Quality of Master’s Education

Abstract

The authors offer an analysis of current challenges and opportunities regarding the long-standing issue about the quality and status of master’s education relevant to training and practice in counseling psychology. Highlighted are historical context, controversies regarding licensure and accreditation (e.g., the 2009 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs standard that bans counseling psychology faculty as core), and data on counseling master’s programs in departments affiliated with American Psychological Association–accredited doctoral programs in counseling psychology. In an effort to constructively address issues of concern, the authors propose recommendations to differentiate and integrate master’s education with doctoral training by emphasizing the unique contributions of counseling psychology. Their recommendations build on the core values and synergistic potential of counseling psychology foundations both in counseling (e.g., in educational applications and service to multicultural communities) and in professional psychology (e.g., in extending benchmark competencies for training and using scientific research to inform value-added outcomes for effectively serving public mental health needs).