No person shall hold himself or herself out to the public as a licensed professional counselor of mental health or licensed associate counselor of mental health unless the person is licensed in accordance with this chapter. It shall be unlawful for a person who is not licensed under this chapter, or the person’s employees, agents or representatives, to use in connection with the person’s name or business the words “licensed professional counselor of mental health,” “licensed associate counselor of mental health,” or any other words, letters, abbreviations or insignia indicating or implying directly or indirectly that the person is licensed under this chapter.

74 Del. Laws, c. 355, §  12;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  75 Del. Laws, c. 83, §  1; 

As used in this subchapter:

(1) “Licensed associate counselor of mental health” (“LACMH”) is an individual licensed as an associate counselor of mental health under this chapter who is obtaining experience under the professional direct supervision of a licensed professional counselor of mental health or other health professional approved by the Board for the purpose of becoming licensed as a professional counselor of mental health.

(2) “Licensed professional counselor of mental health” (“LPCMH”) is an individual licensed as a professional counselor of mental health under this chapter who offers professional mental health counseling to individuals, groups, organizations or the general public.

(3) “Professional direct supervision” is face-to-face consultation, on a regularly scheduled basis, between a supervisee and a licensed professional counselor of mental health (LPCMH) or other behavioral health professional approved by the Board as required by the nature of the work of the supervisee. The Board approved supervisor is responsible for insuring that the extent, kind and quality of the services rendered are consistent with the supervisee’s education, training and experience.

(4) “Professional mental health counseling” is the application of clinical counseling principles, methods or procedures including the diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders to assist individuals in achieving more effective personal and social adjustment.

75 Del. Laws, c. 83, §  1;  80 Del. Laws, c. 80, §  15;  81 Del. Laws, c. 14, § 1; 

(a) An applicant who is applying for licensure under this subchapter shall complete a Board approved application, submit the application fee, and supply evidence verified by oath and satisfactory to the Board that the applicant:

(1) Has received a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education with a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours in clinical mental health counseling or received a graduate degree equivalent to clinical mental health counseling from a recognized institution as determined by the Board.

(2) Has acquired the equivalent of 2 years of experience in supervised professional mental health counseling acceptable to the Board. The professional mental health counseling experience must consist of not less than 3,200 hours obtained over a period of not less than 2 years and not more than 4 years, at least 1,600 hours of which shall be supervised clinical experience acceptable to the Board.

(3) Has passed the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or other examination acceptable to the Board.

(4) Has not received any administrative penalties regarding the applicant’s actions as a licensed, registered or certified mental health provider, including but not limited to fines, formal reprimands, license suspensions or revocation (except for license revocations for nonpayment of license renewal fees), probationary limitations, and/or has not entered into any “consent agreement” which contains conditions placed by a Board on the applicant’s professional conduct, including any voluntary surrender of a license. The Board, after a hearing, may determine whether such administrative penalty is grounds to deny licensure.

(5) Does not have any impairment related to drugs or alcohol or a finding of mental incompetence by a physician that would limit the applicant’s ability to act as a professional counselor of mental health or associate counselor of mental health in a manner consistent with the safety of the public.

(6) Does not have a criminal conviction nor pending criminal charge relating to an offense that is substantially related to the practice of mental health counseling. Applicants who have a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge shall request appropriate authorities to provide information about the conviction or charge directly to the Board. However, if after consideration of the factors set forth under § 8735(x)(3) of Title 29 through a hearing or review of documentation the Board determines that the granting of a waiver would not create an unreasonable risk to public safety, the Board, by an affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum, shall waive this paragraph (a)(6). No waiver may be granted for a conviction of a felony sexual offense.

a.-e. [Repealed.]

(7) Has not been penalized for any wilful violation of the code of ethics adopted by the Board or the code of ethics of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) or its successor or other similar professional mental health counseling standard.

(8) Notwithstanding the time limitation set forth in § 8735(x)(4) of Title 29, has not been convicted of a felony sexual offense.

(9) Has submitted, at the applicant’s expense, fingerprints and other necessary information in order to obtain the following:

a. A report of the applicant’s entire criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification or a statement from the State Bureau of Identification that the State Central Repository contains no such information relating to that person.

b. A report of the applicant’s entire federal criminal history record pursuant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation appropriation of Title II of Public Law 92-544 (28 U.S.C. § 534). The State Bureau of Identification shall be the intermediary for purposes of this section and the Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals shall be the screening point for the receipt of said federal criminal history records.

An applicant may not be licensed as a licensed professional counselor of mental health until the applicant’s criminal history reports have been produced. An applicant whose record shows a prior criminal conviction for an offense that is substantially related to the practice of mental health counseling may not be certified by the Board unless a waiver is granted pursuant to paragraph (a)(6) of this section. The State Bureau of Identification may release any subsequent criminal history to the Board.

(b) If the Board finds that an applicant has been intentionally fraudulent or has intentionally supplied false information, the Board shall report its findings to the Attorney General for further action.

(c) Where an application is refused or rejected and the applicant feels the Board has acted without justification, has imposed higher or different standards for the applicant than for other applicants or licensees or has in some other manner contributed to or caused the failure of such application, the applicant may appeal to the Superior Court.

(d) [Repealed.]

66 Del. Laws, c. 128, §  1;  67 Del. Laws, c. 200, §  3;  68 Del. Laws, c. 52, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 535, §  1;  72 Del. Laws, c. 267, §  1;  74 Del. Laws, c. 262, §  61;  75 Del. Laws, c. 83, §  1;  75 Del. Laws, c. 436, §  32;  77 Del. Laws, c. 199, §  23;  78 Del. Laws, c. 31, §§  3-5;  78 Del. Laws, c. 44, §§  44, 45;  79 Del. Laws, c. 277, §  10;  81 Del. Laws, c. 14, § 2;  83 Del. Laws, c. 433, § 20; 

(a) An applicant who is applying for licensure as an associate counselor of mental health under this chapter shall complete an application form, submit the required fee, and furnish evidence, verified by oath and satisfactory to the Board, that such person has met all the requirements established in this subchapter for licensed professional counselors of mental health, except the requirements dealing with required experience.

(b) A plan for professional direct supervision of the associate counselor of mental health shall be submitted to and approved by the Board prior to the applicant’s acquiring the professional mental health counseling experience necessary for licensure as a professional counselor of mental health.

(c) The associate counselor of mental health license shall be effective for a period of 2 years. The license may be renewed up to 2 times.

(d) A LACMH may submit an application for LPCMH upon fulfillment of the experience requirements of this subchapter.

66 Del. Laws, c. 128, §  1;  68 Del. Laws, c. 52, §  1;  72 Del. Laws, c. 267, §  1;  75 Del. Laws, c. 83, §  1;  81 Del. Laws, c. 14, § 3; 

(a) Upon payment of the application fee and submission and acceptance of a written application on forms provided by the Board, the Board shall grant a license to each applicant who is certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors or other national mental health specialty certifying organization acceptable to the Board who shall present proof of current licensure in good standing in another State, the District of Columbia or territory of the United States, whose standards for licensure are substantially similar to those of this State. A “license in good standing” is defined in § 3032(a)(4) through (8) of this title.

(b) An applicant who is licensed in a jurisdiction whose standards are not substantially similar to those of this State but who has held a license in good standing for a minimum of 5 years in the jurisdiction from which the applicant is applying for reciprocal licensure and who has passed the NCE or other examination acceptable to the Board may be licensed by the Board, provided the applicant meets all other qualifications for reciprocity.

(c) An applicant who is licensed in a jurisdiction whose standards are not substantially similar to those of this State and who lacks the minimum years of licensure as defined in subsection (b) of this section above may apply for licensure as an associate counselor of mental health, in order to obtain the experience necessary to fulfill the requirements of this subchapter.

(d) [Repealed.]

66 Del. Laws, c. 128, §  1;  68 Del. Laws, c. 52, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  72 Del. Laws, c. 267, §  1;  73 Del. Laws, c. 293, §  1;  75 Del. Laws, c. 83, §  1;  75 Del. Laws, c. 393, §  2;  81 Del. Laws, c. 14, § 4;  81 Del. Laws, c. 425, § 18;