Having recently completed my LPC requirements and having worked for a community services board (New River Valley Community Services) for the last two and a half years, I see the importance of maintaining the identity of professional counselors as separate from the identity of professionals trained in clinical/counseling psychology programs. The experiences I had as an undergraduate psychology major at Virginia Tech working with Clinical Psychology graduate students on research projects gives me some perspective on the training these students receive. The perspectives of these psychology students' training differed greatly from training/education I received in Virginia Tech's Counselor Education master's degree program. Master's level psychology professionals are highly qualified and competent to provide therapeutic services to clients; however, their professional identity is not the same as professionals trained in Counselor Education programs. Licensed Clinical Social Workers also have a professional identity that is unique in comparison to professionals trained in psychology and counseling programs. My experience has been that there are differences in the emphases/focuses/mentalities related to therapeutic interventions among these differing professional identities, and for that reason, I oppose the Chase petition. I hope master's level psychology students/graduates can work towards a credentialing system that recognizes their strengths and professional orientation, separate from LPC credentialing.
