Mastering the LPC Process: Tips and Stories with Ana Garcia

Transcript

Narrator: 0:01

This podcast is for educational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal assistance about a legal problem, contact an attorney. Well, good afternoon Anna.

Cimone Murphree: 0:17

Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you doing?

Ana Garcia: 0:21

Oh good, Thank you. Thanks for having me are you doing?

MJ Hooper: 0:27

That’s great to hear. Well, we’re sure glad to have you here and super excited to discuss the Licensed Professional Counselor or LPC as it’s abbreviated application process with you. Before we dive too deeply in today’s topic, can you tell our viewers a little bit about yourself and your background?

Ana Garcia: 0:45

Sure, yes. So I have a bachelor’s in clinical psychology from Tufts University in 2001,. And then I got my master’s in counseling here at St Edwards, did practicums, internships on both of those, worked in a lot of different settings group counseling, individual residential treatment, nursing homes, homeless cancer patients, stuff like that and so most of my experience is with cancer patients of the American Cancer Society.

MJ Hooper: 1:29

Wow, that’s so cool. So all of that experience has led you to this process of obtaining your professional counselor license.

Ana Garcia: 1:35

Yes, well, I kind of I’ve kind of done it twice so, when I had my master’s in counseling in 2005,. So after that I did my internship and got half of my hours done. I get to have 3,000 hours 1,500 administrative and 1,500 clinical to get the full LPC. And then my son was born. Then I didn’t get the rest of them done. After that I had taken some years with my son, my daughter and helping my dad through an illness. So I had applied to all that stuff. I had done almost all of it, but you have to redo it if it’s over five years, which makes sense. Wow, and it makes sense because the board has changed a lot in those years.

Cimone Murphree: 2:24

Yeah, that definitely makes sense. They would want their license holders to be up to date on their you know, changes and information and best practices. And congratulations on receiving your license. That is really exciting and you know, I’m sure you feel relieved after you know that process and taking that break. I think any parent knows, you know, after you have your, a child, that takes precedence and so sometimes you know your, your career path has to take a backseat. So congratulations on obtaining your license and making it through that lengthy process. Can you talk to us a little bit about you know, piecing together your application, and I know you said that there were a lot of hours and prerequisites that you needed to be able to apply for the license. Can you talk to us a little bit more about those prerequisites and requirements and piecing it all together?

Ana Garcia: 3:30

Yes. So, like I said, there were some major changes with the roles and they seem to be for the better, you know, a little bit easier for counselors to do the kind of counseling they wish to do. The prerequisites you have to get your bachelor’s degree in some form and, of course, the master’s degree in counseling or psychology, and then you have to do, I believe, an 800-hour internship when you’re still at school before you graduate, and then after that, 1,500 hours of each administrative and counseling. That’s the thing you have to get done. But to start the process you need to take a national counseling exam, which is the NCE. It’s very comprehensive. It’s a long exam, has a lot of topics, um, and it is. It was super easy to do. When I came straight out of grad school, those facts were in my head, but, um, doing this again more recently was a lot harder, required more, a lot more studying, but I did great on it. Were you able to?

Cimone Murphree: 4:42

submit everything online. Was it mostly an online process?

Ana Garcia: 4:49

Yes, most of it could be done online. That was great. That was a big difference.

Cimone Murphree: 4:54

I’m sure that’s very helpful, you know, to busy applicants.

Ana Garcia: 5:00

When you get done with that exam, that’s when you can be considered an LPC associate. So that’s their license. It used to be called an LPC intern, so it’s kind of a provisional license and you’re under supervision of someone who is an LPC supervisor. Okay, so that is the step that I’m on right now. I had just found a supervisor recently and then once all those hours are done the 3,000 hours then you give a full license without supervisory requirements apologize for interrupting For the NCE exam that you briefly mentioned.

MJ Hooper: 5:50

is that a one day type exam that you go somewhere and you have to take, or is that an exam that is applied or conducted online?

Ana Garcia: 5:59

No, you have to go in person. They do. I think Pearson educational testing is what they call it. You have to sign up with them. You know, pay a fee. They do it on computer and it’s probably not too long, but it feels like a long test, but it’s probably like two hours.

MJ Hooper: 6:16

Oh, okay. Well, just in case some viewers aren’t even aware of that process, I just wanted to obtain a little bit more information on that so that way they know. Like I said, whether it’s you know in person or online, fees are associated. So I appreciate you sharing that, of course.

Cimone Murphree: 6:37

Great question, MJ, definitely.

MJ Hooper: 6:39

So it sounds like it’s really important that you stay up to date on the licensing requirements and have carefully reviewed your application before submission.

Ana Garcia: 6:52

Absolutely so. And tooth comb make sure it’s ready to go.

MJ Hooper: 7:00

there’s a lot of people that have overlooked a question or missed a question all in its entirety and would have it rejected because of that, I would assume. Oh, definitely, definitely.

Ana Garcia: 7:13

Okay.

MJ Hooper: 7:16

So, after you’ve submitted your application, can you take us through what the submission process was like? I know you mentioned previously that this is done online. Is there any other helpful tidbits you could share with us?

Ana Garcia: 7:31

So, yeah, the exam is probably, you know, the hardest part as far as studying and doing all that work. But after that you take a jurisprudence exam which is completely online and it’s it’s I think they call it a no fail test because, like, if you push the wrong answer, it pushes you back again, and then if you do it again, the wrong answer it pushes you back again until you get the right answer so I love those really nice.

Ana Garcia: 7:58

I like that exam right. Right, I’ll take it. That was, that was easy and nice. And then also then you go for background check and fingerprints and get a supervisor.

MJ Hooper: 8:10

Perfect. I was just about to ask about fingerprinting, because we have seen a lot of agencies recently that are adopting that requirement in, whether it’s a new application and or renewal.

Ana Garcia: 8:24

Yeah, definitely. It’s a very important part to you know, for future employers as well.

Cimone Murphree: 8:31

Like you said, there are some changes that happen within the board from maybe the last time that you you know as an applicant were interested in applying, and so making sure that you’re up to date with those requirements and knowing what’s needed of you to submit that application, including fingerprinting, is pretty important. Can you talk to us about the turnaround time from when you submitted your application to receiving your license?

Ana Garcia: 9:02

It wasn’t too long, maybe. Maybe like three weeks, something like that. That’s pretty good, yeah, yeah, so not too bad. I mean, they tell you it’s going to be longer, but you know they do get them out quickly, that’s good, that’s good.

Cimone Murphree: 9:17

Any small details that some license holders should be aware of that may delay this process, such as having to submit a notarized document like that would require them to seek out a notary and anything like that that you can think of that might delay the process of an application.

Ana Garcia: 9:36

I think the closest thing. I didn’t have to do any notarization, I don’t think, but the closest thing we had was getting those transcripts from your university, from your degree and you know, because they have to seal those and sign them. They do some things. You can order those online usually, or call the agency and ask them for it, but they definitely required those to be not touched.

MJ Hooper: 10:03

So when you received your license, ms Anna, was it issued as a paper copy or was it a digital copy? I got a paper copy. Yeah, oh, awesome, okay, goofy question, but do they issue ID cards that you have to carry, like in a wallet for you, or is it just a paper, a paper license for you to hang on a wall?

Ana Garcia: 10:27

Yeah, just a certificate and then you know you also have a number associated with your license and that’s. But they can keep track of that, okay.

Cimone Murphree: 10:38

Yeah, that’s good to know. Good to know. One last question for you, Ms Garcia. Is there any advice that you would like to share?

Ana Garcia: 10:53

with an LPC applicant or a newly licensed professional counselor in Texas. Mainly I’d say try to keep up with your former classmates and professors and any colleagues, because that made it a little easier for me. Sometimes I was thinking like, OK, the new process is very different from what it was before, but having had connections with some of those friends and professors really helped get me back on the right track. Friends and professors really helped to get me back on the right track.

Cimone Murphree: 11:20

That’s really nice to have a good support system, good mentors, people who you can bounce those questions off of. I’m sure that was really helpful.

MJ Hooper: 11:30

Yes, a good networking group.

Ana Garcia: 11:34

Right, and you know there’s a lot of support online for counselors, which we didn’t really have that kind of support when I did this the first time. But you know they’ve not I don’t think they’re official, but they have groups on Facebook for Texas LPCs or LPC associates and sometimes you can get some really good information from that too.

MJ Hooper: 11:56

Oh, that’s great to know.

Cimone Murphree: 11:58

Well, thank you so much for carving some time out of your day to share your insights with us. I know our viewers are going to be immensely thankful for the knowledge that you shared with us today. Congratulations on receiving your license, and we wish you the best of luck in your professional endeavors. Miss Garcia, that’s awesome. I’m rooting for you. I’m so happy for you. As a mom myself, I know what it’s like to take time off from your career and go back to it.

Ana Garcia: 12:29

It’s scary but doable, still doable.

Narrator: 12:32

Know your Regulator. The podcast that inspires you to engage.