Clinical Supervision Requirements in Louisiana

Licensing Board Overview

Louisiana has separate licensing boards for different mental health disciplines. The Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) oversees social work licenses. The Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners regulates professional counselors. Marriage and family therapists are also regulated by the LPC Board, on the recommendation of its Marriage and Family Therapy Advisory Committee. Each board sets its own requirements for supervised clinical experience, supervisor qualifications, and documentation.

Both boards have changed their rules recently. The social work rules were rewritten in October 2025, and the LPC Board's rules were last amended in August 2026.

LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (Louisiana)

Supervised Experience Requirements

• Total supervised experience: At least 3,000 hours of postgraduate social work practice under a BACS, for supervision begun on or after January 1, 2022 (R.S. 37:2708(A)(3); LAC 46:XXV.503)
• Supervision hours: 96 hours of face-to-face supervision. Each supervision meeting lasts 30 minutes to 2 hours
• Individual supervision: At least half (48 hours) must be individual. Group supervision is capped at 48 hours, or 72 with board approval, with no more than 5 supervisees per group
• Frequency: No more than 80 hours of practice may pass without a supervision meeting. No supervision credit is given for any period that breaks this rule
• Timeline: At least 2 years and no more than 4 years. The board considers longer periods case by case

Supervisor Qualifications

• Must hold an active Louisiana LCSW license in good standing
• Must be a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor (BACS)
• Minimum of 3 years of full-time practice at the LCSW level
• Must complete the board's orientation workshop and a 6.5-hour board pre-approved supervision workshop

LPC: Licensed Professional Counselor (Louisiana)

Supervised Experience Requirements

• Provisional licensure: Louisiana uses a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) designation during the supervised experience period
• Total supervised experience: 3,000 hours of post-master's supervised experience as a PLPC (R.S. 37:1107; LAC 46:LX.605)
• Direct and indirect hours: At least 1,900 hours of direct counseling and at least 1,000 indirect hours
• Supervision hours: At least 100 hours of face-to-face supervision with an LPC-S, at least 50 of them individual. The other 50 may be individual or group
• Individual and group: Individual supervision is one supervisor with one PLPC. A group is 2 to 10 PLPCs
• Timeline: At least 2 years and no more than 6 years from the original supervision approval date. Hours are forfeited after 6 years

Supervisor Qualifications

• Must hold an active Louisiana LPC license with LPC Board Approved Supervisor (LPC-S) status
• Must have completed LPC Board-approved supervisor training
• Minimum of 3 years of post-licensure counseling experience per LAC 46:LX.801(A)(1)(b)

LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (Louisiana)

Supervised Experience Requirements

• Provisional licensure: Candidates hold a Provisional Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (PLMFT) license and may begin accruing hours only after the board's letter of approval
• Total supervised experience: At least 3,000 hours of clinical services (LAC 46:LX.3315). At least 2,000 must be direct client contact, and up to 1,000 may be indirect work or other professional activities, which can include supervision. The board's PLMFT page lists 3,200 hours, so confirm with the board how supervision hours count toward the total
• Graduate hours: Up to 500 direct hours from a graduate program may count toward the 2,000
• Supervision hours: At least 200 hours, at least 100 of them individual. Individual supervision is one or two supervisees, and a group is 3 to 6
• Timeline: At least 2 years and no more than 6 years from PLMFT approval
• Systemic focus: There is no post-degree minimum of couples or family hours, but the supervision plan must show systemically based approaches to therapy with all clients

Supervisor Qualifications

• Must hold an active Louisiana LMFT license and board approval as an LMFT-S (or LMFT-SC, a supervisor candidate)
• AAMFT Approved Supervisor designation is not required. An AAMFT Approved Supervisor must be certified by the board before supervising PLMFTs
• Must have 2 years of experience as an LMFT and complete the board's supervision training

General Documentation Requirements

Louisiana licensing boards expect clear and organized documentation of supervised clinical experience. Supervisors and supervisees should maintain:

• A supervision plan or contract. Counseling and MFT plans must be approved before supervision begins. A social work contract is due within 60 days of the first supervision meeting
• For social work, a Record of Supervision with the date, time, and a brief summary of each supervision meeting, signed by both supervisor and supervisee. Since 2025 each meeting is a separate entry on the LABSWE online platform, approved by the BACS
• For counseling and MFT, hour logs kept by employment location and type of hour (direct, indirect, and supervision). Supervision forms are now completed on the LPC Board's online dashboard
• Supervisor verification forms. In counseling and MFT, each supervisor files a Documentation of Experience form for the hours accrued with them. In social work, each employer verifies the practice hours worked there
• Records of evaluations, feedback, and any remediation or corrective action plans

Both the supervisor and supervisee should retain copies of all documentation. Digital records with timestamps and signatures strengthen board submissions and audit readiness.

Louisiana-Specific Details

Approved Practice Settings

PLPCs and PLMFTs may accrue hours only at a practice setting the LPC Board has approved. A new setting must be reported within 30 days of the date of hire, or all hours accrued there are forfeited (LAC 46:LX.603).

More Than One Supervisor

PLPCs and PLMFTs may have more than one board-approved supervisor at the same time. Each added supervisor needs a separate application and plan, and no hours count with that supervisor until the board approves it. Each supervisor signs only for the hours accrued with them.

Active Supervision and Caseload Caps

Counseling and MFT supervisees must receive at least 1 hour of supervision for every 20 direct hours, and at least 1 hour in any three-month period. An LPC-S may supervise up to 10 PLPCs at a time. An LMFT-S may supervise up to 10 supervisees in total, across all disciplines.

Pending Changes

A July 2026 notice of intent would change the active supervision ratio for PLPCs and PLMFTs from 1:20 to 1:25. A December 2025 notice would remove the caps on graduate-program hours for PLMFTs. Neither was final as of our last review.

Interstate Compacts

Louisiana is a member of the Counseling Compact and is issuing compact privileges. It enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact in 2024 (Act 791, R.S. 37:2731), but no multistate social work licenses had been issued as of our last review.

Virtual Supervision in Louisiana

For counseling and MFT, up to 100% of supervision may be by synchronous videoconferencing on a HIPAA-compliant platform. Telephone contact does not count as supervision. Social work telesupervision rules took effect in October 2025. Both supervisor and supervisee complete a one-time 1.5-hour training, the BACS must be licensed in Louisiana, the supervisee must practice in Louisiana, and the format must be stated in the supervision contract.

Key Louisiana Board Contact Information

• Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE): labswe.org
• Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners: lpcboard.org
• Phone (LABSWE): (225) 756-3470
• Phone (LPC Board): (225) 295-8444

How to Become a Clinical Supervisor in Louisiana

If you're a licensed clinician in Louisiana considering offering clinical supervision, each licensing board has its own requirements for supervisor approval. Below is a summary by license type. Requirements change, so always confirm the current standards with your licensing board before applying.

Becoming an LPC Board Approved Supervisor

The Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners requires supervisors of Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (PLPCs) to meet the following criteria per LAC 46:LX.801:

• Licensure: Must hold an active Louisiana LPC license in good standing (license cannot be lapsed, expired, or subject to probation, suspension, or revocation)
• Clinical experience: Minimum of 3 years of post-licensure experience practicing mental health counseling
• Supervision training: Must complete training consistent with ACA, LCA, NBCC, or CACREP standards, within 5 years of application for board-approved supervisor status. This can be satisfied through either:
  • At least one graduate-level academic course in counseling supervision equivalent to CACREP standards (minimum 45 clock hours, equivalent to a 3-credit-hour semester course), or
  • A professional training program in supervision approved by ACA, LCA, or NBCC (minimum 25 clock hours of face-to-face interaction with the instructor)
• Board approval: Must apply to the LPC Board for Board Approved Supervisor designation before supervising PLPCs
• Renewal: 3 hours of supervision CE each 2-year renewal, plus the board's supervisor orientation video

Becoming a BACS (Board Approved Clinical Supervisor) for Social Work

The Louisiana State Board of Social Work Examiners (LABSWE) requires supervisors to obtain Board Approved Clinical Supervisor (BACS) status:

• Licensure: Must hold an active Louisiana LCSW license in good standing
• Clinical experience: At least 3 years of full-time practice at the LCSW level
• Supervision training: Must complete the board's orientation workshop and a 6.5-hour board pre-approved supervision workshop
• References: Two references, one from an LCSW
• Application: Must apply to LABSWE for BACS designation and receive approval before beginning supervision
• Renewal: 3 hours of clinical supervision CE every 2 years

Becoming an LMFT Supervisor

• Licensure: Must hold an active Louisiana LMFT license with at least 2 years of experience as an LMFT
• Training: A one-semester MFT supervision course, or 15 hours of didactic and 15 hours of interactive training, plus 36 hours of supervision of supervision
• AAMFT designation: An AAMFT Approved Supervisor may qualify instead, but must be certified by the board. AAMFT supervisors who are not certified may not supervise PLMFTs
• Supervisor candidates: An LMFT-SC supervises under a plan of supervision of supervision before becoming an LMFT-S
• Renewal: Every 4 years, with 6 hours of supervision CE, a renewal workshop, and the supervisor exam

Cross-Discipline Supervision

Louisiana requires supervisors to hold the same license type as the credential the supervisee is pursuing. An LPC-S supervises PLPCs, an LMFT-S supervises PLMFTs, and a BACS supervises social workers. An LMFT-S may not supervise PLPCs without LPC-S approval.

How Guidara Helps Louisiana Supervisors

Guidara keeps hour logs, signed supervision notes, and timesheets for each supervision relationship, whether the supervisee is working toward LCSW, LPC, or LMFT licensure. Everything is stored digitally with timestamps and audit trails. You can export PDF records to use when completing the boards' forms. The forms themselves are completed on each board's own online platform.