Others opposing the CACREP restrictions have made excellent points, and I will not restate all of them. However, I would like to call attention to what I believe are the most important roles for the State of Virginia in this debate, and those are protection of the general public and ensuring access to high quality mental healthcare. Both of these goals would be served by a broad licensure requirement that allows counselors to be educated by those in related professions that also have strong scientific and ethical standards, including psychology, rather than the very narrow CACREP standards requiring faculty in counselor education programs to only have doctoral degrees that are specifically in counselor education. The CACREP restriction serves the interests of some professional counselors, specifically those who have graduated from CACREP programs, as well as the economic future of programs that educate these counselors. However, it damages counselors from equally rigorous programs, decreases access to care, and does not protect the public in any meaningful way. Seton Hall University has been educating highly qualified and competent counselors and counseling psychologists for decades, and they are in practice in states across U.S., including Virginia. All counselors must already meet rigorous requirements for licensure, including appropriate curriculum and supervised clinical experience, as well as a passing score on a national examination.  The State of Virginia has already met its obligations to its citizens, and additional regulation would only result in unnecessary red tape.