CHAPTER 187
(SB 14)
Board of Examiners of Counselors
and Marriage and Family Therapists, requirements changed.
ENTITLED, An Act to revise certain provisions pertaining to the Board of Examiners of
Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That § 36-32-13.1 be repealed.
Section 2. That § 36-32-13.2 be repealed.
Section 3. That § 36-32-18 be amended to read as follows:
36-32-18. The board shall hold licensure examinations at least annually and from time to
time at such places as the board may designate require an examination for licensure as a
professional counselor or a professional counselor-mental health.
Section 4. That § 36-32-19 be amended to read as follows:
36-32-19. Any applicant failing to pass the examination provided by this chapter for
licensure is entitled within six months to a reexamination upon payment of an additional fee,
not to exceed one hundred dollars, to be promulgated by the board pursuant to chapter 1-26.
However, two such reexaminations shall exhaust the privilege under the original application to
two reexaminations under the plan of supervision filed with the board.
Section 5. That § 36-32-19.1 be repealed.
Section 6. That § 36-32-41 be amended to read as follows:
36-32-41. Effective January 1, 1996, a A licensed professional counselor may apply to the
board for certification licensure as a licensed professional counselor-mental health (LPC-MH).
No person may use the designation LPC-MH unless the person is certified licensed pursuant to
§§ 36-32-41 to 36-32-43, inclusive.
Section 7. That § 36-32-42 be amended to read as follows:
36-32-42. The board shall certify license an applicant as a LPC-MH if the applicant fulfills
the following requirements:
(1) Obtains licensure under this chapter as a licensed professional counselor;
(2) Completes a master's, specialist, or doctoral degree with an emphasis in mental health
counseling from a counseling program approved by the Council for Accreditation of
Counseling and Related Educational Programs as listed in the Directory of
Accredited Programs, July 1991, or an equivalent program as demonstrated by
studies in the following areas:
(a) The general principles and practices of etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention of mental and emotional disorders and dysfunctional behavior, and
the general principles and practices for the promotion of optimal mental
health;
(b) The specific models and methods for assessing mental status and the
identification of mental illness or abnormal, deviant, or psychopathologic
behavior by obtaining appropriate behavioral data using a variety of
techniques, including nonprojective personality assessments and achievement,
aptitude, and intelligence testing, and translating findings into the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual categories, as adopted by the board by rules
promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26;
(c) The specific theories of psychotherapy for initiating, maintaining, and
terminating therapy with a mentally and emotionally impaired client or a client
with disabilities in a variety of settings using a variety of modalities, including
crisis intervention, brief, intermediate, and long-term modalities;
(d) The basic classification, indications, and contraindications of the commonly
prescribed psychopharmacological medications for the purpose of identifying
the effects and side effects of prescribed psychotropic medications;
(e) The guidelines for conducting an intake interview and mental health history
for planning and managing of client caseload; and
(f) The specific concepts and ideas related to mental health education, outreach,
prevention, and mental health promotion;
(3) Completes two years of clinical experience and supervision under a licensed mental
health professional after receiving a master's degree. The supervising mental health
professional must hold the highest level of licensure within that supervisor's
profession. Clinical experience must consist of two thousand hours of direct client
contact in a clinical setting. Supervision must consist of one hundred hours of direct
supervision, at least fifty hours of which shall be face-to-face. The balance may be
face-to-face or by telephone conferencing or interactive video conferencing.
However, any telephone conferencing or interactive video conferencing must be
secure such that reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure that the conference
will not be intercepted or listened to by unauthorized persons; and
(4) Passes an examination approved by the board for the purpose of assessing an
applicant's knowledge in the content areas of mental health counseling.
Section 8. That § 36-32-43 be amended to read as follows:
36-32-43. The board shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 regarding standards for
professional practice,
certification licensing, eligibility, continuing education, ethical standards,
supervision, and examination of an applicant for and a holder of
certification licensure as a
licensed professional counselor-mental health. The board shall set fees pursuant to chapter 1-26
of not more than one hundred fifty dollars for examination
for certification, not more than
seventy-five dollars for initial
certification licensure, and not more than seventy-five dollars for
annual renewal of
certification licensure.
Section 9. That § 36-32-44 be amended to read as follows:
36-32-44. Supervision received in pursuit of licensure as a licensed professional counselor,
if the supervising mental health professional holds the highest level of licensure within that
supervisor's profession, and clinical experience consisting of direct client contact in a clinical
setting accumulated in pursuit of licensure as a licensed professional counselor, may be applied
to fulfill the certification licensing requirements of a licensed professional counselor--mental
health. No more than fifty hours of such supervision and no more than one thousand hours of
such clinical experience may be applied to the certification licensing requirements of a licensed
professional counselor--mental health.
Section 10. That § 36-32-45 be repealed.
Section 11. That § 36-33-11 be amended to read as follows:
36-33-11. The board may conduct shall require an examination at least once a year at a time
and place designated by the board for licensure.
Section 12. That § 36-33-12 be amended to read as follows:
36-33-12. Any applicant who fails an examination conducted required by the board is
entitled after six months to a reexamination upon payment of an additional fee, but to three such
reexaminations shall exhaust the privilege under the original application plan of supervision
filed with the board.
Signed March 6, 2014