How to Become a Counselor in Georgia

Below are basic guidelines for those wishing to earn their counseling certification in Georgia. Most of these requirements, such as earning your Master’s degree, completing 3200 hours of supervised experience and passing the NCE examination, are likely to continue to be mandatory in the Georgia counseling licensure process. However, it is wise to contact the Georgia State Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists at (478) 207-2440 to make sure you are on the right track.

I’m a High School Graduate

As a Georgia high school graduate already researching Georgia counseling certification, you are ahead of the pack! This a great time for you to continue advancing your level of education while also learning more about the counseling career.

Regardless of the area of counseling you wish to work in, Georgia counseling licensure requires you to attain a Master’s degree for Associate Counseling Certification or a Doctoral degree or specialized Master’s degree prior to being considered for Professional Counseling certification. This may seem like a long way off, but college always goes by much faster than one might expect. So, remember to take advantage of your professors’ knowledge along with their connections and learn about the vast amount of opportunities awaiting you beyond college graduation.

Click on the links below to browse schools offering psychology and counseling programs!

Once you have enrolled in a program, take advantage of your school’s career services department and learn how you can find employment or volunteer opportunities that are related to the counseling career path.

Already Received Bachelor’s Degree

Once you have your bachelor’s degree, you can consider looking for schools that offer a master’s or doctoral degree program in counseling. Georgia requires a Master’s degree for Associate Counseling certification or a specialized Master’s degree or Doctoral degree for Professional Counseling certification.

Alternatively, you can request information from schools offering counseling programs in Georgia.

Be sure to ask school representatives whether the counseling program you are enrolling in has a supervised practicum element. A practicum is a valuable source of practical experience that can be required for some careers.

For Georgia Professional Counseling certification, you should look into earning either a doctoral degree or a specialized Master’s degree. You can read more about this requirements under section 43-10A-11 on the Georgia Laws document that you can download off the following Georgia State Board of Professional Counselors webpage.

Step One:

Satisfy all supervision requirements for Georgia Professional Counseling certification or Associate Counseling certification. Requirements vary depending on whether you are completing a specialized Master’s program or a Doctoral program, and depending on the certification you are seeking.

You can either learn more about the specifics of supervision requirements by downloading the pdf form off the Georgia State Board of Professional Counselors website or by speaking with a certification specialist at your educating university.

Step Two:

Once you have completed the education and supervision requirements, download the application for couneling licensure and submit the package to the Georgia State Board of Professional Counseling for evaluation.

You can download the application on the following Georgia State Board webpage. Be sure to provide all other necessary documentation and fees that are specified in the application prior to submission.

Step Three:

After evaluation and approval of your application, you should be eligible to sit for the Professional Counselor Examination.

You can find information about the Professional Counselor Examination’s content, dates, locations and registration on the NBCC website.

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