Mollen ascends to president of CCPTP

Jan. 27, 2026 - DENTON - Debra Mollen's career path has been a steady leadership climb. From participation in an institute for women in psychology and involvement in the College of Arts and Sciences Fellows program to taking the reins of TWU's Counseling Psychology doctoral program.

Now Mollen, PhD, has been named president of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs.

"Leadership has punctuated my career along the way in different capacities," Mollen said. "I've been reflective about my career and where I am. I'm in my 22nd year at TWU. As I get older, these opportunities feel like gifts. They're not things I dread. I like doing this kind of work. I like leadership. I enjoy empowering people to grow in ways they didn't think possible. And I really believe in the tenets of counseling psychology, what it means to be a counseling psychologist. I think more than anything at this stage of my career, I'm really invested in the continual excellence of training of counseling psychologists. I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to serve this organization, and I feel honored to be selected for this position."

In its 50th year, CCPTP represents counseling psychology, provides members with training-relevant information and helps them communicate with one another.

"It was created as a forum for people who do what I do at TWU," Mollen said. "Directors of doctoral programs such as counseling psychology. They support people training directors, which is its own unique niche in our field, and they advance the science and practice of counseling psychology. It's practical and it is also aspirational, and it works in tandem with other similar organizations. There's a lot of liaison roles within the organization that connects with other similar organizations that are doing work in education and psychology."

That communication aspect of the organization is important for members who tend to exist in professional silos.

"It can be somewhat isolating really to be a training director," Mollen said. "At most universities, if they have a program like this, this would be their only one, so it's easy to just be working in a more alienated fashion. This also provides an opportunity for people doing similar work at programs across the country to have resources. There's a conference that meets annually and at that conference they have information and support and resources readily available for the kinds of challenges that we face as training directors in addition to our faculty roles."

CCPTP plays a significant role in a much more pragmatic arena, the importance of which is impossible to overstate its importance. The A-word. Accreditation.

Without it, programs lose all value and degrees lose all worth.

"The process of being part of leading an APA accredited program is something I think a lot of people outside of our field might not readily understand," Mollen said.

The process requires extensive regular data reporting.

"There's a large report that every program does when it's up for re-accreditation," Mollen explained. "Then there's a mid-accreditation report, too. You have to go through a pretty robust experience to get reaccredited. The training director writes a very lengthy self-study that covers all the activities and student outcomes and alumni outcomes and what faculty are doing in the program that covers all the activities since the last accreditation visit. Then a team of outside visitors comes to the university to evaluate and to visit the program and make observations that get reported back to the accrediting body for them to be able to make their decision. If that sounds daunting, it really can be.

"That's another really practical resource that CCPTP offers, because you can tap very easily into other people who are doing the same thing or have done the same thing and share materials and strategize about how to best approach writing the self-study and going through that accreditation process and preparing your data each year that have to be uploaded to your own website."

To that end, Mollen wants to see CCPTP develop a doctoral training director's handbook.

"Of course there's things that are unique to all our universities, but then there are also things that are required of everyone who is a training director of an APA-accredited counseling psychology program."

Mollen is currently president-elect of CCPTP and begins her term as president in August.