One of the most common questions we get in the admissions office is: Is The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology CACREP accredited?
We are not, nor will we be, but we are fully accredited to set you up for state licensure in most states. We intentionally opted out of CACREP – let us explain!
Why isn’t The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology CACREP accredited?
CACREP, or the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, is a type of accreditation that both Masters and Doctoral programs can apply and opt into. It’s one way that the broader field of counseling psychology “levels the playing field” and ensures that quality standards – especially as they pertain to the care of others – are maintained. CACREP looks at things like a program’s academic content, faculty qualifications, practicums, and advising. A one stop standard can be assuring, especially given the fact that each state sets their own licensing criteria, and this criteria is not uniform – ie: what is required in Washington is not what’s required in California!
At The Seattle School of Psychology and Psychology, we opted out of CACREP accreditation, and opted into institutional accreditation by both the Association for Theological Schools, and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. We found CACREP to be too limiting, as we work to integrate coursework drawing on psychodynamic, relational, and trauma integrated work, and so have faculty with robust training credentials. Rather than counseling education faculty alone, (as CACREP would require), we have faculty that hold a variety of degrees, allowing for an expansiveness when it comes to our integration of theology and psychology. Furthermore, all of our students go through a core curriculum that is interdisciplinary, integrating theology and psychology. We’ve intentionally chosen to maintain the strengths of our program that are shaped by an interdisciplinary faculty – trained in counselor education, clinical psychology, and theology – so as to nurture a more robust, holistically global student body and clinical practitioners. Rather than focus on short term fixes, we train our practitioners to focus on the counselor-client relationship, exploring such areas as attachment psychology, narrative integration, and trauma work, to deeply engage in identity, lived experiences, and recovery from trauma.
Furthermore, The Seattle School participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). This multi-state consortium oversees distance education, including preceptorships and practicums in which students may engage outside of Washington. We have alumni practicing in many states, and, increasingly, around the world. Additional information regarding SARA is available here.
The Seattle School is not a CACREP accredited school, but our graduates can demonstrate CACREP equivalency – what does this mean?
Some states require a degree from a CACREP accredited program to grant licensure. Some states require regional accreditation, and / or national accreditation (The Seattle School has both!). Some states require either CACREP accreditation, or regional accreditation with equivalency to CACREP standards. Graduates of our program who take the appropriate courses and internship hours can meet CACREP standards, and we work closely with students to make sure that they can do this in their state! Before applying, we encourage all prospective students to cross check what their state requires here. Please note: there are only three states that require and only accept CACREP with no pathway for equivalency: Florida, Kentucky, and North Carolina. If you seek licensure in one of those three states, do consider training at a CACREP school.
Our program can meet the educational equivalency of CACREP-accredited programs—qualifying you for licensure in most states. We’ve intentionally crafted our curriculum to be dynamic and responsive —offering one of the only psychodynamic graduate programs of its kind.
Who should be considering only getting a degree from a CACREP accredited program?
If you are pursuing initial licensure in FL, KY, NC you should get your degree from a CACREP accredited program. And also, anyone who intends to work for the VA or military. The military typically requires CACREP and the National Certified Counselor credential offered by NBCC is only available to graduates of CACREP accredited programs.
How does this impact my course schedule and / or internship requirements?
For most states, a degree from The Seattle School will satisfy requirements for state licensure to practice clinical mental health counseling. But remember: states will have slightly different parameters to follow for licensure, and these most often entail your decisions around course selection and internship requirements.
In any state, in order to become licensed you are responsible for making sure that you meet the education requirements of that state for licensure. We’ll walk beside you throughout your degree to make sure that you are satisfying your state’s particular licensure requirements. While we guarantee that The Seattle School meets Washington requirements for the LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), some states may require additional Marriage and Family coursework, for instance, which you would either take at The Seattle School, or elsewhere and transfer in.
Perhaps most obviously, states vary in the amount of internship hours they require. Each state requires that you have a certain number of hours in your internship (states refer to this with different terms like internship, practicum, and field experience). Because that number varies state-to-state, it’s important that you understand how many hours your state requires before they set up your internship, which takes place in the final year of coursework. Students set up their internships to ensure that they meet the hours requirements of their particular state.
The purpose of the counseling Internship is to provide a professional setting for interns to gather experience and to receive supervision regarding their clinical work. In tandem with your internship, you’ll be enrolled in the Internship I & II courses, which will provide you a setting to debrief and share your internship with colleagues, while also learning from their experiences, all under faculty supervision.
The Seattle School hosts a workshop for students in their first year to help them make sure they know the requirements for each state they are considering becoming licensed in – keep in mind: multi state licensure is a thing, especially with the rise of telehealth – and can help with making individualized plans to meet all coursework requirements.
So, yes: The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology could be a fantastic place to earn your advanced degree and become a clinical mental health counselor. We are fully accredited – regionally and nationally – and though we intentionally opted out of CACREP accreditation, our program can meet the education equivalency requirements of states that use CACREP-accreditation as their standard for licensure.
We’re help to answer any of your questions!
Please feel free to reach out to admissions@theseattleschool.edu, or to Daniel Tidwell-Davis for licensure advising at dtidwell@theseattleschool.edu.
We hope you’ll join us, and we cannot wait to walk beside you!
– Milli Haase, Admissions Counselor & Daniel Tidwell-Davis, Director of Student Academic Services