Maryland Questionnaire Results

In February 2016, the Maryland Counseling Association distributed a questionnaire to gather feedback on members’ positions on three motions related to counselor licensure and accreditation which were approved by the American Counseling Association (ACA) Governing Council at their July 2015 meeting. A copy of these motions can be found here.

The purpose of this questionnaire was to help MCA members better communicate with Branch and Southern Region leadership in regards to these critical issues. Results of the questionnaire are below; questions regarding these results, the questionnaire, or ACA’s licensure policies can be directed to president@mdcounseling.org.

As a branch of the American Counseling Association, MCA supports the position that our Southern Region leadership and the ACA Governing Council hold in helping us advocate for our profession and recognizes their hard work and dedication to the counseling profession.

Maryland (Total responses: 132)

Motion 1: 

Agree: 88 respondents (66.7%)

Disagree: 44 respondents (33.3%)

Motion 2:

Agree: 106 respondents (80.3%)

Disagree: 26 respondents (19.7%)

Motion 3:

Agree: 105 respondents (79.5%)

Disagree: 27 respondents (20.5%)

General Discussion and Demographic Information

• MCA members were in general agreement with all three motions; the lowest percentage was motion 1 (n=88; 66.7%)
• A significant majority of respondents were ACA members (n=124, 93.9%)
• A large majority of respondents (n=76, 57.6%) were MCA members
• In terms of division membership, the largest percent of MCA membership respondents were not members of a national division (n=67, 50.8%); the second most frequent division membership was national membership in ASERVIC (n=18, 13.6%) and third was national membership in ACES (n=13, 9.8%)
• A majority of respondents graduated from a CACREP-accredited program (n=64, 48.5%)
• In terms of professional specialization, the largest majority (n=101, 76.5%) of respondents were clinical mental health counselors; the second most frequent counselor type was “other” (n=13, 9.8%), and third was school counselor (n=5, 3.8%)
• Work settings, ranked by frequency, were most frequently reported as Private/Group Practice (n=55, 41.7%); and Agency (n=34, 25.8%)
• A majority of respondents were licensed counselors (n=72, 54.5%); the second most common licensure type was “other” (n=21, 15.9%); and the third most common licensure type was licensed/certified school counselor (n=4, 3.0%)
• NCC was the most common certification (n=59, 44.7%) and graduate-level counseling license/certification (n=37, 28.0%) ranked second in terms of certification type

For a full listing of survey results for Maryland click here

For a full listing of survey results for the Southern Region click here

For a full listing of themes generated from the comments section of the survey click here