LOUISIANA COUNSELING ASSOCIATION GUIDELINES FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Please do not send incomplete applications.  Additions to the application cannot be considered once the review is completed.

Please notify the LCA office of changes to the agenda once the program has been approved for CE Clock Hours.

The Louisiana Counseling Association has been authorized by the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselor Board of Examiners to review and approve workshops and activities for Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) (LPC Board Rules 803-B-2-A) and Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors. In an effort to ensure uniform high quality learning experiences, the following will serve as a basis for approval for continuing education contact hours to be used by Licensed Professional Counselors for their license renewal:

APPLICANTS

Application for review of events may be made by accredited schools, professional organizations, social service agencies, hospital, mental health centers, and other organizations that meet the following criteria and conditions:

Applicants must have:

• An organization structure for continuing education with a designated professional who administers and coordinates an organized schedule of continuing education;
• A means of responsibility for control over all aspects of programs to ensure that educational objectives and standards are met.

Applicants agree to:

• Submit application information and application fee at least THREE WEEKS IN ADVANCE OF THE PROGRAM.
  A late fee of $25.00 will be charged for applications submitted less than three weeks prior to the workshop.
• Submit original sign in sheets or a typed or printed list of conference participants with the number of awarded CE Clock hours indicated to the LCA office WITHIN 30 DAYS of the program.
• Include in the announcement of the program the following statement:

The Louisiana Counseling Association is approved by the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselor Board of Examiners to offer continuing education for Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors and Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors. This program meets requirements for _____ of continuing education clock hour credit for Louisiana Professional Counselors.

Application may also be made by the presenter of a workshop as long as all other criteria are met. Application for approved contact hours may not be made by individual participants who attend the program. Applications for approved credit must be made prior to the workshop and may not be made after a workshop has been completed.

PRESENTERS

A current vita must be submitted for each presenter. The presenter must have a master’s or doctorate degree in the mental health field or related services.

PROGRAMS

CE contact hours may be awarded for approved programs under the following conditions:

• All programs must relate directly to at least one of the following 12 topic areas:
  1. Counseling Theory
  2. Human Growth and Development
  3. Social and Cultural Foundations
  4. The Helping Relationship
  5. Group Dynamics
  6. Lifestyle and Career Development
  7. Appraisal of the Individual
  8. Research and Evaluation
  9. Professional Orientation
  10. Marriage and Family
  11. Chemical Dependency
  12. Supervision
  13. ethics
  14. Diagnosis
• All programs must be focused on how mental health professionals may use the knowledge presented to aid clients in a professional mental health setting. The object must be clearly identified in the program or agenda.
• The workshop participant has direct contact with the presenter for the time specified in the program. CE Clock hours may not be awarded for time not spent in direct contact with the presenter. Contact hour credit will include only the actual instruction time with the presenter and discussions led by the presenter or staff pre-arranged by the workshop. It shall not include informal discussions over lunch or other non-instructional activities. In the event an educational program is connected with a meal function, time spent eating will not be included although credit may be approved for the educational portion of the time, generally no more than half of the time allotted for the meal function. No credit shall be given for business meetings.
• Program evaluations should be part of the process for the workshop. These evaluation should be tallied and the tally sheet returned to LCA

PROCESS

Complete the Application. The application must be complete when submitted; please do not refer reviewers to a brochure for the information. Include, however, the brochure as well as the vita must be included in the application packet.

If the sponsoring organization makes changes in the program after the review process has been competed and requests a new review, there will be an additional charge of $50.00.  

The application may be mailed to:
LCA
353 Leo Avenue,
Shreveport, LA 71105.
Please do not fax information.

A letter will be sent as soon as the program has been reviewed.

Following the program, the workshop coordinator will mail sign in sheets to:
353 Leo Avenue 
Shreveport, La, 71105.
These sign in sheets should not be faxed. 

Sign in sheets are kept on file for five years following the workshop.

FEES

An administrative fee is required for each educational event and is due upon application. This fee is for the review of the application and does not quarantine approval. The fees are as follows $65.00 for a single day workshop being presented once;$130.00 for a single workshop being presented on multiple dates within a 12-month period;    $100.00 for a conference/convention.

 Checks should be made to the Louisiana Counseling Association (LCA). All fees are non-refundable.

ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES

Certificates must be issued to all participants who have successfully completed the program. A participant must attend the entire program to receive a certificate for the number of approved CE Clock Hours. The certificate may be issued by the sponsoring agency or by LCA.

If the sponsoring agency issues the certificate, the certificate must include the following information:

• Participant’s name
• Name of the Workshop
• Date of the workshop
• Location (city) of the workshop

The following statement should also appear on the certificate: “This program was awarded ____clock hours of continuing education credit by the Louisiana Counseling Association as authorized by the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselor Board of Examiners.”

Duplicate certificates:  LCA members may request a duplicate certificate from the LCA office.  Non-LCA members may receive a duplicate certificate for a $15.00 fee.

If LCA issues the certificates, the sponsoring agency must submit the following information:

• A list of the participants requesting an LCA certificate
• the name of the program
• the date of the program
• the name of the participant
• the mailing address
• the number of CEUs to be awarded.
• A check made out to LCA for the $15.00 certificate fee for each participant.

​CE Clock hours are also available for LPCs and PLPCs for reading the LCA Journal.  Please see the test and application inside the Journal.

Louisiana Counseling Association has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 2019. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  LCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.

Programs sponsored by LCA will award NBCC CE clock hours. LCA does not use its NBCC ACEP number to  co-sponsor workshops.

Complaint Policy for LCA Programs Awarding NBCC CE Clock Hours

If a participant or potential participant would like to express a concern about his/her experience with an LCA sponsored or cosponsored event, he/she may call or email the LCA office 318 861657 help@therapygeek.com.  Although LCA does not guarantee a particular outcome, the individual can expect LCA to consider the complaint, make any necessary decisions and respond within three weeks.

 If you have questions concerning the Continuing Education process, please contact the LCA office at 318 861-0657 help@therapygeek.com