The International Registry of Counsellor Education Programs (IRCEP) was developed by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) to respond to a growing request for an international quality assurance recognition review process for Counsellor education and training programmes around the world.
Recognizing that the CACREP accreditation standards were not easily applied to or even necessarily appropriate for use by Counselling programmes external to the United States higher education system, the CACREP Board began examining ways it could foster quality assurance for the education and training of counsellors regardless of culture, country, region, work setting, or educational system.
The result of this examination was CACREP’s decision, in 2008, to establish an international steering committee to assist in the creation of an international registry of programmes. The steering committee was charged with developing a set of quality assurance principles that were culturally sensitive, rigorous, and flexible enough to be used by a variety of educational systems. The committee was further charged with developing review processes to determine a programme’s eligibility to seek and become IRCEP recognized and approved for inclusion on the Registry.
The members of the steering committee were selected to represent various regions of the world and included representation from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. In September 2009, members of this international group of counsellors met in Buenos Aires, Argentina to finalize the professional quality assurance principles and procedures to be implemented as the IRCEP application and recognition approval process.
The International Registry of Counsellor Education Programs (IRCEP) is an International Affiliate of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
IRCEP’s purpose is to serve as the international quality assurance agency to foster excellence in the education and training of professional counsellors worldwide and empower programmes to develop counsellor training curricula appropriate to their country, regions, and/or culture, while simultaneously recognizing the broad tenets of education and training common to the practice of counselling regardless of practice location.
By pursuing and maintaining IRCEP recognition, the counsellor education and training programme demonstrates commitment to the Counselling profession and adherence to the rigorous international recognition review process. Recognition by the IRCEP facilitates:
Global Standard of Quality:
Demonstrates to the public and the Counselling profession that the programme has met the highest international quality assurance principles for educating and training counsellors and building stronger professional counsellor identity within programmes and their graduates.
Global Visibility:
Offers global visibility of institutions and programmes through IRCEP’s Directory, which helps students, faculty, and the public locate quality international counsellor education and training programmes worldwide.
Global Collaboration:
Enhances international and global collaboration amongst faculty and students for research, publication, instruction, and learning opportunities.
Shared Best Practices:
IRCEP counsellor education and training programmes are part of a network where international initiatives/activities, information, and resources are shared across borders to advance the knowledge base of the counselling profession worldwide.
Global Recognition:
Provides counsellor education and training programmes global recognition through IRCEP’s website, newsletter, and social media platforms; as well as the approval to display and promote IRCEP digital badges on the programme’s website and social media platforms.
Degree Mobility:
Graduating from an IRCEP recognized and approved programme may facilitate students’ entry and mobility into advanced degree programmes and special practice certifications.
IRCEP’s vision is to promote the ongoing development and recognition of the Counselling profession worldwide through a Registry of approved counsellor education and training programmes that meet a set of quality assurance principles essential to the education and training of counsellors regardless of culture, country, region, work setting, or educational system.
IRCEP’s mission is to promote the development of and advancement of professional principles of quality in counsellor education and training programmes and the recognition of the Counselling profession worldwide by:
- Advancing quality assurance through a set of professional principles that reflect the needs of diverse societies and cultures.
- Strengthening the public’s understanding of counselling worldwide through advocacy and collaborative leadership.
- Creating networks of counsellor educators, students, and practitioners where information and resources can be shared across borders to advance the knowledge base of the counselling profession worldwide.
The IRCEP Advisory Council is composed of members who are counsellor educators, counselling practitioners, counselling youth representative, and quality assurance professionals that represent various regions of the world.
Dr. Andreas Bienert (USA)
Juan Facundo Cincunegui (Spain)
Dr. Angeline Teoh (Singapore)
Dr. Sejal Parikh Foxx (USA)
Dr. Oksana Syvak (Ukraine)
Dr. Dominic Nsona (Malawi)
Kadija McClure (Guyana)
Dr. Antonio Tena-Suck (Mexico)
Dr. Silvia Reyes (IRCEP Managing Director)
Dr Olya Zaporozhet (Ukraine & USA)
Dr Surekha Chukkali (India)