How to Become a Licensed Counselor in Washington

How Do I Become a Licensed Professional Counselor in Washington?

You’ll need to earn a master’s or doctoral degree in mental health counseling or a master’s or doctoral degree in behavioral science that’s in a field related to mental health counseling to qualify for licensure as a mental health counselor in Washington.

A qualifying program must have a core that includes at least seven of the following content areas (five of which must be from the first eight content areas):

• Assessment/diagnosis
• Ethics/law
• Counseling individuals
• Counseling groups
• Counseling couples and families
• Developmental psychology (may be child adolescent, adult or life span).
• Psychopathology/abnormal psychology
• Research and evaluation
• Career development counseling
• Multicultural concerns
• Substance/chemical abuse
• Physiological psychology
• Organizational psychology
• Mental health consultation
• Developmentally disabled people
• Abusive relationships
• Chronically mentally ill

Many graduate programs in counseling are now offered in a hybrid and/or online format to accommodate busy, working professionals and those with geographical limitations. If your professional and personal responsibilities make attending on-campus courses difficult, you may want to explore an online master’s degree in counseling.

Find a graduate counseling degree in Washington.

What Are the Supervised Experience Requirements to Become a Counselor in Washington?

You’ll need to apply to become a Washington mental health counselor associate before you begin to complete the supervised experience requirements necessary for licensure as a mental health counselor.

Washington law (WAC 246-806-230) requires candidates for licensure to gain a minimum of thirty-six months of full-time counseling experience or 3,000 hours of postgraduate mental health counseling. This must be completed under the supervision of a qualified licensed mental health counselor or practitioner in a healthcare setting. At least 100 of those 3,000 hours must be spent in immediate supervision with the supervisor and 1,200 of those hours should include direct counseling with patients.

What Are the Examination Requirements to Become a Counselor in Washington?

You must pass either the National Certification Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Examination (NCMHCE), both of which are administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC), to earn licensure in Washington as a mental health counselor. Applicants must have their scores sent from the NBCC directly to the Department of Health prior to being granted a license.

You’ll be eligible to apply for licensure to become a Washington State mental health counselor after passing the NCE or NCMHCE exam and fulfilling the required post-graduate experience requirements.

Salary and Occupation Information for Counselors in Washington

As of May 2022, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors in Washington earned a median salary of $51,480. If you’re relatively new to the field, you’ll likely earn a salary that closely reflects the 25^thpercentile here, which was $45,070. And once you establish a name for yourself in the mental health community and get significant experience under your belt, you’ll earn a salary that closely reflects the 90^th percentile, which was $80,940.

Rehabilitation counselors in Washington, who work to improve the lives of those with mental, developmental, and emotional disabilities, earned a median salary of $48,600 as of May 2022. The top earners here (90^th percentile) earned about $77,920 during this time.

Other types of counselors in Washington earned a median salary of $61,160 as of May 2022, while those at the top of the pay scale earned about $89,900.

Schools with Degree Programs Accepting Students from Washington

Additional Resources for Washington Applicants

While you continue to explore the many career opportunities available in the field of counseling, you may also be interested in learning more about similar professions and their earning power in Washington:

Washington’s clinical and counseling  psychologists, who must hold a PsyD or a PhD, earned a median salary of $105,370 as of May 2022 and a top salary (90^th percentile) of $135,430. Learn more about how to become a psychologist in Washington.

Marriage and family therapists in Washington, who provide psychotherapy services to individuals, groups, and families within the context of the family unit, earned a median salary of $58,300 as of May 2022. The most seasoned and experienced marriage and family therapists in Washington earned salaries that closely reflected the 90^th percentile, which was about $82,500. Learn how to become a marriage and family therapist in Washington.

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics job market trends and salary figures for clinical and counseling psychologists, marriage and family therapists, substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors, rehabilitation counselors, and counselors (all other) are based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed August 2023.