Former presidents of the American Counseling Association informed me that the time in this office would fly by faster than one could imagine. I now know this to be true, considering that I am writing my third column, which indicates that nearly a quarter of the 2014-2015 presidency has been
Category: From the President
My first column in Counseling Today mentioned collaboration. I emphasized intentional collaboration that, when combined with effective communication, accentuates empowerment. The cover story in this issue of CT also highlights collaboration, and collaboration will play a major role in the action plans discussed below. At ACA’s 2014 Conference & Expo
It is an honor to serve as the 63rd president of the American Counseling Association, to listen to and advocate for all involved within the counseling profession. For many years, I have been an advocate of ACA, its divisions, regions and branches, having served in a number of leadership roles.
As I prepare to step down from my role as ACA president at the end of the month, I am reflecting on my initial goals while in office. When I wrote my statement as a candidate for president, subsequently published in Counseling Today in December 2011, I asserted three priorities: a)
Cirecie West-Olatunji and Robert Smith address recent changes to the counseling profession. **** The past few years have been significant for the counseling profession. Among other advancements, we have secured licensure in every state, crystallized our professional identity, and opened up new frontiers for employment. The new counselor job description
Three key frontiers await us in counseling that will catapult us into a new age of functionality. First, the recent incident at Fort Hood reminds us that those returning home from active-duty military deployments are in need of our expertise. Second, we need to advance our understanding and operationalization of
April is Counselor Awareness month and, even as we try to raise the awareness level of those outside of the profession, we should continue to learn more about each other. For example, the actions the American Counseling Association is taking on behalf of all of its members include submitting recommendations regarding
As we celebrate the accomplishments of the many multicultural counseling scholars who have given birth to and advanced the multicultural competences, it is our responsibility to continually contribute to this body of knowledge. In reviewing what we know, there are six areas representing the next frontier for multicultural counselors: 1) transnationalism,
Advocacy must mean more to professional counselors than legislative action on Capitol Hill and calling child protective services when we suspect that our clients have been abused. That doesn’t mean these forms of advocacy are not valued or not needed, but we must incorporate other forms of advocacy into our professional
Disasters are on the rise, including both human-made and natural disasters. To clarify, human-made disasters include terrorist acts, mass shootings, industrial errors and epidemics, whereas natural disasters involve events such as hurricanes, cyclones, fires and floods. The idea that we will see a steady stream of human and material loss is