The Problem

The Board's pa.gov website is the only authoritative source for LPC and LAPC licensure requirements in Pennsylvania. Counselors-in-training, new applicants, and out-of-state counselors who will seek privileges under the Counseling Compact all depend on this site. Unfortunately, it is not serving them well.  Here are some specific ways in which counseling lacks adequate and equitable representation compared to its two board-mates: social work and marriage and family therapy:

•        The Examination Information section names the ASWB exam (social work) and the AMFTRB exam (MFT) but contains no information about the NCE or NCMHCE for LPC or LAPC applicants. Professional counselors are absent from this section entirely.

•        The Board's official contact email address is ST-SOCIALWORK@PA.GOV. This is the address all counseling applicants are directed to use for official correspondence.

•        A navigation link reads "Licensure Snapshots for State Board of Social Workers," with no mention of professional counseling or MFT.

•        The "Fees" link in the Board Laws and Regulations section routes to Chapter 47 of the Pennsylvania Code, which governs social workers. Counseling fee information is in Chapter 49. Applicants following the official link will find the wrong information.

•        There is no navigation path, section, or set of labeled links that allows a counseling applicant to find counseling-specific content without sorting through social work material.

These gaps result in applicants submitting incorrect fees, missing examination requirements, locating the wrong regulations, and relying on unreliable third-party sources because the official source does not serve them. The Board website, as currently structured, functionally excludes one of the three professions it is charged with regulating.

See the inequities for yourself: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/department-and-offices/bpoa/boards-commissions/social-workers-marriage-family-therapists-professional-counselors

The Structural Problem

The website problems are not incidental. They reflect a statutory seat imbalance on the Board itself. (Source: Act 39 of 1987 (P.L. 220, No. 39), Section 5, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors Act, as amended June 23, 2016 (P.L. 387, No. 54). Available at pa.gov and legis.state.pa.us.)

Social workers hold five guaranteed seats. Licensed professional counselors hold two dedicated seats and share a third with MFTs on a rotating basis. This allocation was established in 1987, when counseling licensure in Pennsylvania was newly established. It has not been updated in the nearly four decades since, during which the counseling profession has grown substantially in size, infrastructure, and professional standing.

A board where one profession holds more than twice the seats of another is structurally less likely to attend equally to all three professions' needs. We are requesting both the immediate, administrative corrections that do not require legislation, and the longer-term legislative reconsideration that the seat allocation deserves.

What We Are Asking

We respectfully request that the Board, BPOA, and the Secretary of State direct appropriate staff to make the following corrections:

•        Add a clearly labeled entry for the LPC and LAPC in the Examination Information section, naming the NCE and NCMHCE and linking to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).

•        Update the Board contact email to one that does not identify the mailbox as belonging exclusively to social work.

•        Relabel the Licensure Snapshots link to reflect all three regulated professions and create counseling-specific snapshot content.

•        Add a direct link to Chapter 49 (Professional Counselors Regulations) and to counseling-specific fee information.

•        Create a counseling-specific navigation path on the Board page that allows LPC and LAPC applicants to locate counseling content directly.

None of these changes require legislation. All are within the administrative authority of the Board and BPOA. Pennsylvania joined the Counseling Compact in 2024 and more counselors will seek Pennsylvania licensure as a result. We ask that these corrections be made within 90 days of petition submission.

Longer-Term Ask (Legislative)

•        We call on PCA and Pennsylvania's legislative representatives to examine the seat allocation in Section 5 of Act 39 of 1987 and consider amending it to reflect the current size, scope, and standing of the counseling profession in Pennsylvania.

Professional Counselors deserve equitable representation, just as Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists do.  

SEE ALL THREE! |  One Board. Three Professions. Equal Representation.

By signing this petition (at the link below), I add my name in support of the corrections described above.