Recently I attended the annual FMHCA (Florida Mental Health Counseling Association) conference, and was fortunate enough to hear a keynote presentation from Carol Bobby, who is the President and CEO of CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs). In these two posts, I will pass along the very helpful information she provided about CACREP.
Our professional identity as counselors is something you may not be thinking much about as a student or new professional, but it is a topic that will affect and influence your career for years to come. One important factor in our professional identity is the body that accredits our education programs. In this post, I will describe myths about CACREP, an accrediting body that looks like it will become the gold standard.
Being CACREP equivalent is NOT the same as accredited. Don’t confuse psychology programs with counseling programs. Examine your syllabi carefully. Students are also being taught ethics from the American Psychological Association, which is the wrong ethics code. Instead, students should be taught ACA ethics. One thing to check is the course prefixes; i.e. look for “CNLS” rather than “PSY.”
A Little Background
Although psychologists and psychiatrists have enjoyed professional recognition for years, the same has not been true for counselors. Say the word “counselor” when someone asks you what your life’s work is and they may think you are anything from a camp counselor to a lawyer. Psychologists, psychiatrists and even social workers do not have this issue. They can simply answer with one label and no further explanation.
In 1991, the question was asked to all divisions of the American Counseling Association (ACA): are you a group of groups or are you one group? Because if you’re not one group, you will never be recognized. Other professions do not have that question posed to them. Even social workers are clearly defined as one group.
The 20/20 initiative identified seven goals for unifying the profession, including: developing a definition for counseling, a consensus for the scope of practice, there should be a single accrediting organization, and developing consensus licensure titles (right now there are over 20; i.e. LPC).
Professional counselors are gaining ground, gradually. But we haven’t been at it for long. For example, did you know that it wasn’t until the early 90s that Ann Landers recommended someone to see a “counselor?” Prior to that she always specified “psychologist.”
Fast forward to today, to find that TRICARE (insurance for the military) and the Veterans Administration are starting to recognize us. But we have a long way to go.
CACREP Timeline
Here is a mini-timeline outlining major events over the past 50 years or so:
- 1952 ACA founded. Previously, this organization was known as the American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA). This association is actually a conglomeration of four different groups.
- 1976 Virginia passes first counselor license law
- 1977 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) adopts national standards for preparation of counselors and other personnel specialists
- 1981 CACREP created
- 1982 National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) offers first certification exam
- 2009 California becomes the 50th state to enact a counselor licensing law
Note that thirty years passed between the creation of CACREP and all states having a counselor licensure law. At this point, states are beginning to review their laws now that CACREP has been established…the thinking is that maybe it’s time to change who can enter the profession. As a result, it is harder today for students to enter the counseling field. Today, CACREP accredits about 60% of the counseling educational programs.
CACREP Themes
- 1994 Multicultural & social justice standards
- 2009 Current heavy on professional identity, that is clarity about who we are as professional counselors. This leads to greater clarity about who can enter the profession.
- 2016 CACREP may move to minimum 60 hour requirement for mental health counseling programs
- 2023 new standards will come out
In my next post, I will discuss benefits of accreditation, the rise of CACREP, and dispute some CACREP myths.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Dr. Barbara LoFrisco
* All of this information is the result of a personal communication from Carol Bobby, CACREP President & CEO on February 7, 2014 at the FMHCA annual conference in Lake Mary, FL.
