I urge the VA legislature to veto pending legislation regarding CACREP only accreditation for our profession. I am licensed in two mental health disciplines and have been a mental health practitioner and supervisor for more than twenty five years. My education and training came from excellent programs that are not CACREP accredited. I am a past president of the association of Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors of Maryland and have received various awards and accolades for my service. Yet I and many other licensed mental health practitioners would be prohibited from practicing in VA if the proposed CACREP legislation were to pass.While I support a national accreditation standard for our profession, there are better solutions than the unfair, unjustified, discriminatory, counter-productive measures inherent in the  proposed legislation. In the interests of consumers, educators, mental health practitioners and indeed the mental health counseling profession itself, I urge you to veto the CACREP accreditation legislation. Thank you.

Emily Tarsell, LCPC, LCPAT