Behavioral science licensure: Merit and applications

Abstract

This article provides an overview of occupational licensure as applied to the behavioral sciences. Licensure enactment is inherently an interdisciplinary phenomenon with educational, ethical, and community welfare implications. The aim of the current study is to conduct a review of the literature pertaining to licensure and compare the findings with the ethics code of the American Counseling Association. The results reveal that the common reasons given for licensure are of questionable validity. Voluntary certification is suggested as a viable alternative.