What are Consultation Hours?

As part of their requirements for full licensure, Colorado has mandated that all students who have completed a training program engage in Consultation with a working facilitator or other individual “experienced in the provision of natural medicine” for a total of 50 hours. Once Consultation hours are complete, the student may apply for a full Natural Medicine Facilitator License. This consultation can be done virtually.

How does it work?

Once you have successfully completed your coursework, you will need to take a basic Life Support class (a CPR class), and you will need to be able to pass a criminial background check. With those three items, you can apply for a “Training License” from the state. This license will allow you to see clients and to charge for services.

Once you start seeing clients, you will need to engage the help of a working facilitator or other qualified individual to help you debrief your experiences and to provide specific feedback in several key areas:

  • Non-directive facilitation approach

  • Relational boundaries and the use of touch

  • Cultural competence

  • Non-ordinary states of consciousness

  • Self-care

  • Ethics

Using APL facilitators to meet this requirement, trainees and consultants will meet virtually with a maximum trainee group of 10 trainees. The trainees will present “case studies” that lay out a client case and how they handled different aspects of the case. Then, with the consultant as discussion leader, the group will analyze what went well and what could have been better, and will set up the trainee for improved delivery of services. These meetings will need to be somewhat frequent to meet the timeline set for completion by the state. Trainee licenses will expire 2 years after issue, so Consultation Hours must be completed before that date for each student. We expect consulation classes/meetings to happen once or twice a month for an hour or two, but the exact methodology will be determined by the needs of individual trainees.

This is a new requirement for legal facilitation programs, as Oregon does not have a similar formal process. However, mentorship between experienced practitioners and new ones has a long tradition, so the bones of the process are well-known. To make sure these hours are compliant with State rules and will allow a trainee to get their full license will require us all to be agile in the delivery. No one has done it exactly this way yet, so there will be a learning curve.

Please Note: You can meet this requirement for full licensure with the oversight of any facilitator or person with substantial experience in the field. It is largely a paperwork exercise, so there is flexibility on who can serve as your mentor as long as they provide feedback in the state-prescribed way.

What does it Cost?

We’re not sure yet, but we think 50 hours of consultation will run about $2000.

Stay tuned as this aspect of training is worked out in the legal Colorado market and the methods and costs become more certain.