Mental Heath Counselor LMHC

Review of Indiana Professional Licensing...

So, I was infuriated after finding that my tempora...

So, I was infuriated after finding that my temporary permit for LMHC licensure had expired after 6 months; my understanding was that this lasted as long as the application was good for. Then I realized I had just assumed this. On the licensure website there was a link for consumer complaints so I made one. I also put a complaint in a google review. And then I sent an email to the address listed with their contact information. I was so worried; I might have lost a job over this. And I felt like I had been lying now for weeks to people, applying for jobs and asking for work, saying I had this licensure and I didn t. This is a pretty serious thing to lie about.

Luckily, after a great deal of time had passed, I was able to get scheduled on the agenda of the board meeting to request an extension. I was already worried I would have to do this; I had heard about someone who had a temporary LMHC-A permit and my understanding was that you could always request another one if absolutely necessary; however, again, this window opened after 6 months not 12. So there I was at the board meeting. I was ready to go home when they said no, that was how they had always done things. Luckily for me there had to be an attorney present I guess. They checked over the legal jargon, again and again. I thought, well, I guess I can accept if they are saying it was just implied. However, the fact that this was not specifically stated- and because of the way things were actually stated- this temporary permit was respected for another 6 months.

Looking back, I truly wish I had been scheduled already and taken the test within the 6 month window. However, as things ended up playing out, I was able to allow myself more time to study. This was probably a necessity because, in the end, I found out that 40-45% of test takers of this test do not pass the first time. I am scheduled for about a month and a half from now and have almost completed all of the simulations on a site I ve really loved studying from.

Overall I found, after this learning experience, that it does pay to complain. It does pay to speak up. It s better because even if nothing changes, you will at least feel better after getting it out.