Updates and Changes at the Board of Behavioral Health: A Guide to What CEUs Count for LPC Licensure
A therapist holds a green check mark.
The 2022 deadline for licensure renewal for Oklahoma Licensed Professional Counselors may have just passed, but whether clinicians are getting a head start the 2023 renewal season or giving themselves a break before starting on the next round of CEUs, it’s important to know “what counts” as far as continuing education requirements for 2023.
Significant changes in the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure’s continuing education approval process went into effect earlier this month. As of July 1st, 2022 the Board will no longer be approving individual continuing education courses. Instead, ethics, supervision, and distance learning (online course) CEUs will only count towards licensure renewal if they are administered by Board-approved continuing education providers.
The Board recognizes many state and national organizations as pre-approved providers and clinicians can find a list of all pre-approved providers here. While organizations such as the American Counseling Association and the Board of Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors are pre-approved by the Board, other well-known organizations, such as Pesi and FastCEUs, are not pre-approved providers. Individuals and organizations not pre-approved by the Board may also apply for status as a Board-Approved CE Provider by completing a short form. However, continuing education provider applications are only reviewed and approved at Board meetings and all applications must be submitted to the Board at least 30 days prior to a meeting in order to be reviewed. For example, for an individual or organization’s application to be reviewed at the October 7th meeting, the application must be submitted no later than September 7th. For a full list of approved providers, like the Oklahoma Counseling Institute, visit the Board’s website.
Though in-person and online ethics, in-person and online supervision, and all distance learning course providers must be approved by the Board, in-person, face-to-face general continuing education hours do not need to be administered by a Board-approved provider as long as they meet the requirements for continuing education as outlined by LPC and LMFT Regulations.
LPC and LMFT practitioners generally must abide by the Board’s rule that mandates completing at least 10 hours of face-to-face, in-person continuing education hours each renewal period, including all ethics and supervision credits. However, since March of 2020 the Board has approved a stay of enforcement of the requirement, which allows clinicians to acquire all 20 continuing education hours online until December 31st, 2022.
For more questions about what continuing education courses count, contact the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure at Info.BehavioralHealth@bbhl.ok.gov or 405-522-3696.
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The contents of this article should not replace rules, regulations, or standards set by the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure.