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What Can You Do With an LCPC License in Maryland?

What Can You Do With an LCPC License in Maryland?

Mental Health

Many professions have licensing requirements. This is a good thing. Lawyers have to pass the bar to represent clients. Airline pilots need to have their ATP, or Airline Transport Pilot rating, to fly passengers. Lifeguards need to be certified to sit on their surfside perch and scan the waves for trouble. We want this. We want people to be certified for certain jobs: jobs where there’s a lot riding on the outcome. Which brings us to mental health counseling. If you’re considering such a career in Maryland, earning your Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, or LCPC, license opens the door to a wide range of meaningful, flexible, and impactful career opportunities. Importantly, it also communicates to prospective clients that you’re certified, i.e., well-trained, to do the job of helping them with their mental health issues. Here’s what you can do with an LCPC license in Maryland.

1. Work in Private Practice

Let’s begin our exploration of counseling careers with one of the most popular paths for LCPCs: opening a private practice or joining an existing one. With an LCPC license, you’re authorized to offer individual, couples, and family therapy, helping clients manage a range of emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. As an LCPC, you can apply for insurance paneling, which allows you to accept clients with private insurance or Medicaid. You also have the freedom to establish and grow your own business, set your own schedule, and create a practice that reflects your therapeutic style and values.

2. Employment in Mental Health Clinics

LCPCs are currently in high demand in community mental health clinics and nonprofits. These roles often involve working with underserved or at-risk populations, including those struggling with poverty, substance use, trauma, or severe mental illness. As an LCPC, you may work as part of a multidisciplinary team providing assessments, individual therapy, group counseling, and case management. These settings can be particularly fulfilling for counselors driven by a distinct sense of purpose and social impact.

3. School and University Counseling

In terms of possible counseling careers, an LCPC license also qualifies you for roles in educational settings. These may include positions in K-12 schools or in college counseling centers. While some K-12 school counselors often hold specialized certifications, some districts and private schools hire LCPCs to support students’ emotional and behavioral health. In a university setting, you might offer counseling to students dealing with academic stress, anxiety, or career decisions. These roles vary in responsibility but offer the chance to make a real and perhaps lasting difference during critical life transitions.

4. Hospital and Inpatient Facilities

Licensed LCPCs are, of course, also key members of mental health support teams in hospitals, psychiatric units, and inpatient rehabilitation centers. In these roles, you may support individuals in crisis, assist with discharge planning, or provide therapeutic interventions as part of recovery programs. You’ll collaborate closely with psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, and other providers to ensure integrated, patient-centered care.

5. Government and Public Sector Roles

With your LCPC, you can serve in various public sector roles, including positions with local and state health departments, veterans’ services, and correctional facilities. These jobs often involve direct counseling, program development, and community outreach. There are also opportunities in policy work and advocacy, where LCPCs contribute to shaping mental health programs, funding priorities, and legislative change.

6. Supervision and Training

Once you’ve gained sufficient experience as a fully licensed LCPC, you can provide clinical supervision to Licensed Graduate Professional Counselors (LGPCs). This mentorship is essential for helping new counselors grow into confident, ethical professionals. Additionally, LCPCs with a passion for education can pursue opportunities to teach, train, or lead workshops for counseling students or fellow professionals.

7. Specialization Opportunities

We live in a world of specializations, both healthcare oriented and otherwise, and Maryland LCPCs can endeavor to enhance and broaden their careers through LCPC specializations. Common areas include: trauma-informed care; addiction and recovery; LGBTQ+ affirming therapy; grief counseling, and play or art therapy. Be aware that many of these specializations require additional certifications, but they do allow you to tailor your practice and deepen your impact in specific communities or populations.

The LCPC Meaning of Life

We offered earlier that there’s a lot riding on the successful outcome of certain jobs, like piloting a commercial airliner or, less literally, piloting an individual through a mental health difficulty. For Marylanders who want to take on the latter task, the LCPC license unlocks a diverse range of meaningful, fulfilling career paths. From private practice to public service, there’s a world of people out there who need you. So whether you’re passionate about therapy, advocacy, teaching, or community engagement, there’s a place for you in the field of mental health counseling. And here at Advanced Behavioral Health Maryland, we’re always on the lookout for good, dedicated LCPCs ready to take up this challenge.

When you think of the well-being of a child, you first think of basic needs: food, water, and shelter. Once these needs are met, however, it’s crucial for a child to have emotional and social wellness as well. In this article, we will explore the impact social wellness has on the overall health of a child and great ways for children to garner social support in their lives.

It comes as no surprise that as human beings, we all need connection with others, no matter what stage of life we are in. In fact, having social support is a social determinant of health (SDOH) that significantly impacts the health of an individual. After spending the last few years in and out of isolation due to the Covid-19 outbreak, social support is more important now than ever before. Having social support means having family members and friends you can talk to and seek advice from when life feels challenging and overwhelming. Knowing you’re not alone in your life journey, especially as a child, creates a sense of belonging and empowerment throughout one’s life.

4 Types of Social Support

Emotional Support. This type of support lets you know that people care about you and have empathy for your experiences. Emotional support often looks like people checking in on you to let you know they’re thinking of you, and that they are there if you need anything. As a parent, make sure your child knows you can be a sounding board for them. If you have family members who can also show up for your children in this way, even better!

Practical Help. This type of support is when people give you something tangible or offer a service to help you out. This could be in the form of money, making food when you are sick, or helping to pack when moving. Having family and friends show up in this way shows your child what it looks like to be present for people you love.

Sharing Points of View. This type of support can often come in the form of affirmations and encouragement. For example, pointing out your child’s strengths to them and reminding them they can do anything they put their mind to. It can also look like sharing another perspective if they are being hard on themselves. For example, if they are angry with themselves after receiving a bad grade on a test, you can help them see it as a learning experience and a way for them to grow.

Sharing Information. This type of support is when someone shares what they’ve learned from their own life experiences. For example, if another parent has a child who struggles with socializing, they can share some tips and tricks they’ve learned to help their child find and create social support.

The Importance of Social Groups and Extended Support

Children who are connected to their family, friends, and people in their community have opportunities to learn how to speak, share, and get along with others. When your child feels connected to people in your neighborhood, it often allows them to feel physically safe which can alleviate stress and worry. Simply riding bikes, going on walks, and saying hello to neighbors with your kids can create this sense of security for them.

In addition to engaging with your neighbors, getting involved in local organizations can also create social support for your child. Signing up for a sports team, musical theater, art class or summer camp are all great ways to help your child meet new friends and learn important social skills that can carry them through their lives.

Tips for Helping Kids Make Community Connections:

Spend time outside in your neighborhood playing on the playground, going to a local farmer’s market, or scheduling a playdate with neighborhood kids.

Show your kids that connection is a two-way street. If your neighbors or friends go out of town, offer to get their mail, or water their plants and take your child with you when you go. This will show your child how you show up for people you care about.

Make sure you make time for socializing with friends as well. Your child looks to you first and foremost for how they should act and live their own life.

Encourage your child to step out of their comfort zone and do something they may be scared to do. As a parent, it’s your job to push them into something social for their own well-being at times.