DISCLAIMER: The information below is my own personal interpretation of the regulations and guidelines established by the Pennsylvania State Board and is not intended as career or legal advice. I am not an attorney nor do I have any affiliation with the Board. The information on this website is intended to be used as a starting point before conducting your own research, developing your own interpretation of the regulations, or contacting the Board and/or an attorney. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What States are you licensed to practice in?  

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania. As such, I make myself aware of the laws, regulations, and requirements set by the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors. If you are from a state other than PA, I would recommend visiting your State Board’s website or contacting them directly to ask about the requirements of clinical supervision. Some states have different requirements for earning a license and will accept clinical hours from out of state, while others may not. If you are unsure where to begin, please reach out to me and we can look into it together.   

What is clinical supervision and why do I need it?  

Clinical supervision is when you meet on an ongoing basis with a licensed professional who is already established in the field. This allows you to ask questions and get feedback about topics including the profession, documentation, ethics, case assessment, treatment and intervention strategies, transference and countertransference, and anything else that you might have questions about as you begin putting your education into practice. The State Board mandates that new counselors seeking licensure in the state of PA obtain 3,000 hours of clinical supervision to ensure that these new professionals feel supported and have at least one dedicated professional they can speak to and consult with as they begin to navigate the field.  

How many hours of supervision do I need?  

After earning your Master's Degree, those seeking to become a Licensed Professional Counselor will need to accumulate 3,000 hours of clinical supervision.   

Is there a time limit on accumulating hours?  

Yes. The State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors mandates that the 3,000 hours of clinical supervision must be earned in at least 2 years and less than 6 years. 

• For example, if you start accumulating clinical supervision hours towards your license in October 2023, you could complete your clinical supervision hours for licensure as early as October 2025 (if you have 3,000 hours). However, you must earn 3,000 hours towards your license by October 2029 or else you risk not getting credit for some of those hours. 

Why is there an hourly minimum and maximum?  

The Board does not provide a definitive answer for this. However, in my opinion, these guidelines provide time for those seeking licensure to see a variety of clients and have a range of experiences, which facilitates self-reflection and growth. It also encourages work/life balance and prevents burnout by not allowing people to get credit for more than 40 hours in a week to get their license faster.  

How many hours can I get credit for in one year?

According to the Board, you must complete at least 500 hours and can get credit for up to 1,800 hours in any 12-month period for those hours to be counted towards clinical supervision.

When can I start accumulating hours toward licensure?  

Once you have your Master's Degree you can start accumulating hours towards licensure.  

How are the 3,000 hours of supervision counted?  

You get credit for 20 hours of client work for every one hour of clinical supervision you complete. A simple way to think about it is that you need 3,000 hours of client contact, not 3,000 hours of contact with your supervisor.  

• If you have 40 hours of client work in one week and meet with your clinical supervisor for 2 hours of clinical supervision, you will earn 40 hours that week.  

Do I need to have 40 hours of meetings with clients to get credit for 40 hours?  

No. According to the State Board, half of all clinical supervision hours must involve direct client service and the other half of your hours can be indirect client service as long as it is related to work with clients.  

• Indirect client service example: case documentation and recordkeeping activities, court testimony related to work with clients, case formulation and consultation, research and advocacy on behalf of clients.   

• Please note that administrative duties cannot be counted towards the 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience.

  • • Administrative duties include, but are not limited to: administrative supervision of another individual, completing human resource and/or budget documentation. Basically, anything that is not in service of a client.

What is the difference between direct and indirect hours?  

• Direct client service hours involve actual client contact, such as sessions, consultations with prospective clients, intake assessments, phone calls, etc.   

• Indirect client service hours involve activities that support your work with clients, such as case documentation and recordkeeping activities, court testimony related to work with clients, case formulation and consultation, research and advocacy on behalf of clients. Indirect client service hours are activities that involve, support or enhance work with clients.  

How long is each individual clinical supervision session?

Whatever works best for you! In my experience, most supervisees prefer to meet for 60 or 90 minutes. That gives us enough time to discuss how things are going and review cases. 

How long is a group clinical supervision session?

Groups are currently 90 minutes in length and held every other Sunday from 11 AM to 12:30 PM.

Do all of my hours have to be individual supervision or can some of it be group?  

Up to half (1,500) of the 3,000 hours can be in a group setting. I offer a reduced rate for group supervision, which can help reduce the costs of accumulating the necessary hours. It also allows you to see how other clinicians formulate, think about, and work on cases while helping build your professional network.  

If you are interested in group supervision, please let me know. 

Do you offer group supervision?  

Yes! If you are interested in group supervision, please let me know. 

How many hours of group supervision can I do in one week?  

One hour of supervision must be one-on-one with your supervisor for half (1,500) of your hours and up to half of your remaining hours can be in a group setting. For example, if you work 40 hours a week, you can meet with your clinical supervisor for 2 hours or do one hour of one-on-one and one hour of group. Alternatively, if you work 20 hours in a week for 2 weeks in a row, you could meet with your supervisor one-on-one for one hour and then do one hour of group supervision the next week.  

Can I do my clinical supervision remotely or does it need to be in person?  

The State Board used to require that clinical supervision be completed in person. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they permitted people to accumulate hours virtually, as long as the meeting is held over video conferencing software. This ruling has been continued indefinitely. The full memo with the specific regulations and requirements is available here:  

• Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Clinical Supervision Guidelines Update

How do I know if my clinical supervision will be accepted by the PA State Board?  

As per Section 49.13(b) (1) of the licensure guidelines, at least one-half of the work experience where clinical supervision hours are accrued must include one or more of the following areas: 

• Assessment   

• Counseling   

• Therapy   

• Psychotherapy   

• Other therapeutic interventions   

• Consultation   

• Family Therapy   

• Group Therapy  

How many supervisees can one clinical supervisor meet with at a time?  

A clinical supervisor can work with up to 6 supervisees at the same time.  The Board notes that exceptions can be made to this rule, but only if the prospective supervisor and supervisee write to the Board explaining why this rule presents an undue hardship and written permission granting an exception is received from the Board. 

Can someone working toward becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor get supervised by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker or vice versa?  

A Licensed Professional Counselor can complete up to half (1,500) of the 3,000 hours required for a supervisee working to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (and vice versa for a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Professional Counselor track supervisee), as long as the clinical supervisor meets the requirements for clinical supervisors. 

I know someone who lost contact with their clinical supervisor and they did not get credit for those hours. How can I keep that from happening to me?  

This actually happened to me too. I accumulated about 600 hours of paid clinical supervision and then I lost contact with the supervisor and was unable to get credit for those hours. Because of this experience, I will provide you with regular documentation of our meetings and the total clinical supervision hours. This allows you to know how many hours you have completed and still need to earn your license, but more importantly, if we should ever part ways, you could use the documentation to continue your hours with your next clinical supervisor without having to redo the hours we completed together. I model (and update) my documentation on the requirements of the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors for submitting hours from multiple clinical supervisors to ensure that it meets their criteria to the best of my ability. NOTE: for a detailed list of the specific requirements from the State Board, please reference page 6 on the following State Board FAQ:    

• Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Licensure Application Frequently Asked Questions

What is the State Board and how can I contact them?  

In Pennsylvania, professional counselors and social workers are regulated by the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors. Here is some information for contacting the State Board:  

• Website:   

  • 1. • Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Website

• Mailing Address  

• State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors  

• P.O. Box 2649  

• Harrisburg, PA  17105-2649  

• Physical Address  

• One Penn Center  

• 2601 N. 3rd Street  

• Harrisburg, PA  17110  

• Phone: (717) 783-1389  

• Fax: (717) 787-7769  

• Email: ST-SOCIALWORK@PA.GOV

Additional Resources:

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Code 

  • • • https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/049/chapter49/s49.13.html

• Verification of Clinical Supervision Form

  • • • https://documentcloud.adobe.com/spodintegration/index.html

• 2014 ACA Code of Ethics

  • • • https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=55ab73d0_1

I have a question not listed here, how can I get more information?  

If you have a question that is not answered here, that means I may need to update my FAQ! Please reach out to me directly via my Contact Form.