(a) “Appraisal activities” means the selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of objective assessment instruments which the professional counselor is qualified to employ by virtue of education, training and experience, and the exercise of professional judgment based on the objective assessment and observation of a client’s behavior to evacuate current functioning, diagnose, and select appropriate treatment required to remedy identified problems or to make appropriate referrals.
(b) “Approved continuing education” includes research and training programs, college and university courses, in-service training programs, and seminars and conferences that are approved by the Board of Licensed Counselors and Examiners, as provided in this chapter.
(c) “Approved Supervisor” means an individual who:
(1) is a fully, active, licensed counselor in one of the categories set forth in this chapter;
(2) has two years of supervisory experience approved by the Board of Licensed Counselors, including graduate-level supervision;
(3) has two years of supervised experience;
(4) has documented to the Board of Licensed Counselor and Examiners the completion of the graduate-level supervision course or the equivalent that included two years of supervised experience; and
(5) has documented to the Board the completion of a graduate- level supervision course or the equivalent that included content and experience relevant to the supervision of professional counselors.
(d) “Board” means the Virgin Islands Board of Licensed Counselors and Examiners.
(e)
(1) “Counseling” means offering to assist or assisting, for a fee or other compensation, an individual or group through a counseling relationship to develop an understanding of interpersonal and intrapersonal problems and to plan and act on a course of action to restore optimal functioning to that individual or group, the goals of which are to:
(A) Facilitate human development and adjustment throughout the lifespan;
(B) Prevent, assess, and treat emotional, mental, or behavioral disorder and distress which interferes with mental health;
(C) Conduct assessments for the purpose of establishing treatment goals and objectives; and
(D) Plan, implement, and evaluate treatment plans using professional counseling strategies and interventions.
(2) The term does not include the treatment of any mental, emotional or adjustment disorder other than marital problems, parent-child problems, child and adolescent antisocial behavior, adult antisocial behavior, other specified family circumstances, other interpersonal problems, phase of life problems, other life circumstance problems, occupational problems and uncomplicated bereavement
(f) “Counseling treatment intervention” means the application of cognitive, affective, and behavioral counseling strategies which integrate wellness, pathology and multi-cultural model of human behavior, which applies a combination of mental health and human development principles and procedures to help clients achieve effective mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, spiritual and career development and adjustment throughout their lifespan, and are specifically implemented in the context of a therapeutic relationship.
(g) “Licensee” means a person licensed under this chapter as a licensed substance abuse counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, or a licensed professional counselor.
(h) “Licensed counselor” means an individual who renders for compensation counseling services and is licensed under this chapter as a:
(1) Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor (LSAC);
(2) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT); and
(3) Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
(i) “Licensed substance abuse counselor” means an individual who renders, for compensation, chemical dependency or addictions counseling or chemical dependency counseling or addictions counseling related services to an individual, group, organization, corporation, institution, or to the general public, who is trained and experience in chemical dependency counseling and addictions counseling, and who is licensed under this chapter to engage in the practice of chemical dependency and addictions counseling.
(j) “Licensed marriage and family therapist” means an individual who renders for compensation professional marriage and family therapy services to individuals, couples, and families, singularly or in groups, whether such services are offered directly to the general public or through organizations, either public or private.
(k) “Licensed professional counselor” means an individual rendering, for compensation, of professional mental health therapy by means of observation, description, evaluation, interpretation counseling treatment and interventions, including psychotherapy, to effect modification of human behavior by the application of generally recognized professional counseling principles, methods and procedures for the purpose of preventing, diagnosing, treating, or eliminating mental, emotional or behavioral disorder or their symptoms, and the enhancing of interpersonal relationships, work and life adjustment, personal effectiveness, behavior and mental health. The practice of counseling includes conducting assessments for the purpose of establishing treatment goals, objective planning, implementing and evaluating treatment plans using counseling treatment interventions as defined in this section.
(l) “Marriage and family therapy” means the services performed with individuals, couples, or groups wherein interpersonal relationships are examined for the purpose of achieving more adequate, satisfying, and productive marriage and family adjustments. The practice includes relationship and premarital counseling.
“Counseling” means those techniques used to help persons learn how to solve problems and make decisions related to personal growth, vocation, family, social, and other interpersonal concerns.(m) “Person” means an individual, firm, corporation, limited liability company, partnership or other organization or legal entity.
(n) “Professional counseling” means the providing of services to individuals, couples, groups, families, and organizations in any one or more of the fields of professional counseling. “Professional counseling” includes the therapeutic process of: (i) conducting assessments and diagnosing for the purpose of establishing treatment goals and objectives and (ii) planning, implementing, and evaluating treatment plans using treatment interventions to facilitate human development and to identify and remediate mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders and associated distresses that interfere with mental health
(o) “Recognized educational institution” means any educational institution that grants a Bachelors, Masters or Doctoral degree, and which is recognized by a nationally and regionally recognized education or professional accrediting body approved by the United States Department of Education.
(p) “Referral to” means evaluating and identifying the need of a client to determine the advisability of referral to other specialists, informing the client of such decision and communicating as requested or deemed appropriate, with such referral sources.
(q) “Research” means a systematic effort to collect, analyze and interpret quantitative or qualitative data that describe how social characteristics and behavior, emotion, cognition and interpersonal transactions among individuals and organizations interact.
(r) “Substance abuse counseling” means the services performed to help people who have problems related to alcohol and other drug use that causes social, physical, legal, vocational, or educational distress or impairment.
(s) “Use of a title or description” means to hold oneself out to the public as having a particular professional status, using signs, mailboxes, address plates, stationery, announcements, calling cards, electronic media, or other instruments of identification.