TWU’s Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MA CPSY) has received accreditation from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association’s Council for Accreditation of Counsellor Education Programs (CACEP). While the official notification arrived last month, the accreditation became effective March 15, 2012 and is valid for a period of six years.
“We are thrilled to join counsellor educators across Canada in strengthening the counselling profession in all provinces and territories,” said Program Director and Research Coordinator Marvin McDonald, Ph.D. “This is great news, and we are grateful for this recognition as our graduates serve communities in many Canadian provinces and several countries around the world.”
The MA CPSY program, which launched in 1993, has been accredited since 2002 with a US body, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), as there was no formal accreditation process in place for masters level counsellor education programs in Canada until 2003.
The designation means TWU’s MA CPSY students have covered all of the required curriculum and course content needed to certify as a Canadian Certified Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and graduates from CACEP accredited programs are able to fast-track their applications.
“As a consumer, you want to make sure your counsellor is licensed and well-equipped to enable positive change in clients’ lives,” said Associate Director Laurie Donaldson, MBA. “Graduates from our program are prepared to serve as compassionate and ethical counselling professionals in a wide variety of mental health settings, and to work effectively with an increasingly diverse population.”
Over 340 alumni have graduated from the MA CPSY program, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2013. In addition to its accreditation with CACEP and CACREP, TWU’s MA CPSY program is registered with the International Registry of counsellor Education Programs, a division of CACREP that provides international quality assurance reviews for counselling degree programs outside the United States.