What is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPC/LPCC)?

Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCs) are mental health professionals with a rewarding career that involves helping individuals through hardships in their lives. Seven states call them LPCCs, or Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors. The difference between LPCs and LPCCs will be covered in this article. This type of career involves earning a master’s degree and taking a licensing exam to qualify to provide this kind of help to people. Those who are interested in counseling are likely to enjoy a range of work options since this career is frequently in high demand. The road to becoming an LPC/LPCC can be long, but if you are passionate about mental health and want to help individuals, families, and couples feel better, this might be the educational path and career for you. 

Below is an overview of the median US income and career projection of a counseling career. This data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

• Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor
  • Median Annual Income: $53,710
  • Job Outlook: 19% (much faster than average) 

It’s important to note that the title of a mental health or behavioral counselor usually requires a master’s degree, but the above income and job outlook data also includes certain counseling careers that only require a bachelor’s degree. So, you might be able to expect a higher income with a master’s degree, and different job duties, from those with a bachelor’s degree. You can look at your local job boards for a better idea of how much counseling careers pay in your local area, or you can research your state through O*Net Online. 

Many types of organizations need Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, including VA’s, schools, government agencies, hospitals, rehab clinics, and much more. Each of these involve similar job duties, but may vary depending on the type of organization and the struggles of their clientele. In short, the job of a licensed professional counselor is to LPCs, after earning their license, can also open up their own private mental health practice. 

Why are LPCCs important? 

Licensed professional clinical counselors play an important role in the wellbeing of their community. They can work with all sorts of populations that might include families, individuals, and couples. The counselor will help people navigate struggles in their life that impact their daily functioning. This can involve difficulty keeping a job, maintaining relationships, struggling with parenting, poor health, mental illness, and much more. Issues like ubstance abuse or homelessness can also be a part of what a counselor helps a client discuss as well, as it may significantly affect their life. The counselor is able to do this due to the skills they learned in their training, which involves getting a master’s degree and counseling license. 

LPCCs are in high demand in the United States for a reason. According to Mental Health America, the most recent data shows that 23% of adults experience mental illness. Among teens, mental health is actually improving according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but the statistics still show that teen mental health is still fairly poor. 40% of considered attempting suicide. This has decreased from 42% and 30%. The improvement of mental health in teens demonstrates one way in which LPCC’s are needed, as mental health care teens experience persistent sadness and hopelessness and 27% of female teens seriously certainly plays a part in helping people recover from mental struggles. 

What do LPCCs do?

LPCCs serve others by using their skills to counsel individuals, families, and couples. The goal of this counseling is to help the client meet their goals of changing on the emotional or behavioral level. Some clients struggle with mental health diagnoses, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and more. A counselor may help the client develop strategies to cope with their mental health, or with any issues they struggle with in their life due to the diagnosis. The LPC can also work with other providers that are helping a client, including case managers or psychiatrists. Another part of an LPCC’s job is documentation to track a client’s progress. If they operate with a private practice, they coordinate with insurance agencies and collect payments from clients, if they don’t have an assistant to do so. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some counselors also work with clients in group sessions. A group counseling session can be beneficial to clients because it can help them feel less alone. Group counseling holds some of the same challenges of individual counseling as well as some unique challenges. Any type of counseling session can help the client rebuild relationships and repair their careers, or overcome mental health struggles. 

An LPC master’s degree program will help you learn the skills to feel confident doing the above job duties and become an ethical counselor. However, after finishing your master’s degree, and before you can enter a career in counseling, you will need to take the licensing exam. The specifics for how to become a counselor will be discussed in other sections. However, one important thing to know is the difference between LPC’s and other mental health careers. 

You might see a licensed counselor referred to as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). The main difference here is that seven states including California, add the term “clinical” to the title. In the seven states where there are LPCCs, LPCs cannot provide a diagnosis or treatment to their patients, according to Point Loma Nazarene University. So, if you live in one of the seven states with this requirement, you are likely to be considered an LPC until you become licensed. 

Careers Similar to LPCCs

A licensed professional counselor is similar to other careers like marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, and psychologists. These careers are similar, but do differ in small ways. These careers are outlined below to help you decide which one might be the best fit for your goals, and discusses their differences from LPCs. 

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW): This career is similar to an LPC because it requires a master’s degree from an accredited university and approximately 3,000 hours of a post-graduate supervised internship. However, the scope of work that an LCSW is trained to do tends to be wider, qualifying them for multiple roles. An LCSW can provide clinical therapy like an LPC can, but they are trained to do things like advocate for clients, provide resources, navigate social services systems, and hold a caseload. The training of an LCSW may provide them with the knowledge needed to advocate for policy change at the big picture (macro) level, where they voice their concerns about local policies that harm certain communities. Additionally, an LCSW may be able to become a supervisor or manager of a social services agency and similar organizations. Also, because LPC and social work master’s programs are accredited by different organizations (CSWE and CACREP or MPCAC), the educational standards have a different focus. 

Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT): MFTs are similar to LPCs and even LCSWs when it comes to the overall educational requirements in regards to the degree level (masters, as well as earning a certain number of post-graduate internship hours under the supervision of someone who is licensed. However, the curriculum of a marriage and family master’s program is designed to train students how to primarily provide therapeutic guidance to families, couples, and individuals who need help with relationship-based problems. MFT’s specialize in the interpersonal dynamics of relationships. Alternatively, LPCs mainly provide overal treatment and counseling to those with mental health and substance abuse problems. The clients that MFTs and LPCs see might overlap, but each might be better for a specific type of client. Ultimately, it depends on the client’s needs as to which would be better. 

Psychologist: A psychologist is similar to an LPC in that they both can provide some mental health services and support. Unlike the previous careers (LPC, LCSW, and MFT), becoming a clinical psychologist involves earning a doctoral degree. This is because a psychologist can provide psychological testing to diagnose more complex conditions like schizophrenia and autism. A clinical psychologist also needs this extensive education to be able to conduct research and make discoveries within the field of psychology. Someone with a doctoral degree in psychology can also teach at a university if desired. 

Counseling Areas of Specialization

Specializing in a certain area of counseling can help you customize your education and subsequent career to your interests and skills. Many masters in counseling programs offer certain specializations to prepare for your career. Since each counseling program doesn’t offer every possible specialization, finding one that you prefer may help you decide which university and program to attend. Below is an overview of some of the specializations that one might come across when pursuing a degree and career in counseling. You can view more on the CACREP website. 

Clinical Mental Health Counseling: The mental health specialization is broad, but is important. Someone who specializes in this will learn the skills of how to diagnose, treat, and prevent mental health conditions and deal with crises. A mental health counselor can also help someone cope with the effects of trauma and abuse, along with helping them come up with strategies to live their life again. Promoting mental wellness and mental health awareness overall is an important part of a counselor’s work. 

Addiction or Rehab Counseling: This specialization involves working with individuals who struggle with misusing substances to the point of addiction. A student who chooses this specialization might learn how to detect the reasons behind someone’s addiction and how to help them overcome it. They will learn how to provide emotional and mental support to someone going through the struggles of addiction. This work might involve working with the family of the person going through the addiction as well, to try and heal any damage that has been caused. A rehabilitation counselor might specifically work with those in a substance abuse treatment facility. 

Marriage and Family Counseling: This specialization is somewhat similar to the career of a marriage and family therapist. While an MFT might be more likely to focus on the dynamics of a relationship, a marriage and family counselor might work with the couple on issues related to mental health diagnoses. They might help provide understanding of why each person behaves the way that they do, and help the couple come up with strategies to cope with and work through their issues. 

How to Become an LPCC

Becoming an LPC can be quite a process to prepare you for the complex and rewarding career of helping people through difficulties. This process takes multiple steps over several years, but the amount of time it takes can depend on if you already have an undergraduate degree and other factors. The process also may vary slightly by state, and it is determined by each state’s established board. The steps towards becoming a licensed professional counselor are outlined below. 

1. Earn a bachelor’s degree. 

Before earning a master’s degree in counseling, you will need to have earned a bachelor’s degree. Your bachelor’s degree does not necessarily have to be in counseling, but ideally, it should be in something similar like psychology. It’s important to maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 if you can, so that you have a better chance of getting into the master’s of counseling program of your choice. 

2. Earn a master’s degree. 

There are many different counseling master’s degrees in the US. Choosing one that’s right for you might come down to a number of factors. For some, an affordable counseling program is most important. For others, they want to ensure that they are applying to a counseling program with no GRE requirement. However, one of the most important things to consider is attending an accredited counseling program. CACREP, or Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, is the main accrediting organization for counseling programs. Accreditation ensures the quality of the program for which you are applying, and prepares you for your career. 

3. Complete supervised clinical hours. 

For a counseling degree, there are internship hours you must complete while you are still in the master’s program. Additionally though, a part of the process to becoming a licensed counselor is completing internship hours after graduation as well. These hours will take place under the supervision of someone who is licensed. The hourly requirement ranges from 2,000-4,000 hours depending on your state’s requirements. California, for example, requires the completion of 3,000 hours. California also requires graduates to register as an APCC, associate professional clinical counselor, prior to beginning the 3,000 hours. However, the requirements for the licensing process varies by state. 

4. Take your licensing exam. 

Once you have completed your internship hours, you will  be ready to take your licensing exam as well as any others that are required in your state. The application and exam will each cost a fee of about $100-$200 as of 2024. When applying for the exam, you will submit an exam registration to the National Board for Certified Counselors. The exam is officially called the National Clinical Mental Health Counseloor Exam (NCMHCE). 

5. Apply for licensure. 

After taking the exam, you will fulfill your state’s requirements for submitting exam scores and anything else that is needed for the board to issue you your license. Once the information is submitted, it may take several weeks for you to receive confirmation that you have received your license. After this, you can practice counseling independently in your state. 

6. Maintain your license. 

Once you have officially become an LPC, the journey isn’t entirely over. Continuing Education units are a requirement of renewing your license. The number of CE’s required varies by state. Typically, you will have to renew your counseling requirements every two years, but this requirement also depends on the state. Continuing education units provide counselors, therapists, clinical social workers, and other professionals with current information and updates in their field so they can provide excellent care to their clients. The Board of Behavioral Services has approved Vista Continuing Education as one provider of CEU’s. When it comes to renewing your license every two years or so, there is also a fee you will need to pay to renew your license biennially, which is about $175 in 2024. 

LPCC Program Accreditation

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is the main accrediting organization for counseling programs in the United States. There are two types of accreditation: specialized and institutional. CACREP is specialized, meaning that it looks specifically at the counseling programs provided at universities to ensure that they are providing high-quality educational content for potential counselors. This accreditation is provided to both master’s and doctoral programs. Per the CACREP website, their vision is “…to provide leadership and promote excellence” through the process of accrediting counseling education programs. CACREP ensures that schools they accredit follow their core values. The Board of Directors, which comprises professionals in the field of counseling, plays an important role in the development of these values. 

Another specialized accrediting organization is the Master’s in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). This organization focuses on promoting “the scientific practice of professional psychology and counseling at the master’s level”, according to the MPCAC’s About page. MPCAC also values ensuring that students learn to provide services to the public that are culturally responsive and based in science. 

One difference between MPCAC and CACREP is the former provides accreditation to only master’s programs, while the latter provides them to both master’s and doctoral programs. Another difference is that MPCAC ensures that both counseling and psychology elements are added to their educational program. CACREP, on the other hand, focuses primarily on counseling. 

LPCC Licensure vs Certification

There are a few differences between a counseling license and a counseling certificate. These two credentials are not the same, but an LPC can pursue both depending on their goals. According to the American Counseling Association, licensure is a legal status and has to do with state regulations, which works to ensure that the welfare, health, and safety of citizens are protected. Earning a counseling license is a process that takes about two to eight years, depending on what level of education a student is at when they look to pursue licensure. The process is outlined in a previous section, but it involves earning a master’s degree and many hours of applying one’s knowledge in a supervised practicum, then taking and passing an exam. 

On the other hand, getting a counseling certificate is a voluntary part of becoming a counselor. It is basically an addition to the counseling license that demonstrates that a counselor has completed education in the area of counseling, but does not give someone permission to practice counseling on their own. Some certificates can indicate that a student has gained education in a specific area of counseling, such as drug & alcohol addiction, LGBT issues, and more.

How to Find the Best Counseling Program

A master’s degree is part of the requirements to become an LPC. However, deciding where to go can feel overwhelming. There are several factors to consider that, when you put them together, can help give you a clearer picture of what university and program works best for you. 

Online vs In-Person Programs

Both online and in-person programs can benefit a student depending on who they are. Online programs might be preferred for someone who can focus better in a learning environment personalized to them, such as at home. An online counseling program can also be flexible to those who need to work while they are in school. However, an in-person program may benefit those who are extroverted, who thrive in a classroom environment, and/or have the time in their schedule to go to class. Consider which one may be best for you!

In-State vs Out-of-State Programs

If affordability is a big factor for you, then going to a counseling program in your state might be a good choice. Attending programs in your state of residence tends to be the most affordable option for many students, especially if the program is through a state university rather than a private institution. This is because state universities are funded by tax dollars, which benefits residents who attend those programs when it comes to paying a lower tuition. However, an out-of-state program might be the best choice for someone who is going to move to that state in the future, or the program has certain features that you can’t find anywhere near you. 

Accreditation

Ensuring that you are attending an accredited program is very important. Accreditation is a status awarded to a school after they have proven that they meet certain quality standards for education. You can rest assured that your program has been assessed for providing high-quality information if it is accredited. The two organizations that accredit counseling programs are the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and Master’s in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council. 

Directory of Counseling Programs

If you want to find counseling programs but don’t know where to start, check out the below directories. 

• CACREP Directory
• MPCAC Directory

How to Afford a Counseling Degree

Affordability is a big part of the consideration of higher education. Luckily, there are strategies you can do to help fund school. Using each of these strategies will hopefully make school more accessible to you. 

General Funding: FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)  is a great first step when you are looking for funds to pay for school. This application should be filled out each year that you are in school. Basically, this application takes into account factors such as your family size, income, assets, and more to determine if you qualify for any grants and federal loans. Although grants are ideal, because you don’t have to pay them back, federal loans are also a helpful resource to some, as they have a lower interest rate than private loans. The FAFSA website also has information on public loan forgiveness and information regarding how to fill out the FAFSA.

Scholarships

Scholarships are another way of funding your program that doesn’t require students to pay the money back. Scholarships can be found through organizations like the NBCC Foundation. You can also find scholarships through your program of choice, by searching through the university website or calling the financial aid office. There are also websites such as Scholarships.com where you can narrow down your search based on where you live and what your financial needs are. 

Resources to Become an LPCC

• How to Become an LPC
• 20 Cheapest CACREP Accredited Programas Online
• National Board for Certified Counselors 
• American Counseling Association
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC)
• Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
• 5 Internet Resources for Master’s in Counseling Students
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors (How to Become One)