I graduated with my M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Radford University in 2009. I took all of the courses that the board required for LPC licensure and almost half of them were in the Counselor Education department as well. After having classmates be told that they were trained as "psychologists and not counselors" I began to explore other options. Not being license eligible is detrimental to a career in the mental health field. I worked at New River Valley Community Services for three years before determining that I needed to make a change in order to advance in the field. I even considered getting my MSW and leaving the field of counseling altogether. I was very well trained in the Clinical Psychology program at Radford University and excelled during my time at NRVCS as a clinician.

I moved out of the state in 1012 to explore other options and am ultimately being licensed as a Nationally Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor- Counselor Intern during the next month in Louisiana. I passed the licensing exam with scores well above the mean. It is a shame that Virginia's policies are forcing competent and capable counselors to leave the state to work in other fields or in counseling in another state. 

It is incredibly frustrating to be told that despite your training and competency that a matter of semantics is the reason you are not license eligible. Many states are now reaping the benefits of this policy that ultimately makes little sense. If one is well-trained, competent, and passes the licensing exam, there is no reason to deny licensure due to program title especially when the courses are the same.