I oppose the proposed regulation 18 VAC 115-20, which will limit eligibility to become a Licensed Professional Counselor to CACREP only programs.  I entered the Clinical Psychology Program at Radford in 2006 and graduated in 2008, fully expecting to be able to get licensed in Virginia.  The 2009 change in the Board’s policy was unexpected and puzzling.  The Clinical Psychology program has not changed; Radford is still educating future competent clinicians, and it does not seem fair for the Board to make this change. 

Upon graduating from Radford, I went to Capella University to take 4 courses I was missing to be eligible for licensure in Washington, DC.  The licensing board in DC recognized my degree and gave me credit for every course I took and had no problem with the fact that my degree was in clinical psychology! I passed the National Counselor Exam, demonstrating I had the knowledge and capacity to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor. So, I’m confused by the fact that in Virginia, my degree makes me unqualified to receive my LPC when in DC and most other states, I would be considered qualified.  I did not apply for my LPC in Virginia after learning that my friends in my program have been turned down and I did not want to waste my time or money or face the frustration of being turned away despite my training and experience.

Many of the people who support the petition have talked about protection of the public.  DC and 46 other states certainly do not seem to agree with the position that licensing someone who graduated from a clinical or counseling psychology program would cause danger to the public. I am currently a Clinical Supervisor for an ACT team, supervising 10 case managers, at a mental health agency in DC and have my LPC in DC.  We work with clients who require the most intensive outpatient care in the city.  It’s not an easy job, but I’m able to do it, in part due to the training and education I received through the Clinical Psychology program at Radford! Clearly, DC doesn’t consider me a danger to the public, so why does VA?   If DC doesn’t view protection of the public as the issue, why would VA?

Lastly, I have been a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia my entire life, 33 years.  I was trained by a state university in Virginia to be a mental health professional, but am unable to work in Virginia because of this distinction that the Virginia Board seems to draw between people trained by psychologists and people trained by people in CACREP accredited programs that the vast majority of other states do not think is an important distinction. I live in Virginia but have to work in DC.  There’s no evidence that people are more qualified in CACREP accredited programs.  Therefore, it seems that the Board is trying to protect its guild rather than providing mental health services that are so desperately needed to the citizens of VA

I urge the board to return to the qualifications for who would be eligible for their LPC prior to 2009.  The previous requirements did not turn down people who were trained by psychologists or other non CACREP programs.  When the board formally adopted the current CACREP eligibility requirements, it has excluded Radford University’s Clinical Psychology program, and therefore has made it impossible for otherwise qualified practitioners to help Virginians in need. 

I want to work closer to where I live and where I was trained. I want to help those in my own community.  To do so, I need to be license eligible in Virginia. Passing this regulation will prevent me, and countless other qualified professionals, from this.