When it comes to building a thriving referral base, there are two words every private practitioner’s marketing plan should include: niche and networking. Niche marketing is the opposite of mass marketing in that counselors target a specific segment of the population. Deliberately narrowing the client field sounds counterproductive, but successful

Editor’s note: Both audio and video downloads of the keynote addresses delivered at the ACA/CCA Convention are available on the ACA website at www.counseling.org. If counselors occasionally feel that their work goes unnoticed or underappreciated by the world at large, those in attendance at the American Counseling Association/Canadian Counselling Association

Last month at the American Counseling Association/Canadian Counselling Association Convention in Montréal, the American Association of State Counseling Boards announced important information regarding its licensure reciprocity plan and the credential registry. Because licensure requirements vary from state to state, licensure portability has been an ongoing concern for licensed professional counselors

Since last fall, one of counseling’s living legends, Albert Ellis, has been engaged in a fervent battle with the board members of the Albert Ellis Institute, the not-for-profit organization he founded more than 50 years ago. During the past three months, the dispute has escalated into a mud-slinging campaign complete

At presstime, Congress was still considering budget reconciliation legislation that included language establishing Medicare coverage of state-licensed professional counselors. American Counseling Association members are strongly encouraged to check www.counseling.org/publicpolicy for updates on the status of this legislation and the possible need for grass-roots support for this provision. This website and

The startlingly tall, thin young Vietnamese man was standing naked in the middle of a busy city street talking to himself as motorcycles and bicycles whizzed by him. Perhaps even more peculiar was the reaction from others — there was none. Libby Zinman-Schwartz was watching the man out the window