To Graduate Counseling Students

As you well know, over the past twenty years counseling students have gone from a thirty-six credit hour masters degree to a sixty credit hour masters degree. This has resulted in a higher cost for degrees. However, requirements for licensing have not changed. Individuals are still required in most states to accumulate three thousand hours in mental health counseling experience for full license.

For the past twenty years, the American College of Counselors (ACC) has been lobbying state and federal government for counseling portability (i.e. an individual’s license is recognized in any state). We have also been lobbying state counseling boards to reduce the three thousand hours given that there has been an increase in the education requirements for the completion of a counseling degree program.

Students should be made aware of the difficulties of obtaining a counseling practicum site and licensing, as well as securing employment. We are asking counseling students to consider membership to the ACC because we have specific goals and objectives relevent to the future of professional counselors. Joining the ACC in addition to other organizations and assocciations provides students the opportunity to network with other professionals and stay updated on current events in this growing field.

Dr. R M Pumphrey

President of the American College of Counselors(ACC)