CACREP accredited??

[Heather75019]

Hi everyone, I have searched the forums before posting and didn't find exactly what I was looking for. I have applied to a M.A. in Counseling program (Dallas Baptist University) that is not CACREP accredited and one (Texas Woman's University) that is CACREP accredited. DBU is my 2nd choice because of the accreditation and cost. But, I got to thinking, how important is CACREP accreditation? For instance, since DBU is not accredited should I not consider it? Capella University is accredited so should I consider them over Dallas Baptist or what's the view on online universities? Thank you all for helping me narrow down my decision.

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[A1cfox21]

Hi everyone, I have searched the forums before posting and didn't find exactly what I was looking for. I have applied to a M.A. in Counseling program (Dallas Baptist University) that is not CACREP accredited and one (Texas Woman's University) that is CACREP accredited. DBU is my 2nd choice because of the accreditation and cost. But, I got to thinking, how important is CACREP accreditation? For instance, since DBU is not accredited should I not consider it? Capella University is accredited so should I consider them over Dallas Baptist or what's the view on online universities? Thank you all for helping me narrow down my decision.

I've actually wondered about this myself. Ive been contemplating either Capella or Walden for a Masters in Counseling as I'm active duty Air Force. I know my home state of FL requires a degree from a Cacrep school but I thought there was a provision to get around that with extra hours or previous licensure in another state. I would look into TX state requirements carefully before making a decision. Or perhaps another state if you plan on practicing elsewhere. My thinking is to lean on an accredited school first. Good luck.

 

[jdawgg]

CACREP is the bare minimum standard for counseling programs. Many states either require that you graduated from a CACREP accredited program for licensure or you have to prove that your program is at the same standard, which can be very onerous. I would NOT recommend attending an online university for any mental health profession and there are many threads detailing why this is the case. Good clinical skills cannot be learned sitting in front of a computer screen. The level, intensity, and quality of interaction with peers and professors which is essential to forming an identity as a mental health professional cannot be replicated in an online environment -- anyone who says otherwise is seriously deluded. 55-90% of communication is nonverbal. If you cannot for whatever reason make the sacrifices that it takes to attend a real university with vital interactions with real living breathing humans -- don't enter the field -- it's that simple. Would you want to see a surgeon that attended medical school with a bag over his head? He'd certainly be able to recite plenty of information that he heard, but when it comes time to operate...

 

[counselor2b]

In my state CACREP is not a requirement to become licesned but if you attended a school that is not accredited you have to wait two years and gain your supervised hours before you can take your licensure exam. To the best of my knowlege, if you attend an accredited program you can take your state exam immediatly after graduation while the information is still fresh in your mind. You still need to wait at least two years to obtain your hours but you won't have to re-take your state exam for licensure.

 

[Psychadelic2012]

In my state CACREP is not a requirement to become licesned but if you attended a school that is not accredited you have to wait two years and gain your supervised hours before you can take your licensure exam. To the best of my knowlege, if you attend an accredited program you can take your state exam immediatly after graduation while the information is still fresh in your mind. You still need to wait at least two years to obtain your hours but you won't have to re-take your state exam for licensure.

What state are you in?

 

[counselor2b]

What state are you in?

Wisconsin, I'm not 100% confident but that is what a friend who is a LPC told me who went to a CACREP accredited school. I haven't done too much research to clarify for certain as I am doing the LCSW route.

 

[Heather75019]

Thank you everyone for responding. It's not required here in Texas either and the only other place we would end up moving is back to CA and it's not required there either. From what I am reading I could do my MA/MS in Counseling, obtain my LPC-I and LMFT-A (with 2 extra classes at Dallas Baptist), work 2 years to accumulate my 3,000 hours and at that time I will become fully certified and can also apply for my NCC exam to become certified as a NCC. Am I correct on this? Once I have done all of this would it matter if we moved to another state that would have required graduation from a CACREP school since I would be fully certified as an LPC and LMFT? I have applied to 2 schools in the area, Texas Womans (CACREP) and DBU (Non-CACREP) but saw that schools like Capella and Walden are CACREP. So, just wondering if I should attend on campus at Dallas Baptist or if Capella is better because it is CACREP? Or if I attend a non-CACREP school, would it matter if we moved out of state after I was fully licensed. Thank you all so much for all of your help. I am finally following my dream in life and I need as much information as possible to make the best decision I can.

 

[Heather75019]

CACREP is the bare minimum standard for counseling programs. Many states either require that you graduated from a CACREP accredited program for licensure or you have to prove that your program is at the same standard, which can be very onerous. I would NOT recommend attending an online university for any mental health profession and there are many threads detailing why this is the case. Good clinical skills cannot be learned sitting in front of a computer screen. The level, intensity, and quality of interaction with peers and professors which is essential to forming an identity as a mental health professional cannot be replicated in an online environment -- anyone who says otherwise is seriously deluded. 55-90% of communication is nonverbal. If you cannot for whatever reason make the sacrifices that it takes to attend a real university with vital interactions with real living breathing humans -- don't enter the field -- it's that simple. Would you want to see a surgeon that attended medical school with a bag over his head? He'd certainly be able to recite plenty of information that he heard, but when it comes time to operate...

Thank you so much for your comment. You really have me thinking now. I have also found a university about 2 hours from us. It's a traditional brick and mortar university (non-CACREP) but also offers 100% online M.A. Counseling. I suppose this would be different than an online university such as Capella but you are 100% correct in that it's 55-90% nonverbal. Personally, do you think it would be a better decision to attend a non-CACREP school because it's on campus? Texas does not require CACREP.

 

[Psychadelic2012]

Wisconsin, I'm not 100% confident but that is what a friend who is a LPC told me who went to a CACREP accredited school. I haven't done too much research to clarify for certain as I am doing the LCSW route.

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that. I'm in Illinois and I attend a program that is not CACREP accredited (clinical psychology, at a school where they also have a counseling program that is CACREP accredited, so they can't both be apparently), however, I will be able to take the NCC exam right when I graduate and apply for licensure as an LPC. Then I will need 2 years of supervised work experience to apply for LCPC. There is no difference.

I've never looked at Wisconsin, because I never plan to move there, but other states I've seen don't require CACREP. It makes it easier (no need to prove yourself), but you can still acquire the proper coursework without it. As long as it is "CACREP-equivalent," you should be fine.

 

[counselor2b]

What does the first C in LCPC stand for, is it Clinical? In WI we don't have the LCPC we only have the LPC license.

 

[Psychadelic2012]

What does the first C in LCPC stand for, is it Clinical? In WI we don't have the LCPC we only have the LPC license.

Yes, Clinical. What is your entry-level license? Do you have one that is attainable once the master's degree is earned, and then another that is earned after the post-master's supervised hours are accrued? ACA's website says it is the Trainee license--that's the same as our LPC.

The NCC exam is not state-based, so someone could theoretically take the exam in any state (such as a Wisconsin student who went to my school in Illinois), as long as the ACA approves them.

 

[counselor2b]

Yes, Clinical. What is your entry-level license? Do you have one that is attainable once the master's degree is earned, and then another that is earned after the post-master's supervised hours are accrued? ACA's website says it is the Trainee license--that's the same as our LPC.

The NCC exam is not state-based, so someone could theoretically take the exam in any state (such as a Wisconsin student who went to my school in Illinois), as long as the ACA approves them.

Gotcha, Thanks for the clarification. I think it is called the Professional CounselorTraining License. Then once you have completed all of the requirements you can become a LPC.

 

[CP123]

Most states don't require CACREP. I'm in New York, and something like 80% of the programs that lead to Mental Health Licensure are not CACREP. I'm not sure about other states, but I know that many grads from my program were able to move away and get licensed in other states and find jobs with no problem.

I think the quality of a not CACREP program depends on the reason it is not CACREP. Some programs that are not CACREP are so because of lack of quality and/or required hours, and I would avoid them. Considering CACREP accredits for-profit and online programs, their standards don't seem to be particularly high, and so falling below the standards would certainly mean a program is poor.

With one exception; there is a CACREP standard that excludes a lot of very high quality programs, and that is the requirement to have a faculty with doctorates in Counselor Education rather than Psychology.

My alma mater, along with several of the other big name programs in NYC, are intentionally not CACREP because our programs are tied to Counseling Psych PhD programs, and we share faculty and research opportunities (along with networks for jobs and internships - a HUGE plus) with the doctoral level students studying to be psychologists. Our program and the others like ours actually have higher academic and training standards than most of the CACREP programs in the area. Many internship sites in the city only take mental health interns from Columbia, NYU, and Fordham, all which are not CACREP. Some of this is probably because of reputation, but a lot of it is also because of alumni networks that include psychologists as well as counselors. Connections with psychologists who were my professors, my supervisors, and alum of my program were critical in connecting me to my internship, research team, and eventually my job.

If my alma mater were to seek CACREP accreditation, we would have to sever ourselves from the Counseling Psych department and get a new "Counselor Education" faculty, which would be to the detriment of the Masters students in terms of academic rigor, research opportunities, preparation for PhD programs, and networking for jobs and internship opportunities.

Being not CACREP is only a disadvantage in NYC if you want to work for the VA. But for all other jobs, the networks and reputation of the not-CACREP schools is dominant in our area.

It might be different in other parts of the country. I would personally choose a quality, not-CACREP brick and mortar program over an online CACREP program. I would want to know why the brick and mortar program is not CACREP though; is it because they share a faculty with a counseling psych doctoral program, or because they have low standards?