Since becoming a board member, my awareness has been raised concerning the proper use of the Counselor Intern designation. I have noticed that the designation is not always being used in the proper context of the law and the rules governing the Licensed Professional Counselors requirements. There are numerous titles being used in lieu of the proper designation. Some of the titles being used erroneously include LPCI – Licensed Professional Counselor Intern, LCI – Licensed Counselor Intern, LCT – Licensed Counseling Therapist, and my favorite, PCI – Professional Counselor Intern. You may have even seen others in use by well-meaning Counselor Interns who are unaware of the inaccuracy and illegitimacy of the usage. Even though the use of the titles may seem innocuous, there is a provision in the law governing Licensed Professional Counselors which could involve penalties when used improperly.

For the record, a Counselor Intern is defined as “An individual who has received a letter from the board certifying that he has met all the requirements for counselor intern as defined in Chapter 7, para.705” (Ch.5, para. 503 A j). In addition, RS 37:1113 which outlines exclusions of licensing requirements, states that “The supervisee must use the title “counselor intern” and shall not represent himself to the public as a licensed professional counselor.”

The proper use of the designation specifies what a person can expect when they see Counselor Intern. The rules specifically spell out the qualifications and requirements for being a Counselor Intern. This will be any person with a master's degree in counseling while practicing counseling under the board approved supervision of a licensed professional counselor. The public can rest assured that a person with the designation of Counselor Intern is in the process of documenting a minimum of 3,000 hours of post-master's experience in professional mental health counseling under the clinical supervision of a board-approved supervisor, with the supervision occurring over a period of no less than two years and not more than seven years from the original date such supervision was approved. This person must also have provided proof of completion of a supervised practicum and internship as listed in paragraph 503. The counselor intern will also be involved in developing expertise in the methods of the professional mental health counseling practice and in developing self-appraisal and professional development strategies.