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Licensed Professional Counselor Information
The Virginia professional counseling license requires a master's degree in counseling, 60 graduate credit hours, including 12 specified courses
and a 600-hour internship. The LPC also requires completion
of 4,000 supervised post-master’s degree residency
hours in an applicable work setting and a passing score
on a qualifying written examination. See http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/counseling/ for specific information regarding licensing. Disclaimer: All coursework reviews of the Department of Health Professions are based on the regulations that were in effect for applicants
at the time they began their first supervision. It is the applicant’s responsibility to stay
aware of regulatory changes that may effect the results of the review. The Department of Rehabilitation Counseling and VCU are not responsible for the maintenance of content or security of the site of the Department of Health Professions.
LPC Educational Requirements
60 graduate credit hours, including one three-credit
course from each of the following areas (parentheses
include the relevant RHAB course):
- professional identity, function and ethics (RHAB
525)
- theories of counseling and psychotherapy (RHAB 611)
- counseling and psychotherapy techniques (RHAB 691)
- human growth and development (RHAB 685 or equivalent*)
- group counseling and psychotherapy, theories and
techniques (RHAB 612)
- career counseling and development theories and techniques
(RHAB 623)
- appraisal, evaluation and diagnostic procedures
(RHAB 624)
- abnormal behavior and psychopathology (RHAB 642)
- multicultural counseling, theories and techniques
(RHAB 654)
- research (RHAB 625)
- diagnosis and treatment of addictive disorders
(RHAB 521)
- marriage and family systems theory (RHAB 613/MFT)
- supervised internship (RHAB 695/696, six credits)
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Note: |
Keep all of your course syllabi
until you receive your LPC. These are occasionally
requested in the review and the department does
not keep copies of past course syllabi on hand. |
Internship Requirements for LPC
For an internship to count toward the LPC, the 600
hours must include a minimum of 240 face-to-face client
contact hours, confirmed by either the department chair,
professional counseling track director or the student’s
faculty supervisor.
For the LPC applicant to qualify for the optional 600-hour
residency requirement deduction (out of 4,000 total
post-master’s degree residency hours), the intern
also must have:
- completed 30 graduate credit hours prior to the
start of the internship,
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received 20 hours on-site and 20 hours off-site
face-to-face supervision, with at least one of the
two supervisors holding a qualifying professional
license, and
-
submitted form 2-VIR (Verification
of Internship Hours toward the Residency), signed by
both the on-site supervisor and either the faculty supervisor,
department chair or professional counseling track director.
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Note: |
Complete all relevant internship verification
forms at the end of your internship and get appropriate
signatures at that time. Do not wait to complete
these forms until you are done with your residency
hours, or you risk being unable to complete them
due to absence of supervisors or department faculty. |
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Note: |
Before starting your internship,
obtain a copy of the department internship tracking
form, then record your weekly total internship
hours, supervision hours for on-site and on-campus
supervision and client contact hours. To be on
the safe side, always follow the guideline “If
it isn’t recorded, it didn’t happen.” |
Residency Requirements
The Virginia Counseling Board requires that applicants
for the LPC first complete 4,000 hours of work in
the
field following completion of their master’s
degree.
While not a requirement for admission, applicants
who
are seeking licensure or certification in the commonwealth
of Virginia are strongly encouraged to verify that their counseling degrees will be accepted for licensing or certification.
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