How to Become a Therapist in California

Want to become a therapist in California? You’re about to start a rewarding career path that will test your determination. The effect of getting certified proves substantial – networks like CCAPP now support over 12,000 individual members and 500 programs across the state.

The path to becoming a licensed therapist in California takes dedication. You’ll need to earn a graduate degree first. Most master’s programs take two to three years. This includes clinical fieldwork and a research thesis. You must also complete between 1,750 to 3,000 hours of supervised work experience, based on your chosen path. Many people ask about the timeline. The process takes several years when you add up education, supervised hours, and exam requirements.

We give you a detailed breakdown of the steps to become a therapist in California. We’ll walk you through everything – from educational requirements and associate registration to supervised hours and licensing exams. You’ll learn what it takes to launch your therapy career in the Golden State.

Step 1: Meet the Educational Requirements

Your journey to becoming a therapist in California starts with the right education. This first step needs careful planning as you work through undergraduate and graduate programs that meet California’s requirements.

Choose a relevant undergraduate major

California doesn’t require a specific undergraduate major for future therapists. Your bachelor’s degree choice can make a big difference in how well you’re prepared for graduate school. A degree in psychology, social work, human services, or related fields is a good base for your career as a therapist. These subjects teach you the basic principles and practices you’ll need for advanced study.

Graduate programs might need specific undergraduate courses or prefer students with relevant degrees. During your college years, you should try to get internships or work in mental health settings. This hands-on experience will make your graduate school applications stronger.

Enroll in a qualifying graduate program

Once you have your bachelor’s degree, you’ll need to join a graduate program that fits California’s requirements. To work as a licensed professional clinical counselor (LPCC) in California, you must finish a master’s or doctoral degree from an accredited institution with at least 60 semester units or 90 quarter units.

Your graduate program needs at least six semester units (or nine quarter units) of supervised practicum or fieldwork study. While California doesn’t strictly need you to graduate from an accredited program, choosing one approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) has many benefits. Accredited programs meet strict industry standards and prove their professional quality.

Understand coursework and unit requirements

California has specific courses you must complete before applying for licensure. Your graduate program should include at least three semester units (or four quarter units) in each of these 13 core areas:

• Counseling and psychotherapeutic theories and techniques
• Human growth and development across the lifespan
• Career development theories and techniques
• Group counseling theories and techniques
• Assessment, appraisal, and testing
• Multicultural counseling theories and techniques
• Principles of diagnosis, treatment planning, and prevention
• Research and evaluation
• Professional orientation, ethics, and law in counseling
• Psychopharmacology
• Addictions counseling
• Crisis/trauma counseling
• Advanced counseling and psychotherapeutic theories

You’ll also need 15 semester units of advanced coursework to build specialized knowledge. These advanced courses must cover human sexuality, spousal/partner abuse assessment, child abuse assessment and reporting (seven hours required), and aging and long-term care.

The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) suggests joining a pre-approved graduate counseling program in California. These programs meet all educational requirements and usually include California-specific content about different cultures and socioeconomic factors that shape therapeutic practice.

Step 2: Register as an Associate Therapist (APCC)

Your next step to becoming a therapist in California starts after completing your graduate degree. You’ll need to register as an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC). This registration lets you get the supervised clinical experience you need for full licensure.

How to apply for APCC status

The California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) requires a complete application package to register as an APCC. Your package needs:

• A completed APCC registration application form
• Official transcripts sent directly from your educational institution
• Certificates of completion for any additional required coursework
• A $150 application fee payable to the Behavioral Sciences Fund

Send your application to the BBS office in Sacramento. Use only one clip to hold your materials together because staples and paperclips can affect scanning. Active-duty military members, veterans, military spouses, and refugees/asylees might qualify for faster application review.

Your APCC registration stays valid for one year once approved. You’ll need to renew it yearly while completing your supervised hours. You have six years to complete the required 3,000 hours of supervised experience before your APCC registration expires permanently.

Understanding the 90-Day Rule

The 90-Day Rule affects when you can start counting post-degree experience hours toward licensure. This timing can change how long it takes to become a therapist in California.

You can count experience hours right after graduation if you submit your APCC application within 90 days of your degree conferral date on your transcript. If you wait longer than 90 days, you’ll need to wait for your APCC number before counting any hours.

Graduates after January 1, 2020 face an extra requirement. Hours only count under the 90-day rule if you worked at a place that required Live Scan fingerprinting beforehand. Keep a copy of your completed “State of California Request for Live Scan Service” form from each employer. You’ll need to submit these forms with your licensure application.

You can’t collect hours in a private practice until you have your APCC registration number, whatever your application timing.

Fingerprinting and background check

The BBS needs all applicants to pass a Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history background check. The process changes based on where you live:

California residents must use Live Scan fingerprinting. This electronic system works only in California. Local police stations, sheriff departments, some school districts, and passport services offer Live Scan. The processing fee is $49, plus a location-specific rolling fee.

Applicants outside California need to use “hard card” fingerprints. Email BBS.Fingerprint@dca.ca.gov with “Fingerprint Hard Cards” in the subject line to request these cards. Send the completed cards with your application and the $49 fee.

Live Scan results usually arrive in 1-3 days. Hard card fingerprints take 6-8 weeks to process. Out-of-state applicants should plan for this longer timeline.

Step 3: Complete Supervised Experience Hours

Your path to becoming a therapist in California includes practical training through supervised experience. After registering as an APCC, you’ll need substantial supervised practice before you qualify for full licensure.

Minimum hours and supervision requirements

California law states you must complete a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised experience spanning at least 104 weeks (two years). You should gain these hours while registered as an APCC, with exceptions under the 90-day rule we discussed earlier. The board gives you six years from your application date to complete these hours.

Here’s what your weekly schedule should look like:

• You can earn up to 40 hours in any seven consecutive days
• Each week you claim experience needs one hour of individual or triadic supervision (or two hours of group supervision)
• You need at least one hour of individual or triadic supervision in 52 of your 104 weeks
• Any week you provide more than 10 hours of direct clinical counseling requires an extra hour of supervision

Your supervisors must meet specific qualifications. They need a license for at least two years and should have practiced psychotherapy or supervised associates for at least two years in the five-year period before supervision. They also need to complete specific supervisor training.

Types of acceptable clinical experience

Your 3,000 hours should spread across these categories:

• Direct counseling experience: You need at least 1,750 hours performing individual, group, couple, or family counseling. This makes up the foundation of your clinical training.
• Non-clinical practice: You can have up to 1,250 hours, including:
  • Direct supervisor contact
  • Administering and evaluating psychological tests
  • Writing clinical reports and progress notes
  • Client-centered advocacy
  • Relevant workshops, seminars, and training sessions your supervisor approves

You can only gain experience in settings that legally and regularly provide mental health counseling or psychotherapy. In spite of that, you can’t count hours from a private practice until you receive your APCC registration number.

Tracking and verifying your hours

Detailed documentation plays a vital role during your supervised experience. Weekly logs of all hours gained are mandatory. The Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) provides these specific forms:

• Supervision Agreement (complete within 60 days of starting supervision)
• Weekly Summary of Experience Hours
• Experience Verification forms (fill out when you finish at each setting)
• Written Oversight Agreement (needed if your supervisor isn’t employed by your employer)

You can record hours in whole or fractional increments (e.g., 15 minutes = 0.25 hours). Ask your supervisor to sign the Experience Verification form right after you complete your hours at each site.

Remember that only qualified supervisors can verify your hours. Your supervisor can’t be your spouse, relative, or someone with whom you have a personal relationship that could affect supervision quality.

Store all documentation safely – you’ll need these forms for your licensure application. Make sure to track both your “recorded” total hours and your “valid” hours that count toward licensure after applying category maximums and supervision requirements.

Step 4: Pass Required Licensing Exams

The final step in your trip to becoming a therapist in California involves passing two crucial examinations. These exams will test your knowledge of ethical principles and clinical practice skills after you complete your education and supervised experience.

California Law and Ethics Exam

Your first test requirement is the California Law and Ethics Exam, which you must take within your first year as an APCC. This computer-based test includes 75 multiple-choice questions, though only 50 count toward scoring, and you’ll have 90 minutes to finish. The exam’s content splits between Law (40%) and Ethics (60%).

The Law section focuses on these areas:

• Confidentiality, privilege, and consent (14%)
• Limits of confidentiality and mandated reporting (16%)
• Legal standards for professional practice (10%)

The Ethics portion covers:

• Professional competence and preventing harm (18%)
• Therapeutic relationships (27%)
• Business practices and policies (15%)

You’ll need to take this exam at least once per renewal cycle until you pass. Your registration won’t be renewed if you don’t take the exam before it expires.

National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE)

The NCMHCE becomes available after you pass the Law and Ethics Exam and get your Application for Licensure approved. The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) administers this exam, which features 11 clinical case studies with 9-15 multiple-choice questions for each case.

This exam tests your knowing how to apply knowledge in clinical practice by:

• Identifying and analyzing clinical concerns
• Developing accurate diagnoses
• Creating effective treatment plans
• Applying theoretical and skill-based counseling tenets

Exam retake policies and timelines

Each exam has specific rules if you don’t pass. The Law and Ethics Exam requires a 90-day wait between attempts. The NCMHCE needs a 30-day waiting period after each failed try.

The testing deadlines are strict:

• You must complete the NCMHCE within one year of passing the Law and Ethics Exam
• A one-year limit exists to retake either exam after failing

Missing these deadlines has serious effects—your licensing file will close and you’ll need to submit a new application, pay more fees, and might lose your approved experience hours.

You can apply for a retake through your BreEZe account (fastest option) or by mail (4-6 weeks processing). It’s worth mentioning that the testing vendor won’t receive your eligibility until the required waiting period ends.

Step 5: Apply for Licensure and Start Practicing

Your path to becoming a therapist in California reaches its final milestone when you submit your licensure application and achieve ongoing professional requirements. You’re ready to take this significant step after completing your supervised experience and passing your exams.

Submitting your LPCC application

Your LPCC license application package should include:

• A completed application form with your legal name and wet signature or secure electronic signature
• A $250 non-refundable check or money order payable to the Behavioral Sciences Fund
• Documentation of all supervised experience hours
• Verification of completed coursework requirements
• Proof of completed suicide risk assessment training (six hours)
• Evidence of telehealth coursework (three hours) including law and ethics related to telehealth

Different pathways exist for out-of-state applicants based on their education, supervision hours, and licensing history. These applicants must pass the California Law and Ethics exam, complete California-specific coursework, and meet fingerprinting requirements.

What happens after approval

The board will send you either a notice of deficiencies or confirmation of eligibility for required examinations after evaluating your application. You’ll need to apply online through www.breeze.ca.gov and pay a $200 initial licensure fee once you pass both exams.

Your application becomes abandoned if you don’t request your license within one year after passing the Clinical Exam. Your approved license allows you to start independent practice as a professional clinical counselor in California.

Maintaining your license with continuing education

Your license stays active when you complete 36 hours of continuing education every two years. This includes six hours specifically in Law and Ethics. New licensees need only 18 hours for their first renewal.

New licensees should note these one-time coursework requirements as of July 2023:

• Three hours in telehealth provision including law and ethics
• Six hours in suicide risk assessment and intervention

Random CE audits happen regularly, so keep your course documentation for at least two years after renewal. The board may impose disciplinary action or fines if you don’t meet CE requirements.

Become a Therapist in California

Becoming a therapist in California definitely takes dedication, time, and hard work. The path from education to licensure takes several years, and you’ll need to guide yourself through multiple steps with care. You’ll build strong clinical skills while meeting strict educational requirements, supervised experience, and examinations.

Start with the right undergraduate studies, then move on to a qualifying graduate program that fits California’s coursework requirements. After graduating, you must sign up as an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor and complete 3,000 supervised experience hours over at least two years. The next step involves passing both the California Law and Ethics Exam and the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination before you can apply for full licensure.

The path might seem tough, but each step builds your professional skills and gets you ready for a rewarding career helping others. Many therapists say this rigorous process ended up deepening their clinical abilities and professional confidence. The specific requirements in California ensure all licensed therapists meet high standards of practice.

Keeping detailed records and finishing requirements on time will make your journey smoother. Keep track of your supervision hours, finish required coursework when scheduled, and prepare well for licensing exams. Your commitment to professional growth doesn’t stop with licensure – it continues through regular continuing education.

California’s need for qualified mental health professionals remains strong. Your dedication through this challenging process will lead to meaningful work that makes a real difference in people’s lives. The path might be long, but each requirement helps ensure you’re ready to provide ethical, effective therapy to California’s diverse communities.