters credit hours in the counseling field, all of the applicant's completed experience added to his or her planned experience must total at least 1600 hours. In this case, all 1600 hours must be direct supervision hours.
    
    
• All of the required hours-completed plus planned, whether or not directly supervised-must span a period of not less than two but no more than four years.
  
  
• When asked to enter hours of experience or supervision, you must calculate and enter an actual number of hours. Answers such as "40 hours/week" will not be accepted.

Both the applicant and supervisor(s) should carefully follow the instructions for completing the forms. Incomplete or incorrectly completed forms delay processing of your application. The Board will not accept a resume in lieu of or in addition to the forms.

Requirements for All Applications

• Submit completed, signed and notarized Application for Licensed Associate Counselor of Mental Health.
  
  
• Enclose the processing fee by check or money order made payable to the "State of Delaware."
  
  
• Complete the Criminal History Record Check Authorization form to request state and federal criminal background checks. Follow the instructions on the authorization form to arrange to be fingerprinted.
  
  
• Arrange for the Board office to receive verification of your examination scores and certification as follows:
  • If you are certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) or the Academy of Clinical Mental Health Counselors (ACMHC), follow the instructions for requesting score verifications on the NBCC website at www.nbcc.org.
  • If you are certified by another national mental health specialty, arrange for the Board office to receive a National Certifying Organization Certification Form sent directly from the certifying organization to the Board office. Follow the instructions on the form. Note that the organization must be acceptable to the Board. For more information on certifying organizations, see Section 2.1.1.1 of the Board's Rules and Regulations.
    
    
• Arrange for the Board office to receive a verification of licensure from each jurisdiction (state, U.S. territory, District of Columbia ) where you now hold, or have ever held, a license to practice as a mental health professional. You may use the Verification of Licensure form included with the application to request the verification.
  
  
• Arrange for the Board office to receive an official transcript showing your completed graduate degree, sent directly from the college/university to the Board office.
  
  
• If you have 30 post-Masters credit hours in the field of counseling, arrange for the Board office to receive an official transcript showing these graduate credits, sent directly from the school(s) to the Board office.
  
  
• If you have never been issued a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), submit a Request for Exemption from Social Security Number Requirement.

Requirements Related to Completed Experience

The following requirements document and verify how many hours of acceptable post-Masters experience in mental health counseling and hours of direct supervision you have already accrued.

• Arrange for the boxes entitled COMPLETED DIRECT SUPERVISION to be completed and signed by your approved clinical supervisor(s).
  • The total number of post-Master's direct supervision hours that you have provided must be clearly stated. Providing only the dates of your employment is not sufficient.
  • If you had more than one period under different supervisors, have the approved clinical supervisor for each period complete a box for the period during which he or she supervised you.
    
    
• If you do not have 30 post-Master credit hours, arrange for the boxes entitled COMPLETED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING EXPERIENCE to be completed and signed as indicated below. These boxes will verify the experience that you gained when you were not under the direct supervision of an approved clinical supervisor.
  • For experience while you were employed, your clinical or administrative supervisor(s) must complete and sign the box.
  • For experience while you were self-employed, a professional colleague, supervisor or other individual who has personal knowledge of your professional practice while self-employed must complete and sign the box. The person who attests to your experience while self-employed cannot be related to you as a spouse, former spouse, parent, step-parent, grand-parent, child, step-child, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin or in-law.
  • The total number of post-Master's mental health counseling hours that you have provided while not under direct supervision of an approved clinical supervisor must be clearly stated. Providing only the dates of your employment or self-employment is not sufficient.

Requirements Related to Written Plan for Professional Counseling Experience and Supervision

The following requirements document how many hours of post-Masters experience of mental health counselingand hours of direct supervision you still need to complete in order to meet the requirements for Delaware licensure as a Professional Counselor of Mental Health. Remember to add the planned hours to the completed hours to make sure that the totals meet the requirements for eventual licensure as a Professional Counselor of Mental Health.

• Arrange for the boxes entitled Planned Direct Supervision to be completed and signed by the approved clinical supervisor(s) under whose supervision you will complete the hours.
  
  
• If you do not have 30 post-Master credit hours, arrange for the boxes entitled Planned Professional Counseling Experience to be completed and signed to verify the experience that you plan to finish while not under the direct supervision of an approved clinical supervisor.
  • For experience you plan to complete while employed, your clinical or administrative supervisor(s) must complete and sign the boxes.
  • For experience you plan to complete while self-employed, a professional colleague, supervisor or other individual who will have personal knowledge of your professional practice while self-employed must complete and sign the boxes. The person who attests to your experience while self-employed cannot be related to you as a spouse, former spouse, parent, step-parent, grand-parent, child, step-child, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin or in-law.