In this assignment you will determine strategies to advocate for the counseling profession by developing a position statement. A position statement, like a white paper, is a report that presents both facts and opinions on a particular issue to inform readers and influence them. Often, a position statement concludes with a call to action and provides recommendations for next steps. (For examples, see Mental Health America’s Position Statements describing and calling for advocacy efforts on many issues impacting counselors.) Position statements are primary tools for influencing organizational or government policies.

In this assignment, you will gather facts and make inferences to formulate a well supported argument for a position and make advocacy recommendations regarding a specific policy influencing professional credentialing (in other words, certifications or licenses) of clinical mental health counselors.

Assignment Preparation

To prepare your assignment, gather facts and formulate a well supported argument that counselors’ scope of practice should be expanded in some way (for example, extending Medicare provider status to mental health counselors, extending the Indian Health Service to recognize professional counselors as health care providers, or urging state counseling licensure boards to adopt the requirement of graduation from a CACREP-accredited counseling program for licensure to improve license portability across state lines).

Using SafeAssign

This course requires you to use the SafeAssign tool. The SafeAssign source matching tool is available to you via a link in the courseroom. SafeAssign supports the development of your skills in preparing written coursework. Use your originality report to help ensure that you have used outside sources ethically and effectively.

• Note: Submitting a draft of your work to SafeAssign allows you make revisions before submitting it as your final work for grading. Submitting an assignment to SafeAssign does not submit the work to the course room for evaluation. This must be done separately; look for directions at the end of the assignment instructions.

Instructions

Note: Download and use the Advocating for the Counseling Profession Template to complete this assignment.

This assignment has two parts:

1. The first part will be a brief introductory paper entitled Advocating for the Counseling Profession.
   • In this section of the assignment, describe the need for professional counselors to advocate on behalf of the profession.
   • Instructions for this part of the assignment are included in the Template.
2. For the second part of the assignment, you will construct a Position Statement and Advocacy Recommendations paper.
   • Focus on an issue impacting the credentialing (certifications, licenses, accreditation and portability of licensure) of clinical mental health counselors.
   • Make a well supported argument that counselors’ scope of practice should be augmented or expanded so that counselors and clients can be better served.
   • Include your Position Statement and Advocacy Recommendations as Appendix A at the end of your Advocating for the Counseling Profession paper. The template shows how to include an appendix in an APA-style paper.

Your Position Statement and Advocacy Recommendations paper should have the following sections:

• Topic and Background: Identify the topic and summarize what has been done in the past. Then succinctly describe the current state of affairs with respect to the issue.
• Arguable Viewpoints: Briefly state at least two points of view on your topic.
• Viewpoint: State the position you advocate.
• Supporting Reasons: State your reasons for supporting your chosen position.
• Call to Action and Advocacy Recommendations: Describe a process for counselors to follow in advocating on an issue that impacts their credentialing (licensure, certifications) and scope of practice. Include specific recommendations for action steps counselors can follow in advocating for the profession on this issue.

Review the scoring guide in the Resources to make sure you understand how this assignment will be graded.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Communicate your thoughts in a manner that conveys the overall goals of the assignment and is consistent with APA standards for style and professionalism.
• Length of paper: The paper including both parts of the assignment should be between 3–4 pages in length, not including the title page or reference page.
• References: The paper must include a reference list. Include a minimum of two references from professional literature and two from other sources. Cite your sources and include full references on the Reference page.
• APA formatting: You must use proper APA style in listing your references. Refer to the APA Style and Format resources on Campus for more information.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point font.