Welcome to the page specifically designed to provide important information to agencies and organizations that accept student interns from mental health counseling programs, and hire mental health counselors to provide clinical and administrative services.  We welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this page more effective.

Scope of Practice for Licensed Mental Health Counselors

Licensed Mental Health Counselors are licensed and regulated by the New York State Education Department Office of Professions, under Article 163 of the NYS Education Law. Section 8402 of the Article defines mental health counseling as:

1. the evaluation, assessment, amelioration, treatment, modification, or adjustment to a disability, problem, or disorder of behavior, character, development, emotion, personality or relationships by the use of verbal or behavioral methods with individuals, couples, families or groups in private practice, group, or organized settings; and
2. the use of assessment instruments and mental health counseling and psychotherapy to identify, evaluate and treat dysfunctions and disorders for purposes of providing appropriate mental health counseling services.
   

Only a person licensed or exempt under Article 163 shall practice mental health counseling or use the title "mental health counselor". Only a person licensed under the Article shall use the title "licensed mental health counselor" or any other designation tending to imply that the person is licensed to practice mental health counseling.

Boundaries of Professional Competency

According to Section 8407 of Article 163 of the NYS Education Law, it shall be deemed practicing outside the boundaries of his or her professional competence for a person licensed pursuant to Article 163, in the case of treatment of any serious mental illness, to provide any mental health service for such illness on a continuous and sustained basis without a medical evaluation of the illness by, and consultation with, a physician regarding such illness. Such medical evaluation and consultation shall be to determine and advise whether any medical care is indicated for such illness. For purposes of this section, "serious mental illness" means schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.

Further, any individual whose license or authority to practice derives from the provisions of Article 163 shall be prohibited from:

1. prescribing or administering drugs as defined in this chapter as a treatment, therapy, or professional service in the practice of his or her profession; or
2. using invasive procedures as a treatment, therapy, or professional service in the practice of his or her profession. For purposes of this subdivision, "invasive procedure" means any procedure in which human tissue is cut, altered, or otherwise infiltrated by mechanical or other means. Invasive procedure includes surgery, lasers, ionizing radiation, therapeutic ultrasound, or electroconvulsive therapy.

Limited Permits for Mental Health Counselors

According to Section 8409 of Article 163 of the NYS Education Law, the following requirements for a limited permit shall apply to all professions licensed pursuant to this article:

1. The department may issue a limited permit to an applicant who meets all qualifications for licensure, except the examination and/or experience requirements, in accordance with regulations promulgated therefor.
2. Limited permits shall be for two years; such limited permits may be renewed, at the discretion of the department, for up to two additional one-year periods.

Limited permits are required for any mental health counselor who has applied for licensure and has not yet completed the experience and/or examination requirements for licensure, and who has not yet been granted a license in mental health counseling by the New York State Education Department Office of Professions.

Any person not licensed, or who possesses a limited permit, in mental health counseling may not practice mental health counseling in any setting, unless authorized under any other law or regulation.

Experience Requirements for Licensed Mental Health Counselor Applicants

An applicant shall complete a minimum of three thousand hours (3000) of post-master's supervised experience relevant to the practice of mental health counseling satisfactory to the board and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations.

Comparison of Licensed Mental Health Counselors to Other Professions