To Whom It May Concern:

As the Director of Loyola University Maryland’s Clinical Professional Counseling Program, I am writing with the support of my colleagues (signed below) at Loyola, to oppose the Virginia Counseling Board’s stated (in meeting minutes and to prospective licensees) objective to restrict licensure to CACREP-program graduates. Loyola prepares counselors who have a strong counselor identity, as well as an appreciation for psychological science. I urge you to consider this decision carefully as many of our students decide to make their home in Virginia after graduating. CACREP restrictions would eliminate their ability to ever move to, work in, and serve the residents of Virginia as a counselor, given that  Loyola’s graduate program is not CACREP accredited (nor is it eligible, based on the faculty’s degrees in clinical and counseling psychology).

Additionally, while Counseling and Psychology are in fact separate professions, psychotherapy is not profession-specific. There is far ranging research that demonstrates that no one profession produces more effective psychotherapists and no one profession is more effective in psychotherapy. Ensuring that well-trained and competent clinicians are available to meet the mental health needs of Virginia residents is essential. Making politically-motivated decisions to promote one profession over another (without evidence to support this) would not be in Virginia residents’ best interests.

Maryland continues to include psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists as supervisors for Licensed Graduate Professional Counselors (LGPCs; the analogous level of practice to Virginia’s “counseling resident”) and does not discriminate against licensure applicants from Virginia’s programs based on program accreditation, as there are no program accreditation requirements in Maryland for counselor licensure. As a neighboring state, I hope that Virginia will remain open to our students as potential licensees, as Maryland remains open to Virginia graduates who meet educational requirements, regardless of program accreditation. Thank you for your consideration, 

Katie J. Loomis, PsyD- Director of Clinical Professional Counselors Program                                                 Jeffrey Barnett, PsyD- Associate Dean- Loyola College of Arts and Sciences                                              Carolyn Barry, PhD- Department Chair and Professor of Psychology                                                         Anthony Parente, MA, LCPC, Affiliate Faculty, Director of Masters Plus Program