I am writing this in return to the suggested plan to have CACREP accreditation for state licensure. This will indeed harm university training programs and negatively impact the quality of professional counselors. As a current graduate student at the Counseling and Development Program at George Mason University, I pride myself in receiving the most outstanding and unique training that is completely necessary for the field today. The professors and staff in the Counseling and Development Program strongly encourage Multiculturalism and Social Justice, which allows their graduate students to be well prepared for the field of counseling. George Mason University is not CACREP, but is one of the most profound programs in the country. The program has received the 2013 Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Outstanding Master’s Degree Program award for the excellent counselor training that has been done and still is being done at George Mason University. This proposed plan for only allowing professionals to be licensed if they are CACREP accredited discriminates against many counseling programs and counselors across the country. There are many programs in the country that have outstanding programs for training counselors that will be judged primarily on having CACREP accreditation and be denied licensure if they do not have accreditation, which now puts many people at risk for not being able to find employment. State licensure boards needs to be completely separated from CACREP. It is completely wrong and unethical for an accreditation board to dictate state licensure laws that is why I strongly oppose state licensure boards to join accreditation agencies.

Sincerely yours,

Miguel Arroyo

Graduate Student, Counseling and Development Program

George Mason University