I have worked in the mental health field in Southwest Virginia for 20 years and I have supervised many students from various mental health programs and feel compelled to speak on behalf of the students I supervised from the Clinical Psychology program offered at Radford.  Each student was on an equal and sometimes superior footing compared to other programs regarding competency, ethical foundation and basic skill sets needed for the internships/externships that were available at my site (correctional setting, 15 years). 

At the very least, the Board should allow individuals the opportunity to pursue the L.P.C. on a grandfather clause basis provided they are able to demonstrate through specific courses taken and/or other experiences (practicum, internship, externship, work experience, etc) proficiency in counseling concepts.  I have always been somewhat perplexed by the tendency of the mental health field to work toward exclusion and wonder what could be accomplished if the related fields put all of that energy toward a more unified goal that truly addressed the clear need that is out there in our respective communities.