The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is an independent, nationally recognized accrediting agency that evaluates counselor training programs to ensure they meet the profession's standards and prepare students for their careers. The overall standards are comprised of foundational standards shared by all counseling professions plus additional standards unique to each counseling specialty.

This training unit addresses the CACREP standards listed below.

2024 CACREP Learning Standards

Foundational Standards:

• history and philosophy of the counseling profession and its specialized practice area
• the role and process of the professional counselor advocating on behalf of and with individuals receiving counseling services to address systemic, institutional, architectural, attitudinal, disability, and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success
• principles of independence, inclusion, choice, and self-empowerment, and access to services within and outside the counseling relationship

Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling standards:

• environmental, attitudinal, and individual barriers for people with disabilities
• role of family, social networks, and community in the provision of services for and treatment of people with disabilities
• strategies to advocate for people with disabilities related to accessibility, accommodations,

Rehabilitation Counseling standards:

• individual response to disability, including the role of families, communities, and other social networks
• effects of socioeconomic trends, public policies, stigma, access, and attitudinal barriers as they relate to disability
• principles of independent living, self-determination, and informed choice
• rehabilitation counseling services and organizational settings, including independent living, community rehabilitation, and public/proprietary vocational rehabilitation programs
• strategies to promote self-advocacy skills of individuals with disabilities