Keeping Up With The
Counseling
Profession: Current
Issues on the
National Level
www.counseling.org/kaplan
David Kaplan
ACA Chief Professional Officer
dkaplan@counseling.org
Art Terrazas
ACA Director of Government Affairs
aterrazas@counseling.org
2015 ACA ILT
Celebrating Supreme Court
rulings
• The Affordable Care Act
• Same-sex marriage
Overarching Issue:
How do we move
forward together?
Professionalization
The social process by which any
trade or occupation transforms
itself into a true profession
-Ashley Crossman, PhD
Sociologist
About.com
Counseling Professionalization
Benchmarks
• Circa 1908 - Named
• 1913 - First professional organization
• 1952 - Specialties coalesce under one
association
• 1961 - Code of ethics
• 1971/1981 - Counselor preparation
accreditation
• 1976 - First state licensed
• 1982 - Establishment of a certification
body
• 1985 - Establishment of a national
honor society
• 2009 - All 50 states and DC licensed
• 2010 - Consensus definition of
counseling
• 2013 - Consensus licensure title &
scope of practice
• 2013 - CACREP & CORE become
corporate affiliates
• 2017 - CACREP & CORE merge
Professionalization: A recent
focus on counselor preparation
• 2010 - VA requires CACREP
accreditation
• 2012 - TRICARE requires CACREP
accreditation for
independent practice
• 2012 - NJ briefly requires CACREP for
licensure
• 2013 - CACREP requires a counselor
education degree for new core
faculty
• 2022 – NCC requires a CACREP degree
Changes in State Laws
• Beginning in 2018- you will need a degree
from a CACREP accredited school to obtain a
license in Ohio.
• A petition was filed in 2014 with the Virginia
Board asking for a CACREP requirement to
obtain licensure
• Kentucky and Georgia have also introduced
CACREP requirements.
Which has lead to some
consternation and panic over
jobs
• Teaching
• Practicing
Teaching
• Counseling Psychologists
Psychology
& counselor education
accreditation
THE COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST
VOL. 41, NO. 5, JULY 2013
Articles
• Quality of Master’s Education: A Concern for
Counseling Psychology?
• Looking to the Future – The role of Master’s
Programs in Counseling Psychology
• Integrating Master’s Education in Counseling
Psychology for Quality, Viability, and Value
Added
• Legitimizing and Reclaiming Master’s
Training and Education in Counseling
Psychology: An Urgent Concern
Contributing to the
ambivalent relationship of
counseling psychology to
masters training…
-Jackson & Scheel, p.676
In some situations, the
master’s training programs
were developed …to help
fund the doctoral training
program.
-Palmer, p.703
In some cases, master’s
programs help pay the bills for
doctoral education…in difficult
economic times, counseling
psychology doctoral programs
without master’s programs
may be easier to cut
-Jackson & Scheel, p. 687 &
688
To maintain CACREP accreditation
when budget cuts are required,
deans and other
administrators…may prioritize
master’s over doctoral programs
since master’s training is less
expensive than doctoral training.
-Jackson & Scheel, p.682
…such developments do
threaten counseling
psychology programs…
-Jackson & Scheel, p.682
The new MCAC accreditation
standards may serve to promote
a new direction for counseling
master’s education…consistent
with core values and
contributions of counseling
psychology
-Jackson & Scheel, p. 681
It is questionable…whether
we will be able to avert
eventual professional
annihilation…as a profession
we are experiencing THE
RECKONING
-Palmer, p. 701 & 704
Clinician concerns
• Non-CACREP degree
• 48 credit CACREP degree
• Master’s degree in counseling
psychology
Pushback
Alternative
Counselor
Education
Credentialing
Masters in Psychology
and Counseling
Accreditation Council
(MPCAC)
MPCAC counseling programs
• U of Albany - mental health counseling
• Eastern University - clinical counseling &
school counseling
• Felician College - counseling psychology
MPCAC counseling programs
• Fordham University - mental health
counseling & school counseling
• Lehigh University - counseling and human
services
• U of Massachusetts Boston- mental health
counseling & school counseling
MPCAC counseling programs
• U of Missouri-Kansas City - counseling and
guidance
• New York University – counseling for
mental health and wellness & counseling
and guidance
• U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - counseling
Advocacy
• Counseling psychology program
coalitions
• Coalition of Concerned Counselors
• Individuals
How do we move
forward together?
Federal Issues in 2015
• Medicare- The fight continues
• TRICARE-Amendment
• VA- Promising changes and new
opportunities
State issues
• Certain state laws and/or policies
prevent LPCs from being utilized as
healthcare providers:
–New York & diagnoses
–Texas lawsuit
–Bans on “reparative therapy” for
minors
The 20/20
Building Blocks to Portability Project
• Consensus licensure title
• Consensus licensure scope of
practice
Rubric of professional identity
•
•
•
•
State licensed or certified in counseling
Uses the title “Professional Counselor”
Commits to counseling ethics
Commits to the 20/20 definition of
counseling
• Views professional counseling as a distinct
profession
ACA’s answer to
moving forward
together
Moving Forward…..
To unify the profession, ACA
endorses graduation from a
CACREP/CORE accredited program
as the pathway to licensure.
Together…..
ACA advocates that all counselors
licensed by July, 2020 are qualified
to have the same options and
privileges as graduates from
CACREP and CORE programs.
How ACA can help you keep up
with current national issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
ACA Connect
Read Counseling Today
Read CT online www.ct.counseling.org
Read ACA e-News
Subscribe to the ACA blogs www.my.counseling.org
Subscribe to the ACA government affairs
newsletter: dharp@counseling.org
• Visit the ACA Facebook page
• Follow ACA on Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/CounselingViews
• Subscribe to counseling listservs (cesnet,
counsgrads, icn, etc.)
• Use Google alerts
• Ask Art or David
Let’s schmooze!
Keeping Up With The
Counseling
Profession: Current
Issues on the
National Level
www.counseling.org/kaplan