I am an LPC in the state of Virginia and am a supervisor for Mt. Roger's Community Services Board. I graduated in 2007 with my Master's of Science from the Counseling Psychology program at Radford University. I have heard from former classmates about their difficulty with licensing due to the title of their program. I found this odd as I was licensed and we shared most of the same classes, same professors, and had the same syllabi. The licensure application outlines specifically the classes that are expected to be completed. I believe that if the coursework meets these requirements then it should be accepted, whether it is from Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Counseling Education, etc. In Southwest Virginia we have a shortage of Licensed Counselors. Medicaid and licensure requirements are placing more licensed staff in supervisor roles and has limited the number of direct care licensed clincians in our area. Any legislation that could limit competent, qualified counselors from practicing in our state is a detriment to the individuals we serve. I also believe this legislation limiting clinical programs from being accepted into licensure was made after many applicants had finished their degrees. There was no variance offered for persons who had already completed their degrees with the expectations of being licensed in Virginia. I cannot imagine how frustrating it would be to graduate with your Master's degree only to find out a year later that a policy had been put in place to limit your application to practice as an LPC. I believe that any time a new policy is put in place in this regard that it should not take effect until that date to allow people who were already in a college program or had already graduated to become licensed. In conclusion, I am in support of including any program whose coursework meets the guidelines set forth in the application.