(1) To meet the education requirement for licensure as a mental health counselor or mental health counselor associate, an applicant must have a master's or doctoral degree in mental health counseling or a master's or doctoral degree in a behavioral science field relating to mental health counseling from an approved school. Fields recognized as relating to mental health counseling include counseling, psychology, social work, nursing, education, pastoral counseling, rehabilitation counseling, or social sciences. Any field of study qualifying as related to mental health counseling must satisfy course work equivalency requirements included in WAC 246-809-221. An official transcript must be provided as evidence of fulfillment of the course work required.

(2) Any supplemental course work must be from an approved school.

(3) Applicants who hold a behavioral science master's or doctoral degree in a related field may complete supplemental course work through an approved educational program to satisfy any missing program equivalencies. Postgraduate experience hours acquired concurrently with the additional course work counts toward the supervised postgraduate experience under WAC 246-809-230.

(4) A person who is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) or a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC) through the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) is considered to have met the education requirements of this chapter. Verification must be received by the department directly from NBCC.