Documents Needed
- Application fee
- Form 1c: APPLICANT INFORMATION / REQUEST FOR LICENSURE
- Form 4: LICENSE ISSUED BY OTHER STATE VERIFICATION should be completed and sent to your licensing board as directed on the form. This form must come directly from your licensing board to our office (3218 Pringle Rd SE #250, Salem, OR 97302).
- Form 5: PROFESSIONAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT GUIDELINEis a sample with instructions. All applicants must submit a Professional Disclosure Statement creating it to fit their current employment in Oregon or as they plan to use it once they relocate.
- Form 6A
- OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT: Your graduate school must send the transcript directly to the Board office at: Oregon Board Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists, 3218 Pringle Rd SE, #250, Salem OR 97302-6312.
Send Form #1, application fee, and professional disclosure statement to:
Oregon Board of Counselors and Therapists
Unit 14
PO Box 4395
Portland OR 97208-4395
To be licensed by reciprocity in Oregon
1. The other state must have required and reviewed:
- A graduate degree in counseling, or
- A graduate degree in marriage & family therapy, or a a related degree with systemic coursework.
- 2 years experience or no less than 1,000 direct service hours for LPC; at least 3 years and at least 2,000 hours of direct client contact for LMFT.
- Passage of a competency exam.
2. The license itself must be:
- Active and comparable to Oregon's LPC or LMFT license.
- Clear of discipline for misconduct or incompetence.
3. The graduate program must have been:
- A structured program of at least 30 semester or 45 quarter credit units,
- Teaching counseling and therapeutic principles, techniques and training,
- Designed to graduate a counseling or marriage and family practitioner*,
- From a regionally or nationally accredited school.
LPC Reciprocity Coursework Requirements
Minimum of 18 semester units or 24 quarter units
Nine coursework areas listed below with CACREP descriptions (require a minimum of 2 semester or 3 quarter credits each)
Counseling Theory - Studies of basic theories, principles and techniques of counseling and their application professional counseling settings.
Human Growth & Life Span Development - Studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of individuals at all developmental levels, from birth to old age.
Social & Cultural Foundations - Studies that provide an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues and trends in a diverse society. Includes such factors as culture, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical characteristics, family values, education, religious and spiritual values, socio-economics status, etc.
Helping Relationship - Studies that provide an understanding of counseling/consultant characteristics that influence the helping process (age, gender, ethnic factors, etc.); essential interviewing and counseling skills for developing a therapeutic relationship, set goals, maintain boundaries, evaluate client outcome and termination.
Group Dynamics - Studies of theoretical and experiential understandings of group purpose, development, dynamics, counseling theories and methods.
Lifestyle & Career Development - Studies of the career counseling process, techniques, resources & career development.
Diagnosis/Appraisal of Individuals - Studies that provide an understanding of individual & group approaches to assessment and evaluation (standardized and non-standardized testing, performance assessment, individual and group test and inventory methods, etc).
Research & Evaluation - Studies that provide an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment and program evaluation.
Professional Orientation - Studies of the following aspects of professional functioning: history and philosophy of the counseling profession; professional roles and relationships with other human service providers, credentialing, advocacy processes, ethical and legal considerations in professional Counseling.
Clinical/Applied Experience Required - Clinical courses and hours reviewed by Board on reciprocity application case-by-case basis. (Non-reciprocity full standard for current licensure is 600 all-inclusive hours). Practicum/internship. Direct client contact hours, supervision, staff meetings, community relations, record keeping, supervised in-house practica and off-campus site placement.
Supporting Coursework in Counseling Specialty Areas - Minimum of 12 semester units or 18 quarter units.
LMFT COURSEWORK
15 semester hours of systemic focus designed specifically for marriage and family therapy academic training.
Human Development & Family Studies - Stresses the complex developmental relationships among individuals in the family. Individually oriented content adapted to a systems paradigm. Stress on the life-cycle of the family and its modifications over time (first child, adolescent sexual development, leaving home, etc.)
Marital/Family Theoretical Foundations - Includes the historical development of systems theory. Human issues are considered from the systems paradigm, including both theoretical literature and practical treatment issues.
Marital/Family Therapy Diagnosis/Assessment, Treatment, Principles and Techniques - Includes a comprehensive survey of the major models of system change and the principles and techniques evolving from each model. Applied aspects of therapy practice (range of techniques, indications and contraindications for techniques, intervention rationales, the role of the therapist, etc.).
Diagnosis and treatment within the context of marital and family systems of both dysfunctional relationship patterns and nervous and mental disorders; cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Use of appropriate major mental health assessment instruments within a systemic context. Treatment processes for loss, intense stress, suicide, incest, violence, sexual dysfunctions, divorce and remarriage.
Professional Studies - Development of a professional attitude and identity. Studies of professional socialization and the role of professional organizations; licensure; legal responsibilities and liabilities of clinical practice and research; family law; confidentiality issues, codes of ethics, etc.
Research Methods or Statistics - Research methodology and data analysis, computer research skills, critical evaluation of professional research reports, with emphasis on research relevant to marital and family therapy.
Clinical/Applied Experience - Practicum/internship. Direct client contact hours, supervision, staff meetings, community relations, record keeping, supervised in-house practica and off-campus site placement. Focus on relationship issues, couples, and families.
Supporting Coursework for Speciality Areas - focusing on the systems paradigm.
Application for Licensure by Reciprocity
(1) The Board does not grant blanket reciprocity. The Board will conduct an individual review of each application designating the reciprocity method. The Board’s review will consist of comparing the minimum standards in effect in the state when it granted your license with education, experience, and examination standards required for Oregon licensure.
(2) Application for licensure shall be made to the Board office and be on forms provided by the Board.
(3) Application for licensure shall be accompanied by:
(a) The non‑refundable application fee;
(b) Official transcript of graduate degree that qualified the individual for licensure in the other state;
(c) Verification of licensure from the other state and information on the education, experience and examination requirements for licensure in that state at the time licensure was granted; and
(d) Professional disclosure statement.
(4) To qualify for licensure via reciprocity,
(a) The applicant must document holding;
(A) A graduate degree in counseling, or marriage and family therapy or a related degree from a college or university that was regionally accredited at time of graduation or had been found to meet standards comparable to regional accreditation standards, such as accreditation by the American Theological Schools organization or by an accrediting body in the country where a foreign school was located; and
(B) A current, active license in another state comparable to the Oregon license requested, either that of professional counselor or marriage and family therapist. Temporary, probationary, expired, revoked, or suspended licenses will not be considered.
(b) The jurisdiction of licensure must verify that the applicant has not been disciplined for misconduct or incompetence.
(c) The license held must have:
(A) Required at least a graduate degree in counseling (for LPC) or graduate degree in marriage and family therapy or related degree with systemic coursework (for LMFT).
(B) Been issued to an applicant whose qualifying degree was
(i) awarded by a regionally accredited college or university and
(ii) a structured program of no less than 30 semester or 45 quarter hours with a curriculum designed to teach counseling and therapeutic principles, techniques, and training for the purpose of graduating a person to practice counseling or marriage and family therapy.
(C) Required documentation of supervised work experience performing direct client counseling or marriage and family therapy for two years or the equivalent which must have included no less than 1,000 post-degree direct service hours for LPC and at least 2,000 hours in at least 3 calendar years for LMFT..
(D) Required passage of a competency examination as a condition for licensure.
(E) Been obtained by a method of application that involved state review of documentation of education and experience under adopted standards, and not obtained through reciprocity; act of portability; mutual recognition; recognition of non-governmental, professional certification or membership; waiver of any of the education, experience, or examination requirements; or “grandparenting”.
(d) The applicant must pass the Oregon law and rules examination.
What Can I Do If Reciprocity Does Not Work?
You may change methods without charge by notifying the office that you wish to change methods and submitting the additional forms [within a year of application].
- Direct Method: available to applicants whose total hours were completed before July 1, 2002, or to those who completed hours in another state. Submit:
- Documentation of your degree
- Verification of your exam
- Your supervised client contact hours
- A Professional Disclosure Statement
All client contact hours require the original signature of your clinical supervisor at that time. It is not always easy, or even possible, to obtain sigmatures from supervisors of long ago, or with whom you have lost contact, however, this requirement will NOT be waived. Applicants who do not qualify under the Direct Method may change again without charge, this time to the Intern Registration Method by notifying us and submitting additional forms [within a year of application].
- Intern Registration: mandatory for those applying for licensure in Oregon whose total hours have not been completed before July 1, 2002, and for those who cannot qualify for Oregon licensure by Reciprocity or the Direct Method. Submit:
- Forms listed in 1 through 4 above, and
- Form #7, Proposed Work Experience Plan
General Information
“Current” requirements and application forms. You will be required to qualify under requirements in place at the time of application. The requirements and the forms may change over time as licensure evolves. Verify that the lower left corner of your forms are dated within the past two years. Once your application is submitted, you will have one year to qualify for registration, licensure or examination.
Materials received prior to your application, such as transcripts or exam scores, are kept for one year and then destroyed if a Request for Licensure and fee are not received.
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