By Kimberly Anderson, LPCC

This article posits that the Professional Counselor identity is at risk of being lost by recent actions designed to expand access for counselors to provide quality mental health care to clients. While this expanded access through programs such as the Interstate Counseling Compact, appear to be good for the profession, the authors express concern that “hard-fought and now well-established strong Counselor licensure laws and training standards” are being threatened and professional standards are being changed, resulting in unintended consequences.

The authors cite several areas of concern – the Interstate Counseling Compact, the emergence of alternative credentialing bodies to CACREP accreditation, and states (specifically Florida and Georgia) who have passed legislation that the authors say erode Professional Counselor Identity by changing educational requirements (no counseling degree needed to hold a counselor license, and training requirements for licensure). 

In addressing the Compact, the authors call into question three areas. 1) The unintended consequences related to weakening educational requirements in state Counselor licensure laws; 2) Recognizing and granting other professions the privilege to practice as a Professional Counselor via the Counseling Compact; and 3) Subsequent concerning ramifications for the Counseling profession, specifically related to Counselor education and supervision, the regulation of Counseling, and ethical public protection.

Regarding counselor education accreditation, the authors said the distinction of counseling from other helping professions was crucial, particularly after psychologists sought to exclude counselors from the psychology profession in the 1960s. They argue that Counselors worked to define counseling as a distinct discipline with a focus on wellness, prevention, and developmental processes. CACREP is being challenged by the Masters in Counseling Accreditation Committee (MCAC), which is an alternative accreditor for master’s level psychology and Counseling programs, only requiring 48 credit hours for accreditation versus 60 credit hours required by CACREP.

Another challenge to CACREP is the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). MPCAC identifies accreditation of counseling psychology programs, applied psychology programs, clinical psychology programs, and some clinical mental health counseling and school counseling programs. The authors state “MPCAC Standards for all the aforementioned programs are the same, with no differentiated requirements for programs to meet specialized standards for the varying professional specializations accredited (i.e., school counseling or applied clinical psychology)”. The authors also state MPCAC has not been vetted by the Counseling profession.

The authors are concerned that the effort, perseverance and time it has taken for Counselors to establish the hallmarks of the Counseling profession – Counselor certification and licensure, Counselor Education accreditation – will be lost. The authors expressed: “Without informed action to prevent it, history may repeat itself. Indeed, Counselors are moving closer to new barriers that can prevent them from practicing distinctively as Counselors while other mental health specialty licenses remain closed to Counselors”.

Therefore, given the potential for the Counseling profession to lose its identity, the authors urge Professional Counselors to advocate for the profession by staying informed of state laws which can adversely affect the integrity of the profession, and helping legislators understand the need for counselor-specific education, training and licensure as an ethics issue and for public protection. Professional organizations such as ACES and CSI, (as well as the Colorado Counseling Association) are advocating for the integrity of the Professional Counselor. In addition, the authors say, “Counselor researchers and scholars have a critical role in examining the impact of Professional Counselor Identity (including Counselor training and credentialing, specifically) upon clinical outcomes in the field – critically looking at how Counselors practice and the effectiveness of our unique Professional Counselor Identity in clinical practice” and to demonstrate why Counselor training and credentialing make a difference in clinical practice.

To read the complete article and to learn more about how you can get involved: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2326716X.2023.2178985

Hartwig Moorhead, H.J.. Duncan, K. & Fernandez, M.S. (2023) The critical need for professional advocacy: A call to the counseling profession to value professional counselor identity, Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 10(1), 3-17, DOI: 10.1080/2326716X.2023.2178985