How to Become a Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Louisiana

The path to becoming a clinical mental health counselor in Louisiana takes dedication and time. You’ll spend about eight years to earn your LPC license. The first six years focus on education – a four-year bachelor’s degree and a two-year master’s degree in Counseling. After that, you need two more years of supervised counseling work.

Louisiana has clear steps to help you become a licensed counselor. You must complete a CACREP-accredited graduate degree program from a regionally accredited institution. The state also requires 3,000 hours of post-graduate supervised experience spread across two years or more. Students can choose from 30 CACREP-accredited graduate programs available at 15 schools across Louisiana.

This guide walks you through each step to become a counselor in Louisiana. You’ll learn about education requirements, getting your license, job prospects, and staying compliant with state regulations. The information here will help guide your path toward becoming a clinical mental health counselor in Louisiana.

Types of Licensure in Louisiana

Louisiana has a well-laid-out licensing pathway that helps mental health professionals become counselors. The state’s licensing board offers several types of credentials. Each credential matches different career stages and lets counselors practice with varying levels of authority.

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) is Louisiana’s main professional credential. This full license lets you practice independently as a clinical mental health counselor after you complete your education and supervised hours. LPCs can provide comprehensive counseling services, which include assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental and emotional disorders.

Your path to full licensure starts with getting the Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) credential. This provisional license marks an important step in your professional experience. A PLPC license allows you to:

• Work under the supervision of a board-approved LPC-Supervisor
• Get the required 3,000 hours of post-graduate supervised experience
• Learn practical clinical skills in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning
• Develop professional competence through regular case consultation

Louisiana also offers specialty designations for licensed counselors who want advanced training in specific areas. The Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) credential suits counselors who focus on relationship and family systems therapy.

Counselors interested in substance use disorders can get certification through the Addictive Disorder Regulatory Authority. These credentials work separately from LPC licensure but can enhance your counseling practice if addiction treatment interests you.

School counselors follow a different path. The Department of Education provides certification that focuses on students’ academic, career, and social/emotional development needs in educational settings.

Louisiana welcomes counselors licensed in other states through reciprocity agreements. You’ll need to apply through the Louisiana LPC Board, which will review your education, supervised experience, and examination scores to determine your eligibility for licensure by endorsement.

Your career might include several credentials. After finishing your master’s degree, you’ll start as a PLPC. You can move to full LPC status once you complete your supervised practice requirements and pass the National Counselor Examination. You might add specialty certifications based on your interests.

A clear understanding of these license options helps you plan your professional growth better. Each credential type plays a specific role in Louisiana’s regulatory system, which protects the public and supports counselors’ career advancement.

Earn Your Degree

A master’s degree that meets specific standards will lay the foundation for your counseling career in Louisiana. The state requires these credentials to qualify for licensure as a clinical mental health counselor.

Your graduate program should complete 60 semester hours of professional mental health counseling from a regionally accredited institution. Programs with Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accreditation are great choices, as they meet nationally recognized standards of excellence. Many Louisiana institutions proudly maintain CACREP accreditation, which ensures their graduates get high-quality education that lines up with licensure requirements.

The curriculum must cover at least one semester course in these eight core content areas:

• Counseling/Theories of Personality
• Human Growth and Development
• Abnormal Behavior
• Techniques of Counseling
• Group Dynamics, Processes, and Counseling
• Lifestyle and Career Development
• Appraisal of Individuals
• Ethics

Your clinical preparation becomes more comprehensive with courses in marriage and family studies and substance abuse treatment.

Hands-on training plays a vital role in your graduate education. Students complete a practicum and internship experiences to get direct client contact hours. You’ll need to build up approximately 700 hours of clinical experience through your degree program. This practical component usually needs about 280 direct client hours, while the rest goes to indirect client services, supervision, and other professional activities.

Most counseling degrees take 2-3 years to complete, based on full-time or part-time attendance. Universities offer both in-person and hybrid formats, and some courses are available online to help working students. All the same, clinical experiences need substantial in-person commitment, especially during your program’s final semesters.

Several universities in Louisiana offer suitable counseling programs. You can choose from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southeastern Louisiana University, Louisiana State University, University of Holy Cross, and Loyola University, among others. Each school sets its own application requirements and deadlines, though many ask for minimum GPA requirements, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and interviews.

Many programs set their application deadlines months before classes begin. Planning ahead becomes crucial – UL Lafayette wants applications by March 1st for fall admission, while other programs follow different schedules.

Your degree will equip you with skills to assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders in a variety of populations. You’ll be ready to work with clients of all ages and cultural backgrounds in multiple settings. This preparation sets you up to pursue provisional licensure as you start gathering supervised experience hours.

Get Licensed

The path to becoming a clinical mental health counselor in Louisiana starts after you complete your graduate degree. You’ll need to follow a well-laid-out licensure process under the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners’ supervision. Your first step is to get provisional licensure.

You must apply to become a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC). This initial credential lets you start collecting your supervised experience hours. The application needs your official degree-awarded transcript, background checks, and a USD 100.00 application fee.

Your PLPC approval means you can start documenting 3,000 hours of post-master’s supervised experience in professional mental health counseling. These hours must spread across two to six years. A Board-Approved Supervisor must oversee your work, which should include:

• A minimum of 1,900 direct client contact hours
• A minimum of 1,000 indirect client contact hours
• A minimum of 100 face-to-face supervision hours

Supervision can happen in individual or group settings, but at least 50 of the 100 supervision hours must be individual. You can complete all supervision hours through synchronous videoconferencing on a HIPAA-compliant platform. The board doesn’t allow supervision through mail, email, or telephone.

During this time, you must call yourself a “provisional licensed professional counselor” or “PLPC.” Never use terms like “licensed,” “fully licensed,” “licensed professional counselor,” “LPC,” or just “counselor”. Your clients need a disclosure statement that shows your training status and your supervisor’s name.

You’ll also need to pass either the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). The National Board for Certified Counselors runs these exams to test different aspects of counseling knowledge and skills.

After completing your supervised hours and passing the exam, you can apply to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). This step costs USD 200.00 and needs a Statement of Declaration of Practices and Procedures for the board to review.

Military personnel and their spouses can get faster processing. People who meet federal requirements under 50 USC 4025a might get their license endorsed if they apply as endorsement applicants and submit their military orders.

The board can speed up processing for online applications with an extra USD 60.00 fee. This option gets you a response about your application status within five business days.

Remember to keep your provisional license current through renewal every two years. PLPCs must renew in October with 20 hours of continuing education and an USD 85.00 renewal fee.

Being organized and methodical will help you progress smoothly from graduate studies to becoming a fully licensed clinical mental health counselor in Louisiana.

Find Employment

The job market looks promising for clinical mental health counselors in Louisiana. Statistics show a projected growth rate of 11% from 2020 to 2030. This trend matches the national outlook, where jobs for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors should grow 17% from 2024 to 2034—faster than most other jobs.

Your LPC license opens up several career paths. Here are some roles you might consider:

• Mental Health Counselor or Therapist
• Licensed Mental Health Professional
• Behavioral Health Counselor
• Family Therapist
• Substance Abuse Counselor
• Outpatient Behavioral Health Therapist

Mental health counselors’ salaries in Louisiana show quite a range. The average annual salary of $35,380 is lower than the national average of $60,080, but many positions pay by a lot more. Job listings show hourly rates from $20.00-$25.00 for entry-level positions to $90.00-$131.00 for experienced licensed professionals. State facilities follow set pay scales, with Professional Counselor positions starting at $22.76/hour and going up to $40.53/hour.

Clinical mental health counselors in Louisiana can work in various settings:

• Community behavioral health centers
• Hospitals and healthcare facilities
• Private practices
• Educational institutions (schools, colleges, universities)
• Rehabilitation centers
• Criminal justice/corrections facilities

These settings let you work with people of all ages—children, teens, adults, families, and seniors. You can arrange your practice to match your interests and strengths.

Counseling jobs spread throughout Louisiana. New Orleans leads with 55 jobs, followed by Baton Rouge (41 jobs) and Lafayette (23 jobs), with opportunities in smaller towns too. Job databases typically show over 200 mental health counselor positions available in Louisiana at any time. Projections suggest 440 new positions between 2020 and 2030.

Licensed counselors should know their workplace requirements. Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (PLPCs) must work in board-approved settings. Your workplace needs at least one Licensed Mental Health Professional (LMHP) for case consultation.

Louisiana has a big gap in mental health services—only 23.91% of mental health needs get addressed statewide. This creates great opportunities for new licensed counselors.

The job outlook stays positive despite challenges. About 48,300 openings for substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors are expected nationwide each year. Many of these positions open up as workers move to different fields or retire.

Starting your job search while getting licensed makes sense. Many employers hire provisionally licensed counselors and support them through their supervision period.

Remain Compliant

You need to stay compliant with continuing education and renewal requirements to keep your counselor license active in Louisiana. The Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners sets standards that help counselors stay up-to-date with their professional knowledge and skills.

Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) must pay a USD 170.00 renewal fee every two years by June 30th. The requirements include 40 continuing education hours (CEHs) during each renewal period. These hours must cover 3 hours in ethics and 6 hours in diagnosis, assessment, and treatment under the DSM-5. LPC Board-Approved Supervisors need 3 extra hours in supervision.

Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (PLPCs) have different requirements. They need to renew their license every two years by October 31st and pay an USD 85.00 fee. PLPCs must complete 20 CEHs, which includes 1.5 hours in ethics and 1.5 hours in diagnosis.

The Louisiana Counseling Association (LCA), American Counseling Association (ACA), and National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) provide approved continuing education for both license types. Other CEHs must fit within 14 approved content areas. Qualified professionals with master’s-level or higher education must present these courses.

CEH formats come with some restrictions. LPCs can get up to 20 hours through online formats. They can only claim 10 hours each from home study programs, presentations, counseling as a client, research activities, and peer supervision.

The board randomly audits 10% of licensees during renewal. Your license becomes lapsed if you miss the renewal deadline. LPCs have two years to renew a lapsed license but must pay a USD 60.00 late fee and undergo mandatory audit. PLPCs only have 90 days before their lapsed license expires completely.

The board requires you to report any changes in name, address, or phone number within 30 days. Missing this deadline results in a USD 50.00 fine. You must submit updated Statements or Declarations of Practices and Procedures when you change work locations.

Louisiana offers many continuing education options. The annual Law and Ethics in Counseling Conference in New Orleans stands out as a popular choice.

Next Steps

The path to becoming a clinical mental health counselor in Louisiana is clear and well-laid-out, but you’ll need dedication and perseverance. You’ll start as a graduate student, move on to become a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC), and then earn your full LPC license. This eight-year trip requires a big investment of time and effort, but you’ll have a rewarding career helping others while enjoying job security and room for growth.

Your career starts with getting your education through a CACREP-accredited master’s program before gaining supervised clinical experience. You’ll need to complete 3,000 supervised hours over at least two years. Passing your licensing examination is a vital milestone. Starting to plan your career early will help you guide yourself through these requirements smoothly.

Louisiana’s job market looks promising with an expected 11% growth through 2030. Entry-level salaries begin at $35,380, but experienced professionals can earn much more, especially when they have their own private practice. You’ll find jobs in healthcare facilities, community centers, educational institutions, and private practices all over the state.

LPCs must renew their license every two years to practice legally. You’ll need 40 hours of continuing education during this time to keep your skills fresh and in line with the field’s best practices.

Clinical mental health counseling is perfect for people who want to help others overcome mental health challenges. Your dedication to completing each licensing step will create opportunities to make a real difference in people’s lives and communities throughout Louisiana.