Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate

JOB DUTIES:

Routine duties shall include providing health care services to individuals eligible for services in accordance with the self-governance compact and funding agreement between the Cherokee Nation and the United States executed under the authority of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. Practices only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their documented education, training, supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional experience. Evaluates psychological, social, and physiological signs and symptoms. Determines the client’s appropriateness for admission or referral. Identifies any co-existing conditions (medical, psychiatric, physical, etc.) that indicate the need for additional professional assessments and/or services. Completes required documents for admission to the program, program eligibility, and appropriateness. Obtains appropriately signed consent when soliciting from or providing information to outside sources to protect the client's confidentiality and rights. Provides an overview to the client by describing the extent and nature of the services available to them and the program goals and objectives for the client's care. Provides an overview to the client by describing program operations, rules, and client's obligations and rights. Gathers relevant history from the client using appropriate interview techniques. Identifies appropriate assessment tools and explains to client the rationale for the use of assessment techniques in order to facilitate understanding. Develops a diagnostic evaluation of the client’s condition(s) based on the results of all assessments in order to provide an integrated approach to treatment planning based on the client’s strengths, weaknesses, identified problems and needs, and explains results to the client in an understandable manner. Identifies and ranks problems based on individual client needs in the written treatment plan and formulates an agreement with immediate and long-term goals using behavioral terms in the written treatment plan. Identifies the treatment methods and resources to be utilized as appropriate for the individual client. Selects the counseling theory(ies) and techniques to assist the client, group, and/or family in exploring problems and ramifications and examining the client’s behavior, attitudes, and/or feelings if appropriate in the treatment setting. Individualized counseling in accordance with cultural, gender, and lifestyle differences. Elicits solutions and decisions from the client. Plans, implements, and evaluates the treatment plan while coordinating services for client care. Recognizes the elements of a client’s crisis and implements an immediate course of action appropriate to the crisis. Identifies the needs of the clients that cannot be met by the counselor or agency and assists the client to utilize the support systems and community resources available. Charts the results of assessments and treatment plans, writes reports, progress notes, discharge summaries, and other client-related data. Maintains detailed progress notes that contain at minimum: 1) Reason for the contact. 2) Assessment of client’s current clinical presentation. 3) Relevant history. 4) Specific mental health/clinical interventions by the provider, per type of service and scope of practice. 5) Client’s response to interventions. 6) Unresolved issues from previous contacts. 7) Plans, next steps, and/or clinical decisions. If little or no progress toward goals/objectives is being made, describe why. Include the date of next planned contact and/or next clinician action. Indicate referrals made. Address any issues of risk. Consults with appropriate resources to assure comprehensive, quality care for the client. Values objectivity and integrity while providing services, and strives to maintain the highest standard of the profession. Accepts responsibility for the consequences of their work and makes every effort to ensure that their services are used appropriately. Maintains alertness to personal, social, organizational, financial, and political situations or pressures that might lead to the misuse of influence. Knows the limits of their competence and performs only those testing and assessment services for which they have been trained. Ensures standardization, proper application and security of any technique utilized. Completes training in the construct being measured and the specific instrument being used prior to using computer-based test interpretations. Plans, designs, conducts, and reports research only in a manner consistent with their current professional code of ethics, the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, pertinent ethical principles, federal and state laws, rules, and scientific standards governing research with human subjects. Demonstrates competence by certification, education or experience in the subject matter relevant to the issues in question and must certify in writing that they have complied with all applicable provisions of the Rules and Regulations when performing forensic services, which include, but are not limited to, assessments, interviews, consultations, custody evaluations, reports, or expert testimony, or other such activity that is undertaken or conducted by the candidate or licensee in contemplation that the results may, or are intended to be, later furnished to a tier of fact or another decision maker. Also prepares a written report and includes a separate section therein containing the author's findings and conclusions relative to their analysis and provides to the person who is the subject of their forensic analysis, and such other person or persons who has/have a legally recognizable right in the subject matter of the proceeding, which may be directly adversely affected by the findings and conclusions made by the candidate or licensee, a copy of the written report at no cost to the person or persons entitled to receive a copy of the written report. The copy(ies) must be provided at least ten (10) days prior to the report's publication unless otherwise required by law or court order. Provides fact witness testimony in forensic matters involving that client, unless otherwise required by law or court order. Fact witness testimony means an evidentiary statement that is limited to direct observations made by the LBP candidate or licensee and shall not include conclusions, opinions or recommendations. Assessments, interviews, consultations, custody evaluations, reports or other activity not performed in contemplation that the results would be furnished to a tier of fact or decision maker, must be kept confidential and cannot be utilized in the formation or publication of an opinion by the candidate or licensee. Maintains written records, in a form or format that is legible or readable to third persons, of all contact and information received and used in the preparation of their report. Obtains written consent from the joint-custodial parents, custodial parent, legal guardian or legal custodian appointed by the Court before conducting interviews of minor children. Obtains written informed consent of clients BEFORE audio/video recording or permitting third party observation of their activities. Complies with the applicable state and federal regulations in regard to the security, safety, and confidentiality of any behavioral health services record they create, maintain, transfer, or destroy, whether the record is written, taped, computerized, or stored in any other medium. Provides the client a copy of the client’s record in accordance with state and federal laws. Maintains verifiable records at an institution or facility that has published a records retention policy that is equal to or exceeds the retention required by federal and/or state regulations. Maintains the confidentiality of any information received from any person or source about a client, unless authorized in writing by the client or required by law or court order. Attends weekly staffing conferences for a period not less than sixty (60) minutes per week during which clinical treatment and diagnostic cases are presented and clinical interventions are discussed. Notifies the Oklahoma State Department of Health within thirty (30) days of any change in address, telephone number, and employment and shall make necessary adjustments on the Statement of Professional Disclosure, supplying an updated copy to the Oklahoma Department of Health and Cherokee Nation Human Resources. Furnishes a copy of the Statement of Professional Disclosure, and in the case of a candidate, signed by the supervisor and the candidate, to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In the counseling setting, two (2) copies shall be signed by both the client or adult caretaker and the counselor. One (1) copy shall be given to the client and the other copy shall be retained by the counselor in the client’s file.

Reviews in writing and verbally with the client the rights and responsibilities of both the LPC candidate and the client. Claims or implies only the professional credentials possessed and does not refer to themselves as a Licensed Professional Counselor or LPC. Ensures that the LPC Candidate’s status is made known to the clients/patients and that the candidate’s title clearly indicated this status. Renews licenses, certifications and specialty designations before the expiration date. Provides Cherokee Nation Human Resources with a copy of the Statement of Professional Disclosure, all licensures, certifications, renewal of licensures and certifications, and certifications of supervision from each Board that has granted supervisory authority upon receipt thereof.

 

SUPERVISION EXPERIENCE

 

The supervision experience shall consist of three (3) years or three-thousand (3000) clock hours of full-time, on-the-job experience, which is supervised by an approved LPC supervisor. For each one-thousand (1000) clock hours of full-time, on-the-job experience, three hundred and fifty (350) hours shall be direct face-to-face client contact. "Full-time" means at least twenty (20) hours per week. Weekly, face-to-face supervision shall be accrued under an LPC at the ratio of forty-five (45) minutes of supervision for every twenty (20) hours of on-the-job experience. “Face-to-face supervision” means the supervisor and the candidate shall be in the physical presence of the other during individual or group supervision. "Group supervision" means an assemblage of counseling candidates consisting of from two (2) to six (6) members and no more than one-half (½) of the required supervision hours may be received in group supervision. One (1) or two (2) years of supervised experience may be gained at the rate of one (1) year for each thirty (30) graduate semester credit hours or forty-five (45) graduate quarter credit hours in counseling-related course work beyond the master's degree. Regardless of the number of hours earned beyond the master's degree, the LPC candidate shall receive at least one (1) year or one-thousand (1000) clock hours of supervision in the ratio described above. If an applicant completes the supervised experience requirement before passing the licensure examination, the applicant shall continue to practice under LPC supervision, unless exempted by the Oklahoma Licensed Professional Counselor Act, until licensed. Completes supervised experience requirements within sixty (60) months of the date of the approval of the first supervision agreement or the application shall be void. Other duties may be assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS