After 30 years in the counseling profession, I have arrived at the conclusion that we counselors are sometimes our own worst enemies. When a unified voice could be the key to advancing our profession — such as with current efforts to expand reimbursement for counselors’ services under Medicare, initiatives to standardize
Tag: advocate
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has agreed to co-sponsor a bill that would allow professional counselors to be reimbursed for care of clients who have Medicare health insurance, an issue the American Counseling Association has long advocated for. The Colorado Democrat’s endorsement of the bill carries significant weight because he sits
People in need of help don’t always show up automatically on counselors’ doorsteps and request services. Sometimes counselors have to be intentional about first forming connections with potential clients and inviting them to investigate the therapeutic process. In other instances, counselors may need to get out of their offices and
What do we want? Dignity! When do we want it? Now! This chant echoed across the National Mall on Monday, Aug. 24, as a large group of people stepped off for the inaugural Destination Dignity march. The event, organized by a coalition of mental health organizations, agencies and nonprofits, was
More than 100 professional counselors visited Capitol Hill on July 23 as part of the American Counseling Association’s Institute for Leadership Training (ILT) to advocate for the profession on a range of issues, from federal funding for school counselors to hiring more counselors at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Advocacy is a concept that can evoke visions of protesters and picket lines, phone banks and information booths, and maybe even knocking on doors and accosting strangers on the street. But at its most basic level, advocacy means to help or assist, and isn’t that the essence of counseling? “I feel
For the past seven years as a school counselor at Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Ga., Brian Law has collaborated with the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and coordinated a program to help needy families and children in the district. With the help and input of the school
This is the fourth in a series of school counselor advocacy stories that will run online as a counterpart to the school advocacy stories running in Counseling Today’s Counselor, Educator, Advocate column. To read the first post in this series, click here. To read the second post in this series, click here. To read
Counselors across the country are trying to become certified under new requirements for participation in TRICARE, the health care program operated by the Department of Defense (DoD) for active-duty military personnel, dependents and retirees. In some cases, the process appears to be working, but many counselors are running into problems.
As we close out our yearlong celebration of ACA’s 60th anniversary, I want to share some meaningful moments that took place along the way. I was fortunate to meet up with Robert Shaffer, ACA’s very first president. Well into his 90s, Bob was easily able to recall the years that led up