TPC Journal V7, Issue 2 - FULL ISSUE

186 The Professional Counselor | Volume 7, Issue 2 unique role within the counseling profession. This requires clearly articulating the counselor’s client population of interest and specific counseling techniques utilized and articulating the unique identity of the profession of counseling when discussing their occupational role with others (Simpson, 2016). Counselors who are strong in their professional identity understand how counselors differ from other mental health professions (Remley & Herlihy, 2014) and are able to clearly articulate how the profession of counseling is distinguished from other professions when communicating their occupational role. The Profession’s Mandate for Counselor Professional Identity In order to achieve parity with other mental health professions, the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB), the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) have taken up the call to promote counselor identity and the profession of counseling (Mascari & Webber, 2013). Additionally, Chi Sigma Iota (CSI; 1998), the counseling profession’s honor society, has taken steps to promote the profession of counseling and counselor identity. The following sections outline how these various organizations document counselor professional identity. Section C of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) articulates that counselors are to join local, state and national counseling associations and appropriately communicate their roles and scope of practice. In addition, ACA has endorsed principles directly tied to counselor professional identity through the 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling workgroup. Part of that vision declares that “sharing a common professional identity is critical for counselors” and “presenting ourselves as a unified profession has multiple benefits” (Kaplan & Gladding, 2011, p. 372). The 2016 CACREP Standards (2015) stipulate student training in the history, ethical standards, professional roles and responsibilities, professional associations, credentialing and licensure processes, professional advocacy, wellness and public policy issues relevant to the counseling profession. The CACREP Standards also require core faculty members be graduates of counselor education programs and hold counseling profession-specific memberships, certifications and licenses to strengthen counselor professional identity and the profession of counseling. These standards exist because counselor educators with dual or non-counseling identities can confuse master’s students’ professional identity in counselor education programs (Emerson, 2010; Mascari & Webber, 2006; Mellin et al., 2011). Lastly, ACA, AASCB, CSI, and NBCC have identified CACREP accreditation as a foundation for solidifying counselor professional identity and achieving parity for counselors. CSI (2016) requires CACREP accreditation to establish a new CSI chapter. Further, starting January 2022, NBCC will allow only graduates of CACREP-accredited programs to apply for the National Certified Counselor credential (NBCC, 2014a). Additionally, securing a state counseling license often requires understanding and articulating the history and values of the profession of counseling (Emerson, 2010). The National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Examination (NCE; Loesch & Whittinghill, 2010), used in most states as the examination to obtain a counseling license, includes knowledge of the counseling profession in the professional orientation section. The Counselor’s Development of a Professional Identity Sweeney (2001) stated that counselor professional identity concerns how the counseling