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LMHC Means What to Me?

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As noted in Kathy Slaughter’s recent article about Social Workers, it is important to have knowledge about the training and credentials of the various mental health providers who are in practice in order to assist you in choosing the provider who is best suited to you.

 

Who is an LMHC?

When mental health providers have an LMHC after their name, this means that they have taken steps to be identified by the state in which they practice as Licensed Mental Health Counselors, and have permission from the state to both refer to themselves as licensed professionals, and to legally provide counseling services.

 

What is Counseling?

The field of counseling originated with Frank Parsons.  He lived and worked in Boston during the early 1900s, and is considered to be the first vocational or job educator in the United States.  By today’s standards, he would have been considered a career counselor, or a professional who assists people in selecting and pursuing careers of interest to them.  Mr. Parsons founded the Education to Work Center in 1906 where people came and learned about prospective careers.  He also wrote the book, “Choosing a Vocation” in 1908.  He was ultimately dubbed, “The Father of Counseling.”

Despite Mr. Parsons’ contribution to the field of counseling, it is important to understand that today’s LMHCs work in diverse settings such as schools, community mental health centers, correctional settings, and private practice.  In addition, LMHCs provide an array of services beyond career counseling such as making competent mental health diagnoses, making treatment planning decisions for clients with a broad range of presenting concerns, facilitating individual, couples, family, and group counseling services, and continually re-assessing clients’ functioning and needs.

 

How does a mental health professional become an LMHC?

An LMHC is a mental health provider who has obtained his/her master’s degree in a specialty area such as psychology, counseling or education.  Within this type of master’s program, future LMHCs learn about theory-based approaches that shaped their field of study, the signs and symptoms of mental health diagnoses contained within the diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM), and treatment approaches to help clients address symptoms and other concerns.  It is typical for students in these areas of study to develop strong skills in making mental health diagnoses and clinical decisions about how to help clients cope with a diverse range of issues.

As part of their graduate studies, future LMHCs are also required to complete practicum and internship experiences.  There, they get assigned to work in real-world settings such as community counseling centers, have the opportunity to meet with actual clients, and with the guidance of supervisors, get the chance to practice applying learned skills to help clients address various concerns.

Once future LMHCs complete their master’s degree program, they are often required to complete additional practicum or internship experiences.  With the continued help of supervisors, future LMHCs must meet with clients on a full-time basis for approximately two years and earn 3,000 hours’ worth of direct experience.

At this point, budding LMHCs take a special test called a licensure exam.  The exam is created by a national entity such as the National Board of Certified Counselors, is recognized by the state in which the future LMHC wishes to practice, and often requires the test taker to identify specific mental health diagnoses and to make decisions about how to help clients deal with a range of issues.   If the test taker passes the exam, the state in which he/she practices will then officially recognize him/her as competent and licensed to practice.

 

How does all this relate to me?

If you are just beginning the process of seeking mental health services for yourself (or even if you are already obtaining services), if you have questions about a mental health provider’s training, credentials, treatment philosophy or approach, don’t ever hesitate to ask him or her to tell you more about this to ensure that you feel comfortable about your choice of provider.  This, in turn, may help you to maximize the overall effectiveness of your treatment experience.


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