Summerville Women’s Mental Health Services (SMMHS)

Here at Summerville Women’s Mental Health Services (SWMHS), we are a teaching private practice. This means we allow Masters Level Counseling Graduate Students (Counseling Interns) and Post Graduate Licensed Professional Counselor-Associates (LPC-A) from accredited graduate programs to obtain real-life experience in the counseling/therapy profession alongside our more seasoned clinicians. This is very important to provide continued quality care in the mental health field, and it also allows us to provide counseling/therapy at a lower cost to clients.

What is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate (LPC-A)?

Licensed Professional Counselor-Associates (LPC-A): LPC-A’s are highly trained post-graduate counselors/therapists. They have already completed a rigorous master's degree program, in which they had to complete 700 hours of counseling/therapy experience (on average) before graduation. During this time, they received training on various counseling/therapy techniques, assessments, and diagnostic skills.

After graduation, they then go on to complete their national licensing exam, which allows them to receive their LPC-A provisional license from the state. This is when the period of clinical supervision begins. During the clinical supervision period, LPC-A’s complete an additional 3,000 hours of counseling/therapy work over a minimum of 18 months (much like a doctor going through residency) before receiving their unsupervised nonprovisional full License Professional Counselor (LPC) license. 

Throughout these 3,000 hours, they are supervised either on or off-site by a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPCS) who has had a minimum of five years post-license experience and has also taken another rigorous 40-hour course to be certified to supervise. The LPC-A you see may discuss your case confidentially with their supervisor. When you are receiving treatment from an LPC-A, you receive the benefit of not just your clinician’s knowledge, experience, and expertise but also the knowledge, experience, and expertise of the Associate’s supervisor as well, all at a reduced cost to you!