State Licensure Requirements
Liberty does not meet education requirements.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CACREP) – California

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)

California requires that applicants for this licensure have a master’s degree that is counseling or psychotherapy in content and is a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours or 90 graduate quarter hours, and six (6) semester or nine (9) quarter units of supervised practicum or field study experience, including, but not limited to, a minimum of 280 hours of face-to-face supervised clinical experience counseling individuals, families, or groups. License applicants will be required to take additional coursework required by California, outside their degree requirements.

The content requirements for CA’s license eligibility are listed below, along with the Liberty course that meet each requirement. California has additional requirements, so related information is found under “Additional Information.” Information listed below is not intended to reflect the full Liberty CMHC program. Please see the CMHC Online Handbook for full program information.

  • CA Requirement: Counseling theories & techniques – LU Program-Required Course: COUC505 Counseling Techniques & Helping Relationship
  • CA Requirement: Human growth & development – LU Program-Required Course: COUC502 Human Growth & Development
  • CA Requirement: Career development – LU Program-Required Course: COUC522 Career Development & Counseling
  • CA Requirement: Group counseling – LU Program-Required Course: COUC512 Group Counseling
  • CA Requirement: Assessment, appraisal, testing – LU Program-Required Course: COUC521 Assessment Techniques in Counseling
  • CA Requirement: Multicultural counseling – LU Program-Required Course: COUC504 Multicultural Counseling
  • CA Requirement: Principles of diagnostic process – LU Program-Required Course: COUC667 Clinical Diagnosis & Treatment Planning
  • CA Requirement: Research & evaluation – LU Program-Required Course: COUC515 Research & Program Evaluation
  • CA Requirement: Professional orientation and ethics (including California law/ethics) – LU Program-Required Course: COUC500 Orientation to Counselor Profession Identity & Function, AND COUC501 Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling
  • CA Requirement: Psychopharmacology – LU Course: ADCN606 Pharmacology of Addiction & Recovery
  • CA Requirement: Addictions counseling – LU Program-Required Course: COUC691 Substance Abuse: Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
  • CA Requirement: Crisis or trauma counseling – LU Program-Required Course: COUC604 Crisis Counseling
  • CA Requirement: Advanced counseling theories/techniques – LU Program-Required Course: COUC510 Theories of Counseling
  • CA Requirement: 15 hours additional hours in advanced coursework: specific treatment issues or special populations – LU Program-Required Course: COUC506 Integration of Spirituality & Counseling, COUC546 Psychopathology, COUC601 Theories of Family Systems, COUC694 Internship II
  • CA Requirement: 6 hours clinical courses/field study – LU Program-Required Course: COUC692 Practicum, AND COUC693 Internship I
  • CA Requirement: Human sexuality – LU Course: CEFS610 Human Sexuality: This course is not required for the CMHC program; it meets the CA requirement if taken as an elective.

Additional Information for Multicultural Counseling

Cultural competency and sensitivity as well as cross-cultural interactions and their incorporation to the psychotherapeutic process are described separately in the Board rules and must be addressed by this course.

Additional Information for Professional Orientation and Ethics

Students must complete 12 hours of continuing education in California Law & Ethics post-graduate. This can be completed through an approved continuing education provider. A list of providers is available through APCC.

Additional Information for Crisis or Trauma Counseling

CA requires 7 contact hours of training or coursework in child abuse assessment and reporting. COUC604 offers a free training (based out of CA) on the topic of mandated reporting; however, the combination of the course and the training does not amount to 7 hrs. The link for the training is here: https://mandatedreporterca.com/training/mental-health-social-workers

Additional Information for Advanced Coursework

These 4 courses/12 hours are part of the required CMHC standard program; 3 additional hours/1 graduate course is required to meet the advanced coursework requirement and can be taken as an additional elective.

Summary of Requirements

Applicants must ensure they take the following measures to meet requirements:

  • Applicants must complete the full CMHC program (60 credits) which includes one elective. The recommended elective is CEFS610 Human Sexuality.
  • Applicants may complete sixty-six (66) total focused credits at Liberty including 4 identified advanced courses that are part of the standard program. (According to the CA statute, students must earn 15 hours of advanced coursework credits to develop knowledge of specific treatment issues or special populations.) Completion of 66 hours at Liberty would incorporate CEFS610 Human Sexuality as the elective, 12 hours of advanced coursework as part of the standard program (see information above) PLUS one additional advanced course elective, and ADCN606 to meet the Psychopharmacology requirement.
  • Applicants who choose NOT to complete the 66 credits will need to remediate the additional coursework to meet CA requirements. Up to 12 semester or 18 quarter units of instruction may be remediated, if missing from the degree.
  • Applicants must complete the CA Ethics requirement as stated above.
  • Applicants should be prepared to submit syllabi to the Board upon request to provide a rationale for courses meeting stated requirements.
  • The university must complete the Out-of-State Degree Program Certification form found in the application.

Additional Coursework Required Upon Applying for Licensure

Six (6) hours of coursework or applied experience in Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention will be required when you submit your Application for Licensure.

Three (3) hours of coursework in the Provision of Mental Health Services via Telehealth (including law and ethics related to telehealth) will be required when you submit your Application for Licensure.

For more information:

LPCC Licensure Code: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=4999.33.&lawCode=BPC

Additional coursework information for out-of-state applicants: https://bbs.ca.gov/pdf/forms/lpc/pcci_app_oos_01012016.pdf