Question: Accreditation, Certification, and the Counselor
In previous decades, counselors and other individuals who provided therapy were unregulated-meaning there were no laws requiring specialized training for counselors. Then, in 1981, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) and the American Personnel and Guidance Association (a precursor to the American Counseling Association, ACA) cooperatively established the Counselor for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) in order to set standards for counselor training.
Review the CACREP Web page on types of accreditation of counseling programs, NBCC's Web page on certification versus licensure for clinical mental health counselors, and Mascari and Webber's 2013 article, "CACREP Accreditation: A Solution to License Portability and Counselor Identity Problems."
In your post, answer the following questions:
• What advantages will you experience by graduating from a CACREP-approved program?
• Would it be advantageous for you to pursue becoming a National Certified Counselor through the NBCC, in addition to obtaining your state-granted license? Why or why not?
• Is license portability an issue that may be important to you in the future? Explain your answer.
Support your ideas by citing key sources from this unit, using APA style.
Response Guidelines: Respond to at least two other learners who have a different view that you regarding the advantages of voluntary counselor certification or the importance of license portability.