Renewal Information for Alabama LPCs

Oct. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- All Licensed Professional Counselor licenses expire biennially and on July 31 of the renewal year.

Continuing Education

No license will be renewed unless the renewal request is accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the Board of the completion of relevant professional and continued education experience during the term of the current license.

A minimum of forty (40) formal contact clock hours of relevant professional and continued education experience shall be required for renewal of LPC license. The forty (40) hours of continuing education required for licensure renewal must contain a minimum of six (6) clock hours of continuing education devoted to ethical concerns for practice, assessment, supervision, or research in counseling.

The LPC is responsible for maintaining documentation to verify completion of all continuing activities listed on the renewal application. This documentation must be available for review by the Board upon request for a period of three (3) years following the renewal period in which the continuing education activities were used for licensure renewal.

Of the forty (40) formal contact clock hours required for renewal of LPC, ten (10) hours may be obtained by supplying documentation of two (2) of the activities listed below:

- Services as a presenter for a seminar, workshop, or training conference that is primarily counseling in nature.
- Publication of Peer reviewed material that is primarily counseling in nature.
- Therapy received (counseling, psychotherapy, analysis) leading to certification or utilized as a learning modality that is preapproved by the Board and yields a certificate or similar document for inclusion in the licensure file.
- Services on boards, commissions, and holding office in professional organizations, specifically related to counseling, and in which at least thirty (30) hours annually are devoted to such service.

Real-Time Participation in Continuing Education Activities

Effective August 1, 2011, a minimum of seventy-five percent (75%) of the continuing education activities required for any licensure renewal period must consist of real-time participation in seminars, classes, workshops, presentations, training programs, or similar activities. Such real-time participation must involve licensee presence in the location of the activity as it occurs or use of interactive technology by the licensee for the activity as it occurs. Self-contained activities (e.g., recorded presentations, reading, online study) that do not feature opportunities for dialogue and interaction for the licensee as the activity occurs do not qualify as real-time participation in continuing education.

Note: This requirement limits online coursework to 10 hours per renewal cycle.

Documentation of Continuing Education Activities

Acceptable professional development activities for continuing education must reflect provider documentation from one of the following: the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC), the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), or a statement of approval by another state counseling licensure board, and must be training in the professional field of counseling

All certificates of completion/verification of attendance must contain: licensee’s name, name of workshop/seminar/training, name of sponsoring entity, dates of the activity, and number of contact hours granted.

Audit of LPC Renewals

Beginning August 1, 2012, the Board will conduct a mandatory random audit of 10 percent (10%) of LPC renewal applications for the most recent renewal period. The audit is to ensure that the continuing education requirement is being met.

An LPC whose renewal is selected for audit is required to send verification of his/her continuing education to the Board office within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of the audit notice. Failure to submit verification of continuing education within the thirty (30) day period automatically results in a formal disciplinary action by the Board.

The Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling: http://www.abec.state.al.us/

Professional Development Resources (http://www.pdresources.org) is approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) to offer home study continuing education for NCCs (Provider #5590). We adhere to NBCC guidelines. Up to 10 hours per renewal cycle may be obtained by Alabama LPCs.

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Professional Development Resources, Inc. is a nonprofit educational corporation organized in 1992. Our mission is to provide healthcare professionals with accredited continuing education courses on topics that are vital to contemporary clinical practice.