The Board of Professional Counselors and Marital and Family Therapists is composed of five members appointed by the governor. The terms are five years. The boards responsibility is to regulate the practice of professional counseling and marital and family therapy. The boards responsibilities include: “Adopt and revise rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out its powers and duties, Adopt and/or administer examinations. Examine for, deny, withhold, or approve the license of an applicant and renew licenses or certificates.
Establish continuing education requirements, appoint designee to assist in the performance of its duties, i. e. oral examination committee, and Conduct hearings” (Rules of Tennessee board for professional counselors, marital and, family therapists and clinical pastoral therapists, 2016). “The Board of Professional Counselors and Marital and Family Therapists is composed by law of five members appointed by the governor. The terms are five years. The composition of the board shall include two licensed or certified professional counselors, two licensed or certified marital and family therapists, and one citizen. (Rules of Tennessee board for professional counselors, marital and, family therapists and clinical pastoral therapists, 2016).
Each July the board elects these following members: a president, a vice president, a board administrator, and a secretary. The president is required to attend all board meetings. The vice president takes the presidents place if the president is absent. The board administrator and the secretary are both in charge of correspondence from the board. Regarding board meetings: At least one meeting is held annually. All other times and dates are appointed by the board.
Two members of the board or the president may request special meetings. All board meetings are open to the public. “Topics on the agenda may include adopt and revise rules and regulations, examine for, deny, with hold, or approve the license of an applicant and renew licenses or certificates, establish continuing education requirements, appoint a designee to assist in the performance of its duties, conduct hearings and the board has the authority to select a consultant” (Rules of Tennessee board for professional counselors, marital and, family therapists and clinical pastoral therapists, 2016).
The requirements for licensure consist of education requirements, internship hours and proper examination and documentation. First, you must be 18. The educational requirements include sixty graduate semester hours that all must be completed from an accredited institution. “The graduate coursework should include these courses: Theories of human behavior, learning and personality, Abnormal behavior, Theories of counseling and psychotherapy, Evaluation and appraisal procedures, Group dynamics, theories and techniques, Counseling techniques, Multicultural counseling, Ethics, Research, Clinical practicum or internship.
Also, you must have a minimum of two years supervised post master professional experience of not less than ten hours per week and fifty contact hours of supervision per year” (Rules of Tennessee board for professional counselors, marital and, family therapists and clinical pastoral therapists, 2016). To become an LPC you must take the National Counselor Examination. Also, all applicants must take a test of law and ethics to get an LPC license. (Tennessee Department of Health, 2016). Criminal background checks are required to get initial licensure in Tennessee.
Fingerprints are made electronically. Fingerprints will then be forwarded electronically to the correct department. Two letters of recommendation are required to be sent. You must request to your educational institution to send transcripts to the board. To establish identity and eligibility you will need a passport photo and a credible birth certificate. A Mandatory Practitioner Profile must also be sent. “Your application packet will also include an affidavit and release statement that you will need to have notarized “(TN Department of Health, 2016).
The typical number of applications processed per month are about twenty per month come in and about half get processed (TN Department of Health, 2016). A description of the complaint process is as follows: You must call the Complaint Divisions of the Department of health and then request a complaint form. “All requests, applications, notices, other communications and correspondence shall be directed to the board’s administrative office” (TN Department of Health, 2016).
Any requests that requires a board decision or action the request must be received 14 days prior to the next board meeting. These requests shall be held in the administrative office until the board meeting presides. The attorney and the designated board consultant will then review the complaint heavily to determine whether there has been a violation of the Practice Act. The details of the complaint are then reviewed and examined by the attorney and the board consultant. The review of practitioner files, both confidential and public might occur.
Once the review process is done a decision is made whether to pursue the investigation. Upon the filing of a notice of charges by the Department of Health complaints made on a practitioner will be made public. Based on the findings of the investigation a decision is then made. The board consultant will then do the following acts: “One, recommend whether and under what type of disciplinary actions should be instituted as the result of complaints received or investigations conducted by the Division.
Two, recommend whether and what terms a complaint, case or disciplinary action might be informally settled. Any matter proposed for informal settlement must be subsequently ratified by the full board before it will become effective” (Rules of Tennessee board for professional counselors, marital and, family therapists and clinical pastoral therapists, 2016). A formal public hearing may be held. When a decision is reached, you will receive a letter from the board consultant.
The decision is put in letter form then sent out. The letter will say one of the following: “One, there was no violation of the Practice Act that would lead to disciplinary action, but the practitioner has been informed of the concerns that lead to the complaint. Two, there was a violation of the Practice Act and a formal disciplinary action was taken, made part of the public record, and reported statewide and to the national data bank” (TN Department of Health, 2016).
The number of complaints per month that I found where one to five complaints every month. One example would be in December 2016 a doctor was convicted. He violated the code of ethics and was put on suspension for no less than a year. Other disciplinary actions in order of severity consists of advisory censure, formal censure or reprimand, probation, certification or licensure suspension, and the worst is certification or licensure revocation
