CNL -505: Benchmark- State Credentialing Board Research Project
Q.1 Information about the State Board
The state credentialing board selected in this assignment is Louisiana State Board for Counselors. The Louisiana State Board for Counselors is the voice of professional counselors in Louisiana and is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Louisiana State Board for Counselors provides unique licensing requirements for all counseling professionals practicing in this state (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, 2018). By fulfilling education, examination, supervised experience, and approval by the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, the Louisiana State Board for Counselors licenses therapists to practice as a professional counselor.
Q2. The Mission of Louisiana State Board for Counselors
In Louisiana State, family therapy is widely conducted by professional counselors on couples and families in order to nurture family development and change. Also referred to as family systems therapy, couple and family therapy, family counseling, and marriage and family therapy; family therapy deals with psychotherapy (Counselor-License.com, 2019). The Louisiana State Board for Counselors mission is aligned to psychotherapy advisory services that its members provide to couples and families.
The mission of Louisiana State Board for Counselors (LSBC) is protecting the public interest by regulating the practice of mental health counseling, the practice of marriage and family therapy, and the use of titles of Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) or any similar term, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC), and Provisional Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (PLMFT).
As per LSBC’s mission, counselors must uphold high codes of integrity, discipline, respect, objectivity, and integrity when assisting families. Any confidential information about a client must be kept private; disclosing such information is against the mission and professional code of practice as stipulated by LSBC.
Q3. The Regulatory Authority and Scope
The Louisiana law is stipulated in the thirteen Chapter of Title 37 of the State’s Revised Statutes and composes of R.S. 37:1101-1123. The authority of LSBC’s practice is stipulated in the Mental Health Counselor Licensing Act 892, passed in 1987. The Act 892 of 1987 provides for the regulation of the mental health counseling practice in the Louisiana State and provides for the laws governing the use of the title “LPC”. The Act 1195 of 2001 created the Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee whose role is regulating the “Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist” title use (Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, 2018). Via Act 1195, the Board was allowed to practice family and couple therapy in 2001. In 2014, Act 484 was established to empower the LSBC in providing regulatory measures to the title use and practice of “Provisional Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist” and “Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor”. There have also been other regulatory amendments since 1987 to 2014 that govern professional counseling practice and the use of titles. Other examples of these amended Acts are Act 834 of 1997, Act 1139 of 2003, Act 320 of 2011, and Act 736 of 2014. All these Acts stipulate that the Board members must be Louisiana State residents.
Q4. The State Board Committee Structure
Committee names and titles
Just like every other Board committee, the Louisiana State Board for Counselors is composed of eleven members. The full 11-member list of the board and their titles is as hereby listed:
- Kathryn Steele, Board Chair; PhD, LPC-S, LMFT-S,
- Jacqueline Mims, Board Vice Chairperson; PhD, LPC-S,
- Nakeisha Pierce, Board Secretary; M.Ed., LPC-S,
- Kelly Tyner, PhD, LMFT-S,
- Earnest Airhia, PhD, LPC-S, LAC,
- Ron Ronald Cathey, M.A, LPC-S, LMFT-S, MFTAC; Vice-Chair,
- Laura Fazio-Griffith, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT,
- Claude Guillotte, M.Div., LPC, LMFT, MFTAC Member,
- Donna Mayeux, Member-at-Large,
- Jessica Fanguy Cortez, Ph.D., LPC, LMFT, NCC,
- Roy Salgodo, D., LPC-S, LMFT,
http://www.lpcboard.org/board%20members.htm
Committee responsibilities
The board committee works as a team in accomplishing all set responsibilities. All practicing activities of the Louisiana State Board are governed by the Louisiana law. Only the functions approved by the state government and law are practiced by this advisory board committee. The major Louisiana State board committee responsibilities include:
- The Board reviews the qualifications of LPC practice applicants for approval or denial. If the LPC applicants meets all the regulatory requirements, the board approves his or her membership and vice versa.
- The Board has the responsibility of discussing specific application issues and concerns by LPC members such as appraisal privileges.
- Ratification of every board member’s opinion, idea, or suggestion on matters concerning public comments to professional counseling activities
- The Board committee develops and updates LPC licensure application forms as stipulated under Chapter 13 of Louisiana State law.
- The Board amends rules and regulations as per the Administrative Procedure Act in respect to the necessity implementation Chapter 13, R.S. 37:1101-1123 Act provisions
Frequency of Meetings
The Louisiana State Board for Counselors law requires the board to hold meetings on monthly basis. In every board meeting, roll calls are taken, previous month meeting deliberations are read, approval of committee minutes is meant, welcoming of new board members who were absent is done, and the board member policy and procedure manual is approved. In all meetings, the board committee revisits any arising matters, financial reports, and updates any family therapy rules that need to be fixed in order to uphold their counseling practice.
Q5. Louisiana State Licensure or Certification Requirements
According to the Louisiana State Licensure, an individual must at least one of the following certifications or requirements before being issued the practicing license.
Educational requirements: A holder either doctoral or Master degree in family guidance and counseling from a regionally recognized institution, accredited by Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, or a holder of a postgraduate certificate in the same field, or a holder of family and marriage counseling program graduate/ post graduate degree in an internationally recognized institution under Louisiana law.
Required coursework: The graduate trainee program must comprise a total of 24 semester hours fully taken in a Louisiana based university in:
- Administration and Principles of Family Therapy Programs
- Change and Family Development Programs- Assessment and treatment
- Counseling Theory and Practice of Family therapy
- Individual Appraisal- Professional code of conduct and ethics
- Group Processes- Research
- Social and Cultural Foundations of Counseling
- Human Growth and Development
NB: The degree obtained from foreign institutions of higher learning must meet the requirements stipulated in the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. Also, one must have acquired the minimum pass grade in all the above units.
Experience requirements: (1). Must be a holder of a valid LA teaching certification in exception of ancillary counselor certification and (2) Must have three credits in family and couples therapy.
Q6. Credentialing/ licensing Process
Before one submits an application to practice as a counselor in Louisiana, the Louisiana law requires the applicant to read Chapter 7 of LPC licensing requirements. Also, the applicant must gather supporting documents, some of which are forwarded by 3rd parties, and others sent with the application….Middle of Paper….
Q7. Complaint Process
As per Chapter 13 of Title 37 in Louisiana State Law, family and couple therapists must practice within the scope of confidentiality, integrity, and intelligence. The client’s information must be kept confidential against any 3rd party. In filing a complaint against a licensed marriage and family counselor, the following procedure must be followed:
The original complaint form together with two signed copies must be filled, have it notarized and returned to the board office. Second, the complainant receives the written confirmation confirming that the Board Executive has received the complaint raised. Upon the complaint receipt, the presiding officer of the Board examines the complaint to find out whether it has been keenly verified and whether it contains sufficient and appropriate facts to warrant further board proceedings (Counselor-License.com, 2019). If the Board’s presiding officer determines that the complaint is verified and alleges some facts, he/she notifies the respondent of the complaint and requests the right response for the Board’s review before setting the date of hearing, or directs the Board’s staff to draft the formal complaint raised so that the Board considers it. If the complaint calls for hearing, then the complainant is notified within 5-working days. Finally, if the Board finds out that the complaint does not warrant further proceedings, and then the complainant is notified in writing (Counselor-License.com, 2019). And if the Board determines that the accused therapist violated the code of ethics in his/her practice, then the license gets suspended.
References
- Counselor-License.com. (2019). Counseling Licensing Requirements in Louisiana. Counselor-License, 1-8. Retrieved from https://counselor-license.com/states/louisiana-counselor-license/
- Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. (2018). Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee. Baton Rouge: State of Louisiana Confidence. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from http://www.lpcboard.org/index.htm
- Louisiana Mental Health Counselor Licencing Act. (1987). Acts 1987, No. 892. Baton Rouge: Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners.