434 Thomas A. Field, William H. Snow, J. Scott Hinkle The Pipeline Problem in Doctoral Counselor Education and Supervision The hiring of new faculty members in counselor education programs can be complicated by the available pool of qualified graduates with doctoral degrees in counselor education and supervision, as required by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) for core faculty status. A pipeline problem for faculty hiring may exist in regions with fewer doctoral programs. In this study, the researchers examined whether the number of doctoral programs accredited by CACREP is regionally imbalanced. The researchers used an ex post facto study to analyze differences in the number of doctoral programs among the five regions commonly defined by national counselor education associations and organizations. A large and significant difference was found in the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs by region, even when population size was statistically controlled. The Western region had by far the fewest number of doctoral programs. The number of CACREP-accredited master’s programs in a state was a large and significant predictor for the number of CACREP-accredited doctoral programs in a state. State population size, state population density, the number of universities per state, and the number of American Psychological Association–accredited counseling psychology programs were not predictors. Demand may surpass supply of doctoral counselor educators in certain regions, resulting in difficulties with hiring new faculty for some CACREP-accredited programs. An analysis of programs currently in the process of applying for CACREP accreditation suggests that this pipeline problem looks likely to continue or even worsen in the near future. Implications for counselor education and supervision are discussed. Keywords: doctoral programs, master’s programs, counselor education and supervision, CACREP, pipeline problem Counselor education has experienced substantial growth over the past decade. The number of students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) has increased exponentially. In 2012, there were 36,977 master’s-level students and 2,028 doctoral students in CACREP-accredited programs (CACREP, 2013). By 2018, that number had risen to 52,861 master’s students (43% increase) and 2,917 doctoral students (44% increase; CACREP, 2019b). Counselor education programs have also expanded across the United States, following the merger between CACREP and the Council for Rehabilitation Education (CORE) in 2017 (CACREP, 2017). All 50 states and the District of Columbia now contain counselor education programs accredited by CACREP (CACREP, n.d.), though the number of programs can vary substantially across states (see Appendix). This enrollment growth in CACREP-accredited master’s programs may be influenced by events that generated a greater need for graduates of master’s CACREP-accredited counselor education programs. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published standards that permitted licensed counselors to work independently within its system (T. A. Field, 2017). Subsequently in 2013, TRICARE, the military insurance for active military and retirees, created a new rule that would permit licensed counselors to join TRICARE panels and independently bill for services (U.S. Department of Defense, 2014). Both rules required candidates to graduate from a CACREP-accredited program as a basis for eligibility. The VA and TRICARE’s requirement for licensed counselors to graduate from CACREPThe Professional Counselor™ Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 434–452 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2020 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi:10.15241/taf.10.4.434 Thomas A. Field, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, LPC, LMHC, is an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine. William H. Snow, PhD, is a professor at Palo Alto University. J. Scott Hinkle, PhD, ACS, BCC, HS-BCP, is a core faculty member at Palo Alto University. Correspondence may be addressed to Thomas Field, 72 E Concord St., Suite B-210, Boston, MA 02118, tfield@bu.edu.
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