(a)  The department shall issue the appropriate license to applicants who meet the qualifications in this section.

(1) Prerequisites for licensure of a clinical mental health counselor associate.   A license as a “clinical mental health counselor associate” shall be issued to an applicant who meets the following qualifications:

(i)  Is of good character;

(ii)  Has received a graduate degree specializing in counseling/therapy from a college or university accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, or an equivalent regional accrediting agency, and that has the approval by a cognizable national or regional certifying authority;

(iii)  Has completed sixty (60) semester hours or ninety (90) quarter hours within his or her graduate counseling/therapy program; and

(iv)  Has completed a minimum of twelve (12) semester hours or eighteen (18) quarter hours of supervised practicum and a minimum of one calendar year of supervised internship consisting of twenty (20) hours per week, or its equivalent, with emphasis in mental health counseling supervised by the department within the college or university granting the requisite degree or by an accredited postgraduate clinical training program recognized by the United States Department of Education, or education and/or experience that is deemed equivalent by the board.

(2) Prerequisites for licensure of a clinical mental health counselor.   A license as a “clinical mental health counselor” shall be issued to an applicant who meets the following qualifications:

(i)  Has completed a minimum of two (2) years of relevant postgraduate experience, including at least two thousand (2,000) hours of direct client contact offering clinical or counseling or therapy services with emphasis in mental health counseling subsequent to being awarded a master’s degree, certificate of advanced graduate study, or doctorate;

(ii)  Has a minimum of one hundred (100) hours of post-degree supervised case work spread over a two-year (2) period; provided, that the supervision was provided by a person who, at the time of rendering the supervision, was recognized by the board as an approved supervisor; and

(iii)  Has passed, to the satisfaction of the board, an examination conducted by it to determine the applicant’s qualification for licensure as a clinical mental health counselor or is applying for licensure under the provisions of § 5-63.2-15.

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(b)  A candidate shall be held to have qualified for licensure as a clinical mental health counselor associate, or a clinical mental health counselor upon the affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the board, two (2) of whom must be mental health counselors on the board.