Columbia International University Counseling Professor Dr. Glenda Nanna calls CACREP accreditation “vital” to CIU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. That’s why she was excited when she learned that CACREP gave its stamp of approval to CIU for eight more years.

CACREP stands for Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Its accreditation is voluntarily sought by education programs offering entry-level master’s degrees in counseling and/or doctoral degrees in counselor education and supervision.

Nanna, who graduated from CIU’s Counseling program in 2000, says it’s necessary these days for counseling programs to be CACREP accredited because states are scrutinizing whether counselors have the right kind of training to do their jobs effectively. 

“CIU has a great history of making sure our students are getting the best training,” Nanna said, adding that the accreditation is especially important for a biblical university. “We’ve always thought it important to be good professionally, as well as have the Christian foundation and faith integration.”

Nanna says because CACREP training and competencies are integrated into the CIU program, graduates are better prepared for licensure exams and to work effectively with clients.  

“By the time our students get to the exams, they have been exposed to (CACREP) training, or have had testing on that training, or they have written a paper on that particular competency — they’ve had live interactions with it,” Nanna said.

CIU is the only Christian university in South Carolina with a CACREP-accredited master's degree program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

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