AR SB164

Changes experience requirements for licensed professional counselors from three (3) years to 3,000 client contact hours, with additional graduate education allowing up to 2,000 hours per sixty (60) graduate semester hours beyond a master's degree.

Changes experience requirements for licensed marriage and family therapists from three (3) years to 3,000 client contact hours, with the same additional graduate education hour provisions as professional counselors.

Establishes a minimum of 1,000 client contact hours of professional experience for both counselors and marriage and family therapists.

Modifies examination procedures by requiring board approval before applicants sit for examination and changes reapplication rules so applicants who fail an examination must wait three (3) months before retaking rather than two (2) years after two failures.

Adds grounds for license suspension or revocation when a licensee is placed on a public safety registry (including child maltreatment, adult maltreatment, or sex offender registries).