TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 261 burden created by the state’s jurisprudence examination that is required in addition to the NCE. Veda elaborated that taking the state exam was a “huge hindrance” and the test information was not applicable to her practice as a counselor. Barriers to Licensure This inductive category was established by researchers based on the overwhelming amount of data that related to descriptions of barriers that participants experienced while trying to obtain counseling licensure in a Rocky Mountain state. The category of barriers to licensure is described as encountering unexpected barriers and challenges when applying for an additional license . This data went beyond the specific deductive categories that defined required aspects of the licensure application to describe significant flaws in the overall logistics of the licensure process. This category encompassed the largest amount of data from interviews and was further divided into four themes: interacting with a state licensing board, gathering materials, impacting ability to practice, and paying additional fees. Interacting with a state licensing board. The most salient theme across interviews captured the difficulties and barriers created by interactions with the state licensing boards. All participants described some degree of confusion experienced when seeking licensure requirement information on the state board website. They reported that then when calling the board directly, they would encounter additional points of confusion. They dealt with state board staff who provided vague or confusing information, who were unable to answer detail-specific questions, and who were unwilling to refer the counselor to someone who was capable of answering their questions. Participants also lamented the additional barrier of often being unable to get the same staff member on the phone, and therefore having to repeat their questions and explanations of specific circumstances each time they called. State board staff answering the phones also often had no counseling background and therefore had no context for the questions being asked by applicants. A final significant barrier identified by participants was that submitted paperwork would be lost by the state board, therefore delaying the application process further and even preventing counselors from getting licensed before arriving in the new state. Some participants described not obtaining a full license in a new state even though they maintained one in the first state. They indicated sometimes this was because they did not meet the requirement in the second state, but also because the verification process was too convoluted when they attempted to verify their qualifications for full licensure with the new board. George described how he had been licensed for over five years in Washington and attempted to acquire a full license in Idaho. He opted to pursue the conditional license, even though he should have qualified for the full license, because of the lack of clarity from the state board about what was required of him. Other participants described conflicting answers regarding what was needed in their application, but that their experience was positively influenced by pleasant interactions with board or administrative members they called. Dorothy expressed gratitude for the ability to get someone on the phone who was able to answer specific questions, even though the information on the website was difficult to decipher. Gathering materials. Participants from all six states described multiple barriers that slowed down their ability to become licensed related to gathering applications materials. This included the time required to gather documents and find required documents that were not readily available or clearly described as required on state board websites, having to provide notarized documents, tracking down former supervisors, having to document continuing education for multiple states, and requesting letters from other state boards. Idaho, for instance, requires licensure documents to be notarized, and both Idaho participants described the additional barrier this created. George shared how it felt like a burden to ask former supervisors to “go out of their way to find a notary or even pay for it.”