Article Published: 7/15/2020
NBCC recognizes and supports the high standards set by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, NCC applicants will be required to have a master’s degree (or higher) from a CACREP-accredited program. For years, NBCC has been committed to supporting programs in obtaining CACREP accreditation by providing grants to assist with the associated costs. Funds are awarded in three phases: $2,500 for the preapplication phase, $2,500 for the application phase, and $4,000 for the site visit phase.
Previously, the decision of selecting grant-worthy programs came from a panel of board certified NBCC personnel. As part of NBCC and Affiliates’ approach to create more opportunities to engage with counseling professionals in the field, NBCC has restructured the committee so that it’s now composed of experienced counselor educators to evaluate the quality of the programs applying.
“We felt that counselor educators have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by programs seeking CACREP accreditation,” says NBCC CEO Kylie Dotson-Blake. “With the committee discussions, we are able to provide each program with more specific feedback to help them through the process.”
This year’s CACREP Committee is composed of Craig Cashwell, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, CSATS, Tahani Dari, PhD, NCC, LPC, and Shawn Spurgeon, PhD, NCC, LPC-MHSP.
Dr. Cashwell is the former Department Chair for the Counseling and Educational Development Department at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. He has contributed over 125 publications, has received numerous awards for teaching, research, service, and mentoring and is an American Counseling Association Fellow. Dr. Cashwell is a past-chair of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and has served as the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Governing Council Representative to ACA and President of Chi Sigma Iota. Dr. Cashwell will be joining the faculty of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in the fall.
Dr. Dari is an assistant professor at the School of Intervention and Wellness at the University of Toledo, Ohio. Her scholarly interests are focused on advancing topics in school counseling, conducting community-based participatory research, and working with and advocating for diverse client populations (particularly youth). Since 2016, Dr. Dari has served on the NBCC Foundation’s Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Council for Master’s Programs. She also serves on the board of the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.
Dr. Spurgeon is an associate professor in the Educational Psychology & Counseling Department and the President-Elect of Faculty Senate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He previously served on the NBCC Board of Directors. As a counselor educator and advocate, Dr. Spurgeon has contributed several publications ranging from multicultural research to employment settings for mental health counselors. He has received multiple honors in educator excellence, most recently the Counselor Educator Advocacy Award presented by the American Counseling Association in 2018.
"The expertise and powerful experiences with accreditation and governance in universities that each of these committee members brings to the team has already begun to positively impact our CACREP Awards program," says Dotson-Blake. "Over the course of their careers, these leaders have all been dedicated to serving their profession and communities and we are deeply appreciative of their willingness to share their time, service, and expertise to help NBCC provide support to counselor education programs across the country."
Copyright ©2024 National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates | All rights reserved.