Dear Governor McAuliffe and Board members,

I am a Masters student in Counseling and Development at George Mason University. I am starting a new career and chose GMU based on its focus in social justice and multicultural education and practice which goes beyond the CACREP standards. 

I urge you to please vote no on CACREP.  This program has been incredibly rewarding and it is because of the passion, experience and commitment from our faculty to prepare us for all those we may encounter in counseling. The majority of our faculty have not been trained through CACREP but are considered to be some of the best and most well-respected individuals in this field. By limiting us to CACREP, we are limiting the experiences of those that will come after. Individuals that are willing to be bold and to be innovative. We are already experiencing a shortage of mental health care workers. Limiting training programs due to extensive costs and challenges will create an even more significant crisis. 

Please vote no to CACREP and instead, I urge you to consider how we can continue to support those interested in supporting the mental health of those around us. We need to focus on healing versus punishment and create more opportunities for individuals to seek out help. Therefore, we need to continue the support of excellent programs such as GMU's Counseling and Development program with both a school counseling and community agency track. 

This program has been one of the best experiences that i've had. This is my second Masters and I believe strongly in the curriculum and the way we are being trained. I feel fortunate to study under such visionary and thoughtful professors and feel extraordinarily prepared. 

Please vote no to CACREP. 

Take care, 
Patty Mathison 
George Mason University