Q:
"Can an LPC provide me with an accurate diagnosis or should I be referred to someone that can do testing?"
A:
At Pearl Behavioral Health Services, all of our clinicians are Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs). This means the clinician has earned at least a Master's degree, has undergone weekly supervision with a licensed supervisor post Master's for a minimum of 3000 hours (roughly 2 years), and passed a National exam.
As LPCs (in both Alabama and Georgia), we do have authority to diagnose mental illness, and testing is not required to diagnose when using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM 5). All of our clinicians have had advanced training in diagnosing when completing their degree, internships, and licensure supervision.
There are times that your clinician might decide to refer you out for specific testing if they need more information due to an inability to accurately gather all of the information needed for a diagnosis, but this is rare.
Some prescribers do refer out and want specific testing before prescribing certain medication.
See below for a map of LPC Authority to Diagnose Mental Illness by State.
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Written by: Alicia Winkle, LPC-S, BC-TMH