To be or not to be an LPC
the path from Master’s degree to LPC
Contents
The licensure stages from Master's degree to LPC ⬦ State of Texas LPC Associate process ⬦ Pros & cons of an agency (hospital, rehabilitation..) vs private practice for LPC Associate ⬦ The viewpoint of the Supervisor ⬦ Composed with a Texas bias
I remember applying to grad school with no mention of the licensure process. It was as if a black hole existed ready to consume me once I promptly obtained my masters. The process is vague. In my opinion, the collegiate atmosphere mirrors a business compared to the purported safe haven we yearn for regarding student nourishment. Academic counselors could easily incorporate the clinical licensure path based on the student’s state of residency, or where the student will eventually practice once enrolled in the graduate program. I often hear the same story similar to mine, yet I digress. There is confusion. Let’s take a look at the Texas LPC Associate process, from Master’s degree to LPC.
Finish graduate school with the required practicum.
Pass the National Counselor Examination (NCE).
Texas requires all LPCs to obtain a passing score on the National Counselor Examination (NCE) for Licensure and Certification. It is composed of 200 questions in a multiple-choice format administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors. This is a standardized test to assess psychoanalytic theory in the art of counseling.
Pass the Texas Jurisprudence Exam.
The Texas Jurisprudence Exam is a must-pass assessment created to familiarize the student with the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors’ rules. It is available on the Board’s website.
Apply for a restricted LPC license & become an LPC Associate.
All students must submit their transcripts and results of the above examinations. It may take several weeks to months to receive an online notification that you are now an LPC Associate. Take a deep breath as there’s no way to make this go faster.
Obtain LPC Associate supervision.
Focus.
Meet the minimum requirements during your associate career formerly known as the internship. To obtain an unrestricted license for LPC status all associates must:
Complete 3000 clock hours of supervised experience under the direction of a Council-approved supervisor or LPC-S.
All internships physically occurring in Texas must be completed under the supervision of a Texas LPC-S.
Supervisors providing internships physically occurring outside the jurisdiction of Texas must be approved separately by the Council.
Obtain a minimum of 1500 direct counseling clock hours.
Obtain a minimum of 3000 total clock hours of supervised experience in no less than eighteen (18) months.
Obtain direct supervision of a minimum of four (4) hours per month via individual up to two (2) associates per session.
50% or two (2) of the four (4) supervision sessions can be in a group format containing at least three (3) or more associates per supervision session.
LPC Associates can have no more than two (2) supervisors at any one time.
It’s a waiting game⸺once again⸺for the board to approve the LPC status after the associate submits the documentation for their supervised 3000 hours. Weeks may turn into a few months. Relax. The hard part is over. Celebrate once you see the A drop.
It may seem daunting to choose from the plethora of LPC supervisors & their various clinical settings.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of an agency, Vs an associate private practice on the path to LPC.
Agency pros
Associates will typically meet the 3000-hour threshold within the eighteen-month term, if not sooner.
Supervision fees are waived or considerably compressed.
Usually a guaranteed minimum salary regardless of client load.
The inherited benefit of brand association of a particular therapy group or supervisor.
Marketing is usually included.
Lead generation is included and randomly assigned to associates.
Agency cons
May favor salary only.
May charge office suite rental fees.
May charge a percentage of your therapy fee.
May require egregious client workloads.
May force associates to generate their own clientele, subject to agency fees.
Supervision is cursory and not elaborate or expansive.
May either be a employee or contractor relationship.
May require a non-compete clause to recover costs associated with the liabilities of employing an associate.
Associates may not be selective in their demographic profile for prospective clients, where leads are generated by the employer.
Shared resources; ie therapy suites, therapists' offices, common areas, etc.
Clientele may see the first available therapist, effectively allowing the client to see many different therapists while in a therapy plan at the same agency.
May retain client notes and records.
May enforce company policies in addition to statutory ethics.
Private practice pros
Freedom to choose client profile and demographics.
Freedom to pre-qualify prospective clients.
Ability to set and retain 100% therapy fees.
Freedom to set your schedule, weekly availability, etc.
Freedom to choose therapy setting; ie virtually or in-person.
The choice to not have the cost of a physical office.
The choice to not share resources including a physical office.
Freedom to create your own brand.
No non-competes, no colleague restrictions.
Freedom to select a quality supervisor that is aligned with your professional values.
The freedom to choose how to apply therapeutic approaches.
No agency policies to follow.
All clients are retained and are seen only by you.
Private practice cons
It may take longer than the minimum eighteen (18) months to surpass the 3000-hour threshold.
Associates will incur the full weight of the cost of supervision.
No guarantees as the associate is a business.
Must have an entrepreneurial spirit.
Income will fluctuate.
Must generate own leads and market.
Must build a brand.
Note, associates can not accept insurance. Therapy fees are often compressed when compared to an unrestricted license. It makes no difference if you choose to be in private practice or not, carriers will not panel you until you become an LPC.
The view from a Texas LPC Supervisor
Associates should consider the following when pondering supervision, weighing the pros & cons of agency vs private practice, and why supervision fees can appear to be expensive.
Topic One⸻fee cost
It can be pricy when starting your therapy career. I know it was difficult for me starting out, as I didn’t think I could afford my supervision then and often had to negotiate the fee. Sorry, & thank you, Mary!
My most affordable supervision package is a competitive $275 total per month in North Texas. I offer two supervision packages with the lowest cost being $275 and the other $300 based on the number of individual sessions desired each month.
Associates can choose which package they want freely at the end of each month without penalty during their supervision with me. In this way, each of my associates has the flexibility to choose how much individual time they have with me and the freedom to switch between the packages as their budget allows.
All of the resources I enjoy are complimentary to my associates including my office suite. I favor associates desiring to establish a practice from day one just like I did. I feel I understand how to navigate the unknowns, how to build a practice, how to become fully licensed (or to be patient until fully licensed), how to maximize your revenue, etc, as I was just in this ambiguous space just a few years ago.
My private-pay therapy fee is currently $150. It was $40 when I accepted my first cash-pay client.
There was a study several years ago that suggested private-pay clientele were not opposed to paying a maximum of $60 per session, even if they were struggling financially. This ethos was at the core philosophy of OpenPath which allows therapists on its platform to choose a fee range between $40 and $60. OpenPath later increased this range to a max of $70, however, the idea is this is a considerable hourly fee for a newly minted LPC Associate to demand considering some low-cost carriers pay LPCs in the $70-80 range. Obviously, it's a therapist’s choice to set their fee as they like, to take insurance, or to exclude specific groups of insurance in order to ‘average up’ their therapeutic fee.
Making sense of the numbers is simple. My supervision fee is less per hour than my private-pay therapy fee and it is competitive with neighboring supervisors in North Texas.
Topic Two⸻supervision quality
It’s implied that an LPC-S in private practice or non-agency will have a greater vested interest in associate success. Clinical managers with an agency may have multiple roles to fill in addition to supervision. It’s true, they must make time for you. You may find that the time feels just like that: they made time for you that they didn’t have.
Keep in mind, a clinical practice comprised of multiple practitioners has the normal rhythm of a people-based work environment. You may have points of contention on occasion with your manager who may also be your associate supervisor. Disassociating supervision from your place of work can protect the positive relationship you want to foster for the next year and a half while you develop appropriately into a formal clinician.
Maybe some things shouldn’t be mixed. Just a thought.
Think⸻its all about liability & time.
The State of Texas requires a minimum of 40 hours of supervision training, in addition to supervisor continuing education requirements similar to maintaining an LPC status.
Supervisors are legally & ethically responsible for LPC Associates and their clients.
Supervisors are responsible for associate notations, assessments, & miscellaneous professional correspondence.
Supervisors retain associates in addition to their own practice, restricting their private practice availability to accommodate associate supervision.
This includes non-paid supervision notations for each associate similar to clinical notations for any therapist’s clientele.
In summary
Looking back, I would have chosen to commit to building a practice full-time although I completed the statutory hour requirement pretty quickly at Granbury Youth Services. A hybrid solution may work best to consistently acquire hours at an agency while building a practice part-time.
Select a supervisor that is aligned with your professional values.
Feel free to negotiate the supervision fee. Supervisors are people & they were in your shoes just a few years ago!
A hybrid income mix, both at an agency & private practice, will require two LPC Supervisors to negate conflicts of interest.
Walk before you run. Set your private-pay fee below average when you’re just starting out until you become paneled.
Best advise⸻focus on what you can control & be patient.
I hope this provides clarity to new associates. You’ve come this far. Stay focused on your professional goals and finish what you started years ago. I look forward to becoming your LPC supervisor.
⸻Sjo