Associate years and supervised hours

What you will be called

Every state has its own title for the associate years, and some have none at all. Choose your state to see what you will put after your name, and what the full license is called.

Use the exact title your state gives you, on your badge, your email signature and your informed consent. Clients have a right to know you are pre-licensed and who supervises you. To compare every state at once, use the state map.

Registering, and when the clock starts

Apply for your associate credential as soon as your degree is conferred, or before if your state allows. Most boards ask for an official transcript, an application and fee, a background check with fingerprints, and sometimes a supervision plan signed by your supervisor. Processing can take weeks, and in most states no hours count until it is done.

Choosing a supervisor

Many associates are supervised by someone at the agency that hires them. Others find a supervisor separately, sometimes paying for it. Either way, your supervisor shapes your skills, your caseload and your path to the license, so choose with care.

• Check that they qualify. States often require a set number of years of licensure, supervisor training, or a supervisor designation from the board, and some limit which licenses can supervise yours.
• Ask how they supervise. Do they review recordings? How do they handle a crisis call at 8 p.m.? How often will you meet, and will it be individual or group?
• Ask about the paperwork. Will they sign your log weekly? Have they completed your state’s verification forms before?
• Look for fit. A supervisor experienced with the clients you want to see, and one you can tell about your mistakes.
• Get it in writing. A supervision agreement covering schedule, fees if any, emergencies and what happens if either of you ends it.

If you need a supervisor outside your job, our directory lists licensed clinicians who offer supervision, each license checked with the state board.

What counts, and the limits

The total is only the start. States break it down, and the details decide how long you will take. Here is the same license, a professional counselor, in three states:

Texas (LPC Associate)

3,000 hours

At least 1,500 in direct counseling, over at least 18 months, with at least 4 hours of supervision a month and no more than half of it in a group.

Florida (Registered Intern)

1,500 hours

Face-to-face psychotherapy over at least 100 weeks, with at least 100 hours of supervision and at least an hour every two weeks.

California (APCC)

3,000 hours

Over at least 104 weeks, with at least 1,750 direct and no more than 1,250 non-clinical, and supervision every week you count hours.

Things to look for in your own state’s rules:

• Direct-hour minimums, and for MFTs, often a minimum with couples and families.
• Caps on non-clinical hours, group supervision, and hours per week. California, for example, counts no more than 40 hours in any seven days.
• Supervision ratios, such as an hour of supervision for every set number of client hours, and whether video supervision counts.
• Time limits: a minimum span, and a maximum window or a limit on how many times you can renew the associate credential.
• Setting rules, such as whether associates may work in private practice, as employees or contractors.

Find your state’s numbers on the requirements pages, then try them below.

Keeping a log that holds up

Whatever form your state uses, a good log has the same habits behind it:

1. Use the board’s own form or fields, so nothing has to be translated later.
2. Record each week: direct hours by type, non-clinical hours, and supervision by type (individual, triadic, group).
3. Separate logs for each supervisor and each setting, and for pre- and post-degree hours where both count.
4. Have it signed on time, and keep the signed copies, scanned and backed up.
5. When a supervisor leaves, get their experience verification signed before they go.
6. Keep pay stubs or employment letters. Some boards ask for proof that you were employed or volunteering.

Two associates

Myths worth dropping