Degree to License

About this site

Degree to License is written by Gabriel Benaim, an LMHC in South Florida. I am licensed in Florida, graduated from Barry University’s clinical mental health counseling program, and went through the licensure process myself.

Credentials

I am a Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), license MH27298. You can verify my license with the Florida Department of Health by entering MH27298 in the License Number field. I earned an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Barry University. My therapy practice is at gbenaim.com.

My path

I registered as a mental health counseling intern at the end of 2023. I worked at a very busy group practice and finished my 1,500 client hours in about 65 weeks. But Florida also requires your supervision to stretch over at least 100 weeks. So I had to wait until week 100 before I could apply for my license. I wish someone had told me to pace myself. Overworking is the fastest way to burn out in this field, especially at the start. Today I run an online therapy practice that serves clients across Florida.

Why it exists

The information I needed was scattered across board pages, employer policies, and conversations with other clinicians. Much of the practical information moved through group chats rather than anything written down. This site puts those pieces in one place and links back to the source.

What it does

This site describes the Florida licensure process and the early career decisions around it. It does not give individual advice about whether a specific person’s hours, coursework, supervision, or experience will count. Requirements change, so each guide links to the Florida Board wherever the Board is the source.

How it is funded

Some pages contain referral links. If you use one, I may receive a commission or subscription credit at no extra cost to you. I use Headway, Grow Therapy, Psychology Today and CE4Less in my practice. The Sessions Health review is based on its published documentation and includes a subscription-credit referral. I also offer paid tools, including Calendar Sync and the Supervisor Interview Kit. Reviews explain their basis and include drawbacks as well as benefits. Each offer’s page explains its terms.

If you are accruing supervision hours now, the Florida hours tracker follows the Board’s own categories and the 100-week rule.

Corrections and questions

If you find something that is outdated or unclear, or there is a question you want covered, please send it through the contact page.

Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed, and the supervisor directory comes from public Florida Department of Health licensure data.