Becoming a Professional, Being a Professional

“No man [translation: person] ever reached excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation.” (Horace)

 

Join Professional Associations

Join professional associations. Students pay reduced fees.
Read association journals & newspapers.
Attend annual conferences.
Maintain membership throughout your career.
Work toward leadership roles in these organizations.
For information/brochures see bulletin board & wall pockets outside the CPSY office (Rogers Hall). 

Join Both National & State Professional Associations
Most mental health professionals belong to both national & state associations, and often join subdivisions of the associations they belong to. Study the missions of each association & the benefits, and prioritize, according to the ones you’re most affiliated with.  Click for links…
 

Attend Conferences and Workshops

Attend conferences and workshops to:
Increase your knowledge/skills.
Gain Continuing Education Units.
Expand your network of colleagues.
Explore employment opportunities.
Discover new resources.

Extend your knowledge/skills to others by:
Presenting at conferences.
Offering workshops via educational/professional organizations.

Graduate students can talk with advisors about attending &/or presenting at conferences.

Contact the Center for Community Engagement for continuing education credits at Lewis and Clark College’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Alumni can receive a 10% discount for continuing education non-credit/CEU classes offered at L&C.

Network

Begin networking now. View professional gatherings as opportunities to meet new colleagues. Networking is a way professionals connect with colleagues for mutual benefit. Even if introducing yourself to a stranger isn’t easy for you outside the parameters of a counseling relationship, stretch your comfort level. Professionals attending the same event are generally receptive to contact by those in attendance. Make a point of extending your network at each event. Ask those you meet whom else they recommend you talk to; ask if you can indicate they suggested you call.

Volunteer with Community Services

Early in a career, assisting others as a volunteer is a way to increase people skills, while contributing to social well-being. It’s also a reality check regarding career goals. Even later, when fully employed as a professional, it’s gratifying to continue some pro bono work. After retirement, professionals often increase their volunteerism; they offer understanding & expertise developed through a lifetime of experience.

“…I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, as a messenger of wonder, as an architect of peace…”

(Diane Ackerman)
 

Prepare for the NBCC Exam

Graduate students can take the NBCC Exam (NCE) in the last year of their Masters degree program. Students who choose this early exam option should complete courses central to the exam (e.g., Career Counseling) prior to the April testing at Lewis and Clark College.  Students who graduate in December are also eligible for the following April administration.  Anyone with questions about eligibility should email Marsha White at mwhite@lclark.edu.

Students have found study groups to be an effective way to review material for the exam. Study manuals are advertised in the ACA monthly newspaper and are listed on NBCC’s website. The Counseling Psychology Department has purchased a few copies of study guides for use by our students who are preparing for the exam. The guides can be checked out for four days. Contact the CPSY department directly to inquire about the study guides. cpsy@lclark.edu 

Seek Post-Masters Supervision

Candidates for licensure need to receive qualified supervision. Agencies sometimes are able to offer supervision for employees working toward licensure. Candidates not receiving this supervision, as well as those who begin private practice prior to licensure, will need to hire supervisors. Usually approximately 2 years of full time counseling is needed to accrue enough supervised hours for licensure.

In Oregon, supervisors must be licensed & have 30 clock hours of supervision training, for your client contact hours to count toward supervision. The Oregon Board’s website details complete supervisor qualifications.  CPSYCPR’s Licensed Alumni Directory lists alumni who have indicated they are qualified to offer supervision; look for the word Supervision in the Specializations column.

Looking for a Supervisor?  

For your convenience, we’ve created a directory of Lewis and Clark College CPSY alumni who indicate they’re licensed as LPCs,  LMFTs, and/or CADCs.  This directory includes a column where our alumni can list up to 3 specializations. If <Supervision> appears in that column, it means alumni have indicated they are qualified as supervisors, according to the State of Oregon’s board requirements (or requirements from other states) and they want to offer supervision to graduates working toward licensure.

Note: We post data as received, in order of receipt & without recommendations. Those seeking supervisors should interview potential supervisors to find the best match and to verify that the information they submitted to us is still up-to-date.

NOTE: We launched the Licensed Alumni Directory in April 2010.  We expect this directory to grow as our alumni become aware of this website and the directory.  Please check periodically to see if new data have been added. ~ Joan Hartzke McIlroy, Ph.D.

DISCLAIMER: Inclusion in the directory should not be interpreted as an institutional recommendation.  Nor does Lewis and Clark College set the rules for licensure/supervision or determine who meets the requirements for licensure/supervision.  See the website of The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists for details about licensure and supervision.

Maintain Professional Liability Insurance

Many professionals maintain their own professional liability insurance, in addition to the coverage that employers might offer. Often they continue with the same insurer that provided insurance during their internship(s) (although at a higher rate). New mental health responders who are undecided might find it helpful to consult with professionals who have been practicing for a number of years.

National professional associations usually offer information about professional liability insurance. Many professional organizations also offer premises liability insurance for those in private practice.

Private Practice Tips

The American Counseling Association has partnered with R.J. Walsh, NCC, LCPC & N.C. Dasenbrook, LCPC (>50 years combined experience in mental health, including >30 years in private practice) to offer bulletins on private practice topics, including starting/expanding/ending a private practice, informed consent, HIPAA, managed care, insurance, provider panels and claim denials. Private Practice Pointers.
The copyrighted material should not be reproduced without ACA’s permission.

Maintain Your Balance

This website offers four pages to help you maintain your balance:  
Professional Reading That Makes a Difference
Best Practices
Wisdom
Keeping a Sense of Humor.
See index right column or click here to access them.

Professional Licenses & Certifications

Mental health professionals become licensed/certified in the states they practice in, according to the rules of each state. Many mental health professionals also become nationally certified with the National Board for Certified Counselors. Click for links below and check state websites for licensure rules in states not listed here.

• OR Board of Licensed Professional Counselors & Therapists
• WA Mental Health Counselor
• WA MFT Licensure
• AK Mental Health Counselor
• AK MFT Licensure
• NBCC List of State Boards
• AAMFT List of State Boards
• NBCC Information
• Study Guides for National Counselor Exam
• American Association of State Boards.

Contact Marsha White, Internship/Practicum Administrator in the Counseling Psychology Department, for information re: LPC & MCFT licensure. (503-768-6064)

The Gift of Therapy:
An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients

Direct, concise wisdom for both counselors-in-training and experienced mental health professionals. Psychotherapy.net offers signed editions of all of Irvin Yalom’s books. Psychotherapy.net’s annotation for The Gift of Therapy follows:

“Anyone interested in psychotherapy or personal growth will rejoice at the publication of The Gift of Therapy. Yalom imparts his unique wisdom in this remarkable guidebook for successful therapy. At once startlingly profound and irresistibly practical, Yalom’s insights — let the patient matter to you; create a new kind of therapy for each patient; how and how not to use self-disclosure — will help enrich the therapeutic process for both patient and counselor.”

Career Development: Online Resources

Self-assessments, philosophical perspectives about work and well-being, and help finding your right livelihood. Explore the sites to find the help you’re looking for.
Cost range: free and upward.  Click for links…

Mentaline.com offers an online guide to therapy treatment resources.

Online Psychology Degrees offers comprehensive information about psychology careers and information about educational programs with a psychology focus.  It offers profiles of about 20 specialties and interviews with professionals.

Note:  School Psychology and School Counseling 

School Psychology and School Counseling students and alumni are served by Sharon Chinn, Director, Educational Career and Licensing Services.
phone: 503-768-6008     fax: 503-768-6019     ecls@lclark.edu

Have we overlooked key websites? Suggestions to improve this site?

Send feedback, suggestions and annotated links to cpsycpr@lclark.edu.
Thank you for your collegiality and for your good work in the world.L