1) What kind of programs does MPCAC accredit?
2) How do the counseling and psychology fields intersect?
3) How does MPCAC foster a professional identity?
4) What is the value added by MPCAC?
5) Do graduates from MPCAC-accredited programs qualify students for licensure and counseling jobs?
6) How does MPCAC support licensure portability?
7) How many hours of supervised applied experience does MPCAC require?
8) Why have two (or more) accrediting bodies (e.g., MPCAC and CACREP)?
9) How does having multiple accrediting bodies in a profession impact unity?
1) What kind of programs does MPCAC accredit?
MPCAC accredits master’s programs that educate students in the science-based practice of counseling and psychological services. Most often, such master’s programs are housed in counseling, education, or psychology departments. Counseling and psychological services can be delivered in community or school settings, often with the status of licensure (e.g., as a professional counselor) or certification (e.g., as a school counselor). MPCAC standards integrate both counseling and psychological principles and theories. In so doing, MPCAC encourages cutting-edge training reflecting state-of-the-art research from both the psychology and counseling fields, as they offer complementary knowledge. Further, MPCAC is deeply committed to promoting culturally responsive services that promote the public good. Thus, it requires programs to offer coursework that contextualizes science-based knowledge and skills as they apply to specific populations and settings.
2) How do the counseling and psychology fields intersect?
The counseling field has its unique history, which intersects with both the counseling psychology and psychology fields. Counseling relies on psychological principles in the training of its professionals and in the delivery of its services. Psychology is the primary field that produces the evidence-based practices utilized by counselors, while counseling has contributed a much needed emphasis on growth and wellness throughout the life span, exemplified by the inclusion of career concerns in its core competencies. Counseling psychologists have played a strong leadership role in major counseling organizations and have therefore shaped the counseling field as we know it today. There is overlap between these disciplines, and therefore much benefit to the public in continued cross-fertilization between them through training and education. The interdisciplinary foundation of counseling does not compromise professional identity, as evidenced by the thousands of professional counselors educated in interdisciplinary programs who are clear about their professional mission and focus.
3) How does MPCAC foster a professional identity?
MPCAC’s standards reflect a clear commitment to professional identity by requiring programs to offer training in both ethical practice and professional values and attitudes. In that context, programs must demonstrate how their students display a defined professional identity in the science-based practice of counseling and psychological services as it relates to their area of concentration (e.g., professional counseling, school counseling).
4) What is the value added by MPCAC?
MPCAC provides an added value to academic programs, state licensure boards, and the public via clearly defined standards and related professional competencies. MPCAC standards focus on promoting science-based and culturally responsive education in the service of the public good. MPCAC’s mission and objectives provide licensing boards (whose mission is to protect the public) with the validation that an external body has reviewed an academic program and ensured quality training. The MPCAC accreditation process is rigorous; involving a detailed self-study by the institution, a site visit by professionals in the field, and a detailed report including both recommendations and stipulations for accreditation. Academic programs seeking MPCAC accreditation benefit from the peer review process, feedback, and consultation obtained through this accreditation process.
5) Do graduates from MPCAC-accredited programs qualify students for licensure and counseling jobs?
Graduates of MPCAC-accredited programs have achieved licensure and secured employment in many states. In fact, MPCAC-accredited programs are asked to meet the licensure standards of their state when licensure is a goal of the program. At this time, there is not a widely accepted portability law for counselors, which means that licensure across states is not guaranteed for any graduate, regardless of program accreditation. MPCAC accreditation, as stated below, could be beneficial in the pursuit of improved portability and employability.
6) How does MPCAC support licensure portability?
The demand for mental health services is greater than the mental health field’s ability to meet it. Inclusive, rather than restrictive, practices are therefore needed to promote the public good. Unfortunately, excluding MPCAC accredited programs from licensure negatively impacts portability and therefore states’ ability to meet the mental health needs of their citizens. Including MPCAC in licensing options only helps portability and states’ ability to meet the needs of the populations they serve. Given the primary mission of state licensing boards is to protect the public from incompetent practitioners rather than to promote guild interests, it is important that they remain independent of any potential private interest of professional organizations or accrediting bodies.
7) How many hours of supervised applied experience does MPCAC require?
MPCAC’s 2017 standards require programs to include significant supervised experiences, with a minimum of 600 hours across at least two semesters. At least 40 percent of the supervised experiences should be direct contact hours. Supervisors must be appropriately credentialed (commensurate with program goals and relevant state requirements). It is important to note that the majority of MPCAC-accredited programs have always required students to complete practicum/internship of at least 600 hrs.
8) Why have two (or more) accrediting bodies (e.g., MPCAC and CACREP)?
Several fields (such as nursing, business, psychology) offer multiple pathways to achieve core competencies and therefore credentialing; the practice of counseling and psychological services at the master’s level is no exception. Most fields, particularly those in the health care arena, recognize the added value of diversity in training, and the danger of group-think when such diversity is lacking. Science-based principles and practices develop most freely in an environment that fosters interdisciplinary work and steers away from rigid intellectual silos. Therefore, the existence of multiple accrediting bodies promotes the richness of a field and consequently the public good.
9) How does having multiple accrediting bodies in a profession impact unity?
Professional unity and uniformity comes from core agreed-upon competencies, which academic programs are asked to meet via up-to-date knowledge of the field. Such competencies can be achieved and demonstrated under the purview of more than one accrediting body. How each accrediting body reviews programs’ ability to educate and train students may differ. Some accrediting agencies focus on specific content that must be provided in the program; others focus on evaluation of competencies necessary for the profession. MPCAC has chosen to focus on a competency-based framework that allows programs flexibility in the manner in which they educate students. This focus on competencies allows programs to craft curricula catered to the unique needs of particular state laws or specific populations. It is the quality of required core competencies, rather than a singular accrediting body, that gives a profession unity and uniformity.