A comparative analysis of counselors’ right to test over time: Implications for advocacy in the counseling profession

Abstract

Counselor's right to utilize assessment, appraisal, and tests, and diagnose has substantive implications for professional counseling, counselor education, the provision of evidence-based practice, and supporting client development across the life span. We identified documents detailing licensure rules and regulations for counselors’ use of these clinical tools within the contiguous United States, Washington, DC, Alaska, Hawaii, and inhabited U.S. territories. Proportion comparisons over time, Fisher's exact test, and related effect sizes were computed to identify changes over time, as well as trends associated with regional professional association. Our results indicated increased representation over time of privileges allowing for the use of assessment, appraisal, and tests, and diagnosis within counselors’ scope of practice and educational requirements, but modest representation of normal assessment use and allowable/nonallowable assessments and tests. Furthermore, we identified statistically significant differences in the regional representativeness of diagnostic privileges. Implications for counselor education and individual and association-level advocacy are discussed.