The Virginia Board of Counseling’s current proposal offers several options for all licensed counselors who would seek a license in Virginia. However, this proposal, like several earlier proposals, includes an option that falsely suggests that licensed counselors who graduated from programs accredited by CACREP (who would need 3 years post-licensure experience) are more qualified than those who graduated from Non-CACREP or Counseling Psychology programs (who would need 10 years post-licensure experience).

There is no documented evidence that licensed counselors who graduated from programs accredited by CACREP are better prepared than their peers who graduated from other programs! Why then, should the majority of licensed counselors in Maryland who did not graduate from programs accredited by CACREP be required to show 7 more years of experience than their peers who graduated from programs accredited by CACREP to transfer their license to Virginia to offer telehealth services? Why would the Commonwealth of Virginia want to unnecessarily reduce the number of licensed professionals at a time of great need?

The Counseling Compact (see above) is a significantly better option than this proposal!