{"id":24879,"date":"2018-04-27T11:10:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T16:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/?post_type=insight_posts&#038;p=24879"},"modified":"2025-10-02T15:42:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T20:42:39","slug":"what-is-cacrep-are-there-cacrep-accredited-online-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/insight\/career-development\/what-is-cacrep-are-there-cacrep-accredited-online-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"What is CACREP?"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"clearfix\"><h3>What is CACREP?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cacrep.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CACREP<\/a>\u00a0stands for Council for Accreditation of Counseling &amp; Related Educational Programs.\u00a0Established in 1981, its mission is to help educational programs meet high standards, evolve with the changing landscape, and adequately prepare individuals for their careers.<\/p>\n<p>In order for a counseling program to receive CACREP accreditation, the\u00a0program must submit a report on how it meets each of CACREP\u2019s standards. These standards include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Having institutional accreditation from either the:\n<ul>\n<li>Middle States Commission on Higher Education<\/li>\n<li>New England Association of Schools and Colleges<\/li>\n<li>Higher Learning Commission<\/li>\n<li>Northwest Accreditation Commission<\/li>\n<li>Southern Association of Colleges and Schools<\/li>\n<li>Western Association of Schools and Colleges<\/li>\n<li>Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>A curriculum that is based on CACREP\u2019s eight common core areas:\n<ul>\n<li>Professional counseling orientation and ethical practice<\/li>\n<li>Social and cultural diversity<\/li>\n<li>Human growth and development<\/li>\n<li>Career development<\/li>\n<li>Counseling and helping relationships<\/li>\n<li>Group counseling and group work<\/li>\n<li>Assessment and testing<\/li>\n<li>Research and program evaluation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To get a full picture of all standards, check out the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cacrep.org\/for-programs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CACREP website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>CACREP accreditation can last\u00a0for up to eight years. When that eight-year period is up, programs must apply again.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What are the benefits of a CACREP accredited program?<\/h3>\n<p>A CACREP accreditation demonstrates that the program meets national standards for counseling education. This helps students choose a distinguished counseling program that will help them embark on a counseling career.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to note that CACREP accreditation is not legally required. States do not mandate all counseling programs to be CACREP accredited in order for individuals to apply for licensure.<\/p>\n<p>However,\u00a0while it\u2019s not mandatory to attend a program with CACREP accreditation, a counseling program with this accreditation stands out from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>For example, The Chicago School&#8217;s Washington D.C. Campus boasts a CACREP accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, providing those in the region who want to pursue an education that can positively affect mental health a program that has been nationally recognized.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Are there CACREP accredited online programs?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, CACREP does grant accreditation to online programs as well.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the Chicago School\u2019s online Clinical Mental Health program is a CACREP accredited online program. In February 2018, the program received an eight-year accreditation, which will last until March 31, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechicagoschool.edu\/programs\/counseling\/clinical-mental-health-counseling\/ma-online\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling<\/a> takes three years to complete part-time and includes hands-on residency experience.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Learn more about The Chicago School<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Any questions about online counseling programs or accreditation? Our expert team is happy to help, or you can request more information by filling out the form below.<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re interested in pursuing a counseling degree, it\u2019s important to get familiar with their accreditation statuses. Read on to learn more about CACREP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":107346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1057],"class_list":["post-24879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-development","insight_authors-the-chicago-school"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is CACREP &amp; Are There CACREP Accredited Online Programs?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019re interested in pursuing a counseling degree, it\u2019s important to get familiar with their accreditation statuses. 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