Categories and activity types

Learn what each supervision category means and why choosing the right one matters.

Every event you log has a category. The category is how the BBS, and Licentio, know what kind of experience an hour represents. Getting it right is the single most important thing you do when logging, because categories carry minimums and caps that decide how much of your work actually counts.

Licentio only shows the categories that apply to your pathway, so the exact list and its labels depend on whether you're pursuing LCSW, LMFT, or LPCC. The groups below are the ones you'll recognize.

Direct client contact

Direct supervised clinical hours with clients. This is the core of your supervised experience and carries the largest requirement. Your pathway may also define subcategories inside it — for example, an LMFT pathway tracks a minimum for work with couples, families, and children within direct counseling hours.

Supervision

Time spent being supervised, in a few forms:

Individual supervision — one-on-one with a licensed supervisor.
Triadic supervision — one supervisor with two associates. It counts toward your individual supervision requirement.
Group supervision — supervision in a group setting.

The BBS sets ratios and caps on supervision, which is why the distinction between individual, triadic, and group matters rather than being a detail.

Non-clinical work

Documentation, training, consultation, and other qualifying non-clinical supervised work. This category is genuinely useful experience, but the BBS caps how much of it can count toward your total, so Licentio tracks it against that cap.

Gotchas

Logging under the wrong category is a top cause of application delays. An hour that sounds like one category but belongs in another throws off your totals and your ratios. When you're unsure, match the BBS definition for your license type, not the label that sounds closest.

Categories are pathway-specific. If you don't see a category you expected, it likely doesn't apply to your license. Don't force an hour into a category that doesn't fit.
Caps mean extra hours stop counting. Once you hit the cap on a category like non-clinical work or group supervision, additional hours in it no longer add to your total. Watch the caps on your Requirements page so you can rebalance early.

FAQ

Why don't I see a category a colleague has? Because your pathways differ. LCSW, LMFT, and LPCC track different categories and subcategories, and Licentio only shows yours.

What counts as direct client contact? Supervised clinical work directly with clients. Supervision, documentation, and training are separate categories, even though they're part of the same day.

Does triadic supervision count as individual or group? Triadic supervision (one supervisor, two associates) counts toward your individual supervision requirement.

How do I know if I'm approaching a cap? Your Requirements page shows each category against its minimum or cap, and your dashboard flags categories that need attention.