Professional organizations integrated the importance of professional identity in training, higher education, and professional development (CACREP, 2009). Eventually, some state licensing boards began to require a counselor identity that was based on CACREP standards for individuals to become licensed professional counselors.
SECTION 1A - Connects PI to credentialing/regulation. Supports "regulation" and "training standards" as PI components.
The American Counseling Association (ACA) and affiliated organizations such as the National Board of Certified Counselors and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) made a commitment to unify counselors in a shared professional identity
SECTION 1A - Shows professional associations' role in defining unified identity. Supports "professional associations" as PI component.
The development of a professional identity as a counselor is the result of training, practice, and integration into a community of professional counselors and is defined as the synthesis of personal and professional behaviors, values, ethics, and worldview.
SECTION 1A - Definition of professional identity. Foundational quote for paper.