Start with license readiness
Your license type determines whether you can practice independently, need supervision, or should set up inside a group practice first. Confirm the current rules with the state board before accepting clients.
This table is a setup readiness starting point, not a substitute for current board review.
Resolve current and older counseling titles
The April 14, 2026 rules use associate titles, while statutes, forms and the Board’s older FAQ still use provisional terminology. Use the credential actually issued and request written transition instructions. Obtain authorization and approved supervision before starting the proposed work; confirm when experience may count, including any approved temporary-permit or internship credit. A pending application is not a license or permit.
Approve the worksite as well as the supervisor
The older counseling FAQ describes W-2 employment and an onsite licensed mental-health professional for provisional work. Newer rules allow secured remote supervision, but that does not clearly approve every home office or unstaffed worksite. Confirm the actual setting with the Board before beginning. Remote supervision and independent contracting are different questions.
Social-work employment is a substantive restriction
LCSW and LGSW clinical practice requires Board-approved contracts and employment without an ownership interest beyond employment. Paying an outside supervisor does not make an owner’s solo therapy practice permissible. The May 2026 LICSW manual requires approval before countable clinical experience; obtain written instructions for employment or supervision changes rather than relying on conflicting FAQ language.
Separate a professional office from a licensed program
The current behavioral-health-center rule, 71 CSR 25, exempts individuals or groups functioning within their Chapter 30 professional license scope. Rehabilitation, intensive, residential or other program services need a separate OHFLAC determination. Entity formation, professional licensure, facility licensing and Medicaid provider/program enrollment answer different questions.
Treat addiction credentials and new pathways separately
An addiction certification is not a general independent mental-health license. Chapter 16, Article 68 restricts private alcohol/drug counseling and includes exemptions for specified Chapter 30 professionals. Full administration is due by July 1, 2027, and the implementing rule remained in progress at review. Confirm current Bureau for Behavioral Health instructions before relying on a new license or transition pathway.
| Credential | Independent practice? | Supervision issue? | Entity/business note | Bomi relevance | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LPC — Licensed Professional Counselor | Full professional counseling license supports independent practice within authorized scope and competence. | ALPS is an approved supervisor designation, not a separate entry-level therapy license. Verify supervisor qualifications before employing associates. | Confirm the permitted entity and ownership structure with the counseling Board; LPC is not a listed PLLC profession. | Payer credentialing, group affiliation and the participation effective date remain separate approvals. | Current counseling licensing rule, April 14, 2026 |
| Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate (LPCA) | Supervised status; cannot own, operate or work as a 1099 independent contractor in a private practice. | Use the Board-approved supervisor registration contract and obtain required approval before supervisor or employment changes. | Approved employment is a different arrangement from opening your own practice. Use the full status actually issued by the Board. | Older Medicaid provisional-license wording does not settle eligibility for the new associate title; obtain written payer clarification. | Current counseling licensing rule, April 14, 2026 |
| LMFT — Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist | Full license supports independent marriage and family therapy within its scope and competence. | A qualifying LPC/LMFT supervisor or the rule’s qualified AAMFT route must meet the applicable Board requirements. | Resolve ownership and entity eligibility before filing; do not assume LMFT is a listed PLLC profession. | Confirm the specific network and Medicaid enrollment pathway; clinical authority alone does not establish payer eligibility. | Current MFT licensing rule, April 14, 2026 |
| Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist-Associate | Supervised status; private-practice ownership, operation and 1099 independent contracting are prohibited. | Obtain the issued authorization and approved supervision arrangement; review employer or supervisor changes before they occur. | Use an approved employment model and accurate supervised title in public materials. | A supervisor’s signature does not create an authorized insurance billing arrangement. | Current MFT licensing rule, April 14, 2026 |
| LICSW — Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker | West Virginia’s independent clinical social-work credential. | A clinician supervising candidates must meet the Board’s supervisor requirements; an active license alone is insufficient. | Eligible professional services and qualified ownership may support a PLLC, subject to Board verification. | Confirm individual enrollment, billing entity, locations and each payer product. | Independent clinical social-work scope |
| LCSW — Licensed Certified Social Worker | Certified, not Clinical. Clinical social work requires the statutory education, employment and supervision conditions; this is not the independent clinical tier. | A written clinical supervision contract must be approved before clinical practice. Practice must stop when that authorization ends unless appropriately continued. | For clinical work, employment must be in an organization in which the clinician has no direct or indirect interest beyond employment. | Some Medicaid services recognize LCSW staff; this is not permission for every code, setting or independent practice. | Certified social-worker clinical-practice conditions |
| LGSW — Licensed Graduate Social Worker | Clinical practice requires qualifying clinical education/training, approved supervision and the statutory employment arrangement. | Board approval of the clinical supervision contract is required before clinical practice; LCSW is not a mandatory intermediate step toward LICSW. | No direct or indirect interest beyond employment in the organization providing the supervised clinical work. | Verify code-specific staff qualifications, enrollment, rendering identification and group affiliation with the payer. | Graduate social-worker clinical-practice conditions |
| LSW and provisionally licensed social worker | LSW permits statutory generalist functions, including counseling; it is not an independent clinical psychotherapy credential. The provisional route is separately restricted. | Provisional social work requires approved employment and supervision, and does not authorize formal mental-health diagnosis. | The provisional route does not permit contracting, business ownership or fee-for-service practice. | A payer’s recognition of a credential cannot expand its lawful clinical scope. | Board professional manual and provisional restrictions |
| Licensed Psychologist | A full West Virginia psychologist license can arise through qualifying master’s or doctoral pathways; verify the issued license and any restrictions. | Separate full licensure from a supervised-practice card and from authorization to supervise others. | Psychology is a listed PLLC profession; confirm qualified members and Board verification. | Full state licensure does not automatically establish PSYPACT eligibility or network participation. | Current psychology licensing rule, May 4, 2026 |
| Supervised-Psychologist | Board-authorized supervised practice toward licensure; a supervised-practice card is not a full independent license. | Approved contract before practice, accurate Supervised-Psychologist title, and supervisor countersignature of reports/professional opinions are required. | Independent private practice is not qualifying supervised experience. Obtain approval for the actual work arrangement and supervisor changes. | BMS and some plans define specific supervised-psychologist pathways; verify enrollment and claim requirements separately. | Current psychology licensing rule, May 4, 2026 |
| School psychology, student and psychometrician roles | Level I is school-setting authority; Level II permits independent school psychology within that specialty, not unrestricted general clinical psychology. | Students, supervised school psychologists and psychometricians have distinct supervision and task limits. | Do not use a school or testing role as authority to open a general outpatient therapy practice. | Match the actual credential, service and setting to the payer’s requirements. | School psychology and supervised roles |