What Does a Licensed Professional Counselor Do?
Licensed professional counselors are trained to provide mental health and substance abuse care to individuals, families, and groups.
As a licensed professional counselor, you may see clients who are:
- Suffering through depression.
- Affected by substance abuse.
- Affected by psychological disorders.
- Going through stress caused by abuse, grief, emotional pain, fear, anger, or guilt.
You will help your clients by:
- Being a thorough listener.
- Highlighting problematic behavioral patterns.
- Evaluating and finding effective and pragmatic resolutions to problems.
- Helping replace dysfunctional behaviors with healthier alternatives.
LPC Licensure Requirements
To pursue a career as an LPC, first you will need to have earned a bachelor’s degree. Students of all educational backgrounds are able to apply. You will then need to:
- Earn your master’s in clinical psychology.
- Fulfill a certain amount of fieldwork hours as required by your state’s licensing board.
- Pursue licensure as a licensed professional counselor.
Licensing requirements vary by state. You can learn more about LPC requirements by state by visiting your state’s licensing board.
Did You Know?
Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology has been preparing students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership since 1971. Our online master’s in clinical psychology program is an extension of that mission—as such, our curriculum features the latest in multicultural counseling, trauma in diverse populations, substance abuse counseling, and more.
Take the First Step
Earn your master’s in clinical psychology online at Pepperdine—learn more about application requirements.
If you are interested in joining us on campus, we also offer a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as a breadth of traditional on-campus psychology master’s programs across multiple campus locations. Explore on-campus psychology master’s programs.
