TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 259 researchers concluded that the categories reflected the participants’ experiences upon receiving a license in another state (see Figure 1). Each category is individually described with “sentences that elaborate on the researcher’s interpretations of the participants’ meanings in more nuanced and/or complex ways,” supported with quotations from the data (Saldaña, 2016, p. 204). Professional Title Professional counseling licenses are available today in all 50 states and three jurisdictions (Washington, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico). The title of this license is not consistent across all states, or even between the RMACES states. Some states have two tiers, meaning counselors are first awarded a provisional license before obtaining full licensure, while other states have one tier, and a clinician cannot describe himself or herself as a licensed counselor until the license is obtained. This can cause confusion when the top-tier or full license title in one state is the same as the bottom-tier title or conditional license in another state. This deductive category was established with the description applying for an additional license involves understanding the differences in tiers, titles, and equivalencies . Participants described the necessary investigation and discovery of the differences in titles across states, and in some cases how the same title meant different things in each state. Table 1 illustrates the differences between top-tier licensure titles for counselors in each state within the RMACES region, and even more variations and inconsistencies exist outside of the RMACES region. Most participants’ confusion related to the inconsistencies among these licensure titles. For example, Ann described how in Indiana the full license is called a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and in NewMexico, the conditional license is called an LMHC and the full license title is an LPC. This caused confusion when she was trying to obtain full licensure in NewMexico and board members assumed she only held the conditional license. Other participants described similar experiences of frustration and confusion related to navigating differences in licensure titles, including one participant who did not “understand why there isn’t just one name for what we do?” Having one title for a full counseling license would clarify scope of practice for practitioners, state licensing boards, and clients, regardless of jurisdiction. Graduate Education A second significant discrepancy between state licensure requirements was related to whether participants graduated from an accredited master’s program. Even though it was clear that a master’s degree in some form of counseling is required to obtain a counseling license in any state, participants described different ways in which their master’s education affected their ability to obtain licensure when switching states. It is important to note that CACREP-accredited programs require 60 credit hours, as do many programs, while some school counseling specializations within CACREP-accredited programs are only 48 credit hours, as licensure is not required (Table 1 documents the differences in requirements in the RMACES states). Some non-accredited programs only require 48 credits, which can create a barrier for obtaining licensure in some states. Many states are implementing educational requirements based on CACREP standards; therefore, it is useful for graduate students to attend a CACREP-accredited program, potentially facilitating ease of the licensure process. Education was established as a category with the description applying for an additional license is continuing to prove a master’s degree was conferred, unless the program was CACREP-accredited. Consistently, participants who graduated from CACREP-accredited programs described how their process was made easier because their program was CACREP-accredited. Graduating from a CACREP-accredited program meant that the state board required less documentation of their academic curriculum. Participants who did not graduate from CACREP-accredited programs described how needing to provide extra