How to Become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Oregon
Interested in becoming an LPC in Oregon? You’ve come to the right place.
How Long Does It Take to Become a Counselor?
Becoming a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and/or a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) requires a minimum of four years of additional training after earning a bachelor’s degree:
- Two years to complete a full-time (year-round) approved master’s degree program recognized by the (OBLPCT) as meeting the academic requirements to pursue an LPC or LMFT. Most people take three or more years to earn their degree if they have family and/or work responsibilities at the same time.
- Two years of postgraduate practice as an LPC and/or LMFT associate, in which the licensure applicant is under supervision until all postgraduate clinical experience is complete and the applicant has passed a licensing exam. Applicants who cannot engage in full-time clinical practice often complete pre-licensure requirements in three years.
You can pursue both your LPC and LMFT licenses at the same time.
Oregon Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Requirements
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Complete an accredited master’s degree in counseling, such as:
- Master’s in clinical mental health counseling
- Master’s in marriage, couple and family counseling
- Master’s in school counseling
The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the gold standard for counseling accreditation, though it is not the only acceptable option. If you do not choose a CACREP-accredited counseling program, be sure to familiarize yourself with the standards that your program must meet in order to be licensed in Oregon.
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As a part of your master’s degree, you’ll complete a one-year (three-semester) clinical placement, consisting of an introductory clinical placement semester called “practicum” and a two-semester clinical placement called “internship.”
The clinical placement year requires that you undergo supervised clinical work at an approved site, and is intended to build skills in intake, assessment, diagnosis, treatment and consultation.
Each university sets its own clinical-year expectations, but generally CACREP-accredited programs require students to:
- Complete a minimum of 280 direct client counseling hours
- Present a series of video case presentations of actual counseling sessions
- Conduct psychosocial assessments and collate a summary of each assessment in formal written reports
- Participate in weekly individual supervision at their clinical site, and weekly group supervision on campus (remote or in person) with their faculty supervisor
While most practicum and internship sites only agree to supervise unpaid, volunteer practicum and internship students in exchange for training and supervision, some sites do offer paid positions.
A counseling program cannot pre-approve a clinical site until the student has met all knowledge, skill and professional disposition requirements to enter their clinical year, and the site has successfully completed the university’s application process for the academic year in which the student will be completing their clinical experience.
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After graduation, apply to become a registered associate with the OBLPCT. You must provide the board with transcripts verifying your graduation. You will pay a fee, complete a background check and be fingerprinted.
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The application to become a registered associate also requires you to identify the licensed professional(s) who will supervise your clinical work as an associate. If the identified supervisor is not already approved by the OBLPCT, then this supervisor will need to complete an application to become approved.
Frequently, for graduates wh