815 Quarrier Street, Suite 212
Charleston, WV 25301

Supervision FAQ

When a Provisionally Licensed Counselor obtains a new position, the following documents must be submitted to the Board for review and approval before supervision can begin at the new place of employment:
      1. Supervisor Registration Form/Contract to be completed by the applicant and ALPS. This form can be found at the Applications and Form tab.
      2. Page 3 of the application.
      3. A current job description provided by the employer and signed by the ALPS.
      4. A provisionally licensed counselor working in a private practice must submit the following for review and approval before supervision can begin in the position:

Copy of the Informed Consent
The informed consent language needs to include the supervisee will be practicing under a temporary permit or provisional license; this requires supervision by an onsite supervisor or ALPS (Approved Licensed Professional Supervisor).

In addition, the informed consent needs to include that the supervisor(s) will review counseling sessions case notes as part of their supervisory duties. Full disclosure needs to be provided in the informed consent regarding both items mentioned.

Copy of Job description The job description needs to:
  • Indicate W-2 employment (the supervisee may not work in a contract labor position)
  • Must state that a licensed mental health professional will be onsite while the supervisee is providing counseling services.
  • The ALPS and onsite supervisor will need to review and approve the new job description (provide a copy of the signed job description with the informed consent)
The Informed Consent needs to be specific to the counseling practice and must include your name and credentials. It must indicate that you will be practicing under a Temporary Permit or Provisional License. Also, it needs to include that there will be an onsite supervisor present and the supervisee will have an ALPS. Please list both individuals and include they will be reviewing client case notes as part of their supervisory responsibility.

The nature of counseling will need to be specific to your counseling practice, approaches, and techniques.

Please reference the document Implementing Informed Consent.
When a provisionally licensed counselor changes ALPS, the following documents must be submitted to the Board for review and approval before supervision can begin under the new ALPS:

  1. Supervisor Registration Form/Contract completed by the applicant and ALPS. This form can be found at the Applications and Form tab.
  2. Updated Page 3 of the application.
  3. The Supervisor’s Verification and Assessment form (SVA) and all quarterly logs are to be provided by your previous ALPS to document the hours completed under their supervision. If no supervision occurred, please note that information on the SVA and quarterly logs.
No, the title for the supervised counselor practicing under the Temporary Permit is:
“Temporary Permit Counselor” and the title for the supervised counselor practicing under the Provisional License is: “Provisionally Licensed Counselor.”
No, contract-based employment is not permissible while under the provisional license. In addition, the ALPS or another licensed mental health professional must be onsite at all times while the provisionally licensed counselor is providing counseling services.
No, Provisionally Licensed Counselors and Temporary Permit Counselors cannot operate a private practice and may practice only as part of their licensure supervisory requirement as outlined in section 6.2 of Series 1, Licensing Rule.
No, Continuing education is not a requirement during supervision and while practicing under the provisional license

Yes. The Board requires that both the supervisee and ALPS maintain copies of the quarterly logs and maintain an ongoing tally of the completed supervision hours. You will need to provide this documentation to the Board if asked. Please use the quarterly report form in Excel available on this site, it will calculate the totals. You are required to provide the Board with the midpoint SVA and final SVA only. See the Instructions for completing the Quarterly Log Sheets for more information. Please address questions regarding supervision status, number of hours completed, or supervision requirements with your ALPS before contacting the Board.

If you have not yet completed the licensure requirements in your state (to include the coursework, degree, exam, and supervision requirements) by obtaining the highest level of licensure in which you may practice independently as a professional counselor, you may apply as a standard applicant to WV. In addition to following the application instructions provided on the Instruction Checklist, please request your state licensing Board forward certified copies of the following materials directly to the WV Counseling Board address:

A certified copy of your file from the state where licensed (or working toward licensure) AND a copy of the licensing rule in effect when you applied for licensure.

The certified copy must include:

  • Verification of your license or status (this includes provisional or temporary license/permit.)
  • Exam scores. (If you have attempted the required examination.) The Board recognizes the NCE (National Counselor Exam), NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination), and the CRC exam (Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.) If your licensing board does not have this on record, you will need to contact the organization that administered your exam and request an official copy of your scores be sent directly to the Board office.


Supervision records must include start and finish dates, total number of therapy/counseling activity hours, total number of direct hours, and total individual supervision hours. Additionally, your supervisor’s name and credentials will need to be included.

If your licensing Board will not provide your official supervision records, please have your approved supervisor(s) provide the following:

  1. A Supervisor’s Verification and Assessment Form (SVA) completed on your behalf. (The WV Board of Counseling SVA form can be found at Applications & Forms.)
  2. A copy of the Supervisor’s License (To include their approved supervisor status if applicable.)
  3. Certificates of their completion of continuing education contact hours in clinical counseling supervision training OR a copy of their graduate transcript reflecting completion of a graduate course in Clinical Supervision.


Please note, if you have a copy of your file from the state where you are licensed, you can include it in your packet to the Board as long as the seal has not been broken on the envelope. If the envelope has been opened, it cannot be accepted as a certified copy.

When the following requirements have been met:
The licensure rule requires 3000 total counseling activity hours; therefore, the following must be completed to fulfill the supervision requirement:

  • 3000 counseling activity hours
  • 1500 hours must be in direct provision of the client(s) 50% of the total counseling activity hours
  • 150 individual supervision hours with your ALPS

 

For every twenty (20) hours of total counseling activity, you must meet with your ALPS for one (1) hour of individual supervision. Individual supervision must be continuous and occur at a minimum, every two (2) weeks.

VERY IMPORTANT: Counseling activity hours cannot be counted if this requirement is not met.

Please note for your records, 1500 supervised counseling hours is the maximum number of hours that can be obtained in 12 months. This requirement equates to a minimum duration of 19 months of continued supervised counseling experience.

If there are supervisory gaps, additional time will be required to account for a minimum of 19 months of supervised counseling experience.

Additionally, once it is determined that the minimum supervision hour and timeframe requirements have been met, the ALPS may determine if additional supervision and experience are needed and may extend the supervision timeframe beyond the minimum.

Once the supervision hours and minimum timeframe requirements have been met and the ALPS considers the provisionally licensed counselor ready for full LPC review/approval by the Board, the ALPS will do the following:

  • Determine the next scheduled board meeting.
  • Complete and submit the Supervisor’s Verification and Assessment Form (SVA) and final quarterly log to the board two (2) weeks before the scheduled board meeting, to include all hours accumulated to date.

Please note, the provisionally licensed counselor must remain in supervision until notified of full LPC licensure. Applicants and ALPS, please allow up to seven (7) to ten (10) business days to receive notice of the Board’s decision.

Below are the two portions of our code defining the scope of practice for professional counselors. Additionally, you may review the entire code under Board Rules:

(h) “Professional counseling” means the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional or addiction disorders through the application of clinical counseling procedures. Professional counseling includes the use of psychotherapy, assessment instruments, counseling, consultation, treatment planning, and supervision in the delivery of services to individuals, couples, families and groups.

(c) “Clinical counseling procedures” means an approach to counseling that emphasizes the counselor’s role in systematically assisting clients through all of the following including, but are not limited to, observing, assessing and analyzing background and current information; utilizing assessment techniques useful in appraising aptitudes, abilities, achievements, interests or attitudes; diagnosing; and developing a treatment plan. The goal of these procedures is the prevention or elimination of symptomatic, maladaptive, or undesired behavior, cognitions, or emotions in order to integrate a wellness, preventative, pathology and multicultural model of human behavior to assist an individual, couple, family, group of individuals, organization, institution or community to achieve mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, spiritual, vocational or career development and adjustment through the life span of the individual, couple, family, group of individuals, organization, institution or community.