FEATURE ARTICLE
July 2004

California Licensure: Let’s Make It a Reality
Michelle Beese, CCDA Past-President 2003-2004

California is one of only three states that does not have licensure for professional counselors. (Hawaii is close to getting licensure, and Nevada is the only other hold-out along with California.) I recently talked with Dean Porter, chairperson for the California Coalition for Counselor Licensure (CCCL), and learned that the ramifications of California not having licensure go beyond our state border.

On a national level, the ACA (American Counseling Association) encounters a great deal of difficulty promoting the counseling profession on Capitol Hill when one of the largest states in the union is not licensed! The lead article in the April issue of Counseling Today addresses the importance of making licensure "portability" a reality. What is portability? How many of you have lived in another state before coming to California, or might consider moving to another state in the future? Portability would ensure a uniform standard of credentialing and licensure across the United States, so that one could continue practicing as a counselor without having to earn another degree or retrain entirely. We live in a mobile society, and as the Counseling Today states: "In today’s techno-nomadic, job-driven society, rarely do people stay in one state for the length of their career." The problem many counselors face if they move is that they cannot take their credential with them! And as Dean told me, California is the biggest barrier to achieving national portability. She also noted that David Kaplan, a past president of ACA, shared with her that the portability of counseling credentials is one of the most important issues of counseling today.

On the State level, Californians are only offered the specialty of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) as licensed counselors. According to Dean: "Professional counselors are educated and trained differently from MFTs and have different theoretical approaches to client problems. What makes professional counselors unique from their peers in other mental health disciplines is their wellness orientation and the preventative approach to helping people." Many of us in this profession are master-prepared counselors, and if we were in other states we would meet the licensure requirements, and because we live in California that credential is denied us if we are not MFTs.

Another point Dean shared with me is that "anyone" can hang out his/her shingle and promote himself or herself as a "counselor." Unfortunately, we live in the days of ENRON, and not all people are ethical! The public is at a disadvantage, and may encounter an unethical person claiming to offer "magical" (and expensive!) results that are not possible.

Many of us know the hours and hours of time we spent getting our degree and meeting the standards set by CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs). Remember those eight areas of our curriculum? 1) Professional Identity; 2) Social and Cultural Diversity; 3) Human Growth and Development; 4) Career Development; 5) Helping Relationships; 6) Group Work; 7) Assessment; and last but not least, 8) Research and Program Evaluation. In addition to these core CACREP courses, the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB) would include Psychopathology and courses in other areas such as marriage and family counseling, addictive disorders, treating children and adolescents, play therapy, sexual diversity, geriatric counseling, and supervision. The depth and breadth of our education deserves the badge of licensure!

So what needs to happen to make licensure a reality in California? Hard work, commitment, and MONEY! Right now CCCL is focused on raising $30,000 by November 1, 2004 to hire a lobbyist to introduce our licensure bill by February 2005. IT CAN BE DONE! In the last newsletter I encouraged all of you to send in $100 and I told you my check’s in the mail . . . and it was! We only need 300 professionals to send in $100! Of course ANY amount will be gratefully accepted! And CCDA is working on fundraisers as well. Did you buy some great jewelry at NCDA? We’re still working on how much profit we made! Look for more fundraising events to come (ICDC). If you would like to support the licensure effort by making a contribution, you can make your check payable to CCCL and mail to: CCCL, P.O. Box 5421, Fullerton, CA 92838.

For more information on this vital issue check out www.caccl.org or email info@caccl.org. This is YOUR future. Get involved, get committed, and participate in making history in California!

Michelle Beese is the immediate past-president of CCDA. She teaches and works in the Career Center of Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA.