SB 2399

This bill establishes a new license for limited practice professional counselors, and requires the board for professional counselors, marital and family therapists , and clinical pastoral therapists ("board"") to issue licenses to applicants who meet the requirements for such a license. As used in this bill, a ""limited practice professional counselor"" means a licensed person who (i) is professionally trained in counseling and guidance services designed to facilitate normal human growth and development throu gh individual, family, or group counseling; (ii) is professionally trained in educational procedures, assessment, consultation, and research; and (iii) assists individuals by the practice of counseling with their personal, social, career, or educational development as they pass through life stages . However, such license does not include the ability to appraise, assess, diagnose, or treat conditions attributable to a mental disorder. This bill requires an applicant seeking to be licensed as a limited practice professional counselor to comply with all of the following requirements:  Be at least 18 and of good moral character.  H ave earned a degree in counseling or a closely related field .  Have o btained at least 60 graduate hours in counseling or a closely related field .  Have completed a supervised field experience as either a practicum or internship .  Have at least two years of professional experience of a type judged to be acceptable by the board subsequent to being granted a graduate degree.  Have passed the examination offered by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) or such other approved examination.  Have passed the Tennessee jurisprudence exam.  Have met any additional criteria of the board established by rule. This bill authorizes persons who were certified as a professional counselor on or before June 30, 1991, to retain the person's certification indefinitely by meeting current renewal requirements or upgrade to be licensed as a limited practice professional counselor. However, a person who is a licensed professional counselor as of June 30, 2026, must be converted to a limited practice professional counselor license, and the board must reissue such a person's license accordingly. This bill prohibits a new license for a limited practice professional counselor from being issued after July 1, 2028. However, a person who is a licensed limited practice professional counselor as of June 30, 2028, may retain the person's license indefi nitely by meeting current renewal requirements or upgrade to be licensed as a licensed professional counselor by meeting the additional requirements described above. This bill authorizes a limited practice professional counselor to do all of the following:  Complete the examination person convicted of a sex crime after admittance to a penal facility, as required by present law.  Complete the examination of a person convicted of a sex crime prior to the non-parole release of such a person, as required by present law.  Perform an evaluation for psychiatric diagnosis or treatment, or both, with written, informed, voluntarily signed consent from a parent, guardian, legal custodian, or caregiver, if such a limited practice professional counselor is personnel of a local education agency.  Refer patients to a professional art therapist. This bill designates a limited practice professional counselor as all of the following:  A "" mental health service provider "" for the Tennessee Public Safety Behavioral Act, which requires public safety employers to provide at least 10 sessions with a mental health service provider for the purpose of treating PTSD .  A ""qualified mental health professional"" for the purpose of providing services to persons of all ages with mental illness and emotional disturbances and for providing services to persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities.  A ""counselor"" for the purpose of exemption for liability for the suicide or attempted suicide of a client.  A qualified instructor for the purposes of offering a premarital preparation course to a couple for the purpose of exempting such a couple from $60 of the fee to issue a marriage license, as provided by present law.  A ""medical professional"" for the purposes of exemption from fees for a special volunteer license when practicing in a free health clinic. Further, a licensed limited practice professional counselor practicing in a free health clinic is prohibited from receiving any compensation for services rendered.  A health services provider, if such a licensed limited practice professional counselor (i) holds a Ph.D. in education from an accredited college or university; (ii) possesses at least 3, 900 hours of clinical experience supervised by licensed clinical and counseling psychologists at an accredited school of medicine; (iii) is a national board certified counselor; (iv) has been practicing in this state as a limited practice professional counselor or candidate for at least six years; (v) was licensed by the board as a psychologist on July 15, 1992, with declared specialty other than school, clinical or counseling psychology; and (vi) has submitted to the board an application for such designation by December 31, 1994.  A provider for the purposes of the Health Care Consumers Right-to-Know Act of 1998, which establishes a system to provide public access to information about certain health care providers and managed care organizations in this state. Further, this bill requires a licensed limited practice professional counselor to complete a training program approved by the board focused on suicide prevention, suicide assessment and screening, suicide treatment, suicide management, and suicide postve ntion every four years. A limited practice professional counselor is prohibited from engaging in the practice of licensed psychological examiner, licensed senior psychological examiner, certified psychological assistant, licensed psychologist, licensed s oc ial worker, psychiatric nurse, law, or medicine. This bill authorizes the board to issue an associate license for a limited practice professional counselor applicant who has completed the academic coursework and training required for the license sought and who has successfully passed the examination re quired by the board. Such an associate license allows the applicant to provide counseling services under qualified supervision. LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS Present law requires an applicant for a licensure as a professional counselor to comply with all of the same requirements as those listed above for a limited practice professional counselor. This bill requires an applicant for licensure as a professiona l counselor to comply with all such requirements and to (i) complete coursework specifically related to the diagnosis, treatment, appraisal, and assessment of mental disorders; and (ii) complete two years of postgraduate supervised experience required for l icensure in a clinical setting that provides substantial opportunities to diagnose, treat, appraise, and assess mental disorders. As used in this bill, a ""licensed professional counselor"" means a person licensed under present law who meets all of the following requirements:  Is professionally trained in counseling and guidance services designed to facilitate normal human growth and development through individual, family, or group counseling; who is professionally trained in educational procedures, assessment, consultation, and research; and who assists individuals by the practice of counseling with their personal, social, career, or educational development as they pass through life stages .  Is trained in the application of mental health and human development principals in order to (i) facilitate human development and adjustment throughout the life span ; (ii) prevent, diagnose, and treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders and associated disorders that interfere with mental health ; (iii) conduct assessments and diagnoses for the purpose of establishing treatment goals and objectives ; and (iv) plan implement, and evaluate treatment plans using counseling treatment interventions. RECIPROCAL AGREEMENTS Present law authorizes the board to license, without examination, a professional counselor applicant with a valid, unencumbered license issued by another state, territory, or federal district of the United States at an equivalent level of licensure. How ever, the applicant must have a 60-hour graduate degree in counseling or a related field, meet all the requirements for a licensed limited practice professional counselor described above, and have actively practiced without supervision for at least two of t he three most recent years. This bill, instead, authorizes the board to license, without examination, a limited practice professional counselor that meets such requirements. The board may also issue a license to a limited practice professional counselor, without examination, if the applicant has a valid, unencumbered license and (i) the applicant has earned a graduate degree prior to 2016 consisting of at least 52 hours of in counseling or a related field from an accredited program; and (ii) the applica nt has practiced as a licensed professional counselor or a limited practice professional counselor for at least 25 years. APPLICABILITY This bill applies to licenses applied for, or renewed, on or after July 1, 2026."