National Board for Certified Counselors

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The National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC) is an independent U.S. professional counselor certification organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina and with approximately 50,000 members internationally. NBCC certificates are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

History
The organization was founded in 1982 as a non-profit organization on the initiative of the American Counseling Association (ACA). While the ACA then focused its further work on education, conferences, publications and relationships with government organizations, NBCC was established to become active in the field of certification and quality assurance.

Organisation and programmes
Interim President and CEO of NBCC is (2019) Kylie P. Dotson-Blake. In 2003, NBCC International (NBCC-I) was founded, which maintains close relations with UNESCO and WHO and promotes the quality of counselling in Europe, Asia and Africa. A program developed by NBCC-I is the further education to the Mental Health Facilitator, which is also offered in Germany.

Offices are located in Argentina, Mexico, Malaysia, Bhutan, Malawi, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Cyprus and Germany. The European Board for Certified Counselors has been based in Lisbon since 2008.

An associated partner of NBCC is the Center for Credentialing and Education, which offers continuing education and quality assurance programs as well as certificates for other professions and persons without a master’s degree, including the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF), which is also launched in Germany.

Certificates
Among other things, NBCC certifies the National Certified Counselor (NCC). So far, over 40,000 people have acquired this certificate. Prerequisites include a master’s degree with the proof of 3,000 practice hours and 100 hours of clinical supervision as well as an exam. This certificate is the prerequisite for recognition as a state-licensed counselor in some states. Further certificates exist for the occupational fields of mental health, addiction and school counselling (for paraprofessionals and disaster relief workers, including the mental health facilitator certificate).

Criticism
Critics complain that a successful certification by the NBCC, given the relatively low minimum standards required for this, is not proof of a special qualification of counselors and of an increased benefit of their clients. The certification is not necessary in most US states, which have now issued their own admission regulations for counselors. At the beginning of the 1990s, only 8% of the members of the American Counseling Association were at the same time also certificate holders of the NBCC, while its members participated mostly little in the work of professional associations such as the ACA. The specialization of the Z offered by NBCC