In this edition readers will find:
- The Future of the Counseling Profession is Goal of 20/20 Initiative
- ASCA Counseling Program Model Receives National Attention on Edutopia Web Site
- Relevant Research: What Social Networking Sites Tell Us About Adolescent Behavior
- Fast Fact: 1 in 7 Americans is Illiterate, Federal Study Finds
- New ACA Book: Best Practices for Counseling Services with Multiple Heritage Clients
- Yahoo Electronic Job Board Cites Counseling at "Hot" Profession
- Adlerian Approaches, Multi-Family Treatment, and Working with Today's Retirees: New, Advanced LIs on ACA Conference Program
- Counseling Service Members, MBTI and STRONG Topics of Special ACEG Sessions in Charlotte
- NECA Brunch/Symposium to be Held in Charlotte
- Grants: HP Grants Promote Innovation by Educators, Career Awareness by Students
- Worth Reading: Kids Are Healthiest at Age Ten, Then Decline Appears
- Call for Nominees for Voice Awards
- Calendar: ACA/NCCA, CA, KS, and ME Conferences Approaching
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The Future of the Counseling Profession is Goal of 20/20 Initiative
20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling is a major professional initiative co-sponsored by ACA and the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB). Thirty counseling organizations are represented, including ACA, each ACA Division and region, AASCB, CACREP, NBCC, Chi Sigma Iota (the national honor society in counseling), CRCC, and CORE. The goal is to proactively plan for the future of professional counseling over the next decade.
Last summer, the 30 organizational delegates unanimously approved Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the Profession. This document sets seven basic principles for advancing our profession:
- Sharing a common professional identity is critical for counselors.
- Presenting ourselves as a unified profession has multiple benefits.
- Working together to improve public perception of counseling and to advocate for professional issues will strengthen the profession.
- Creating a portability system for licensure will benefit counselors and strengthen the counseling profession.
- Expanding and promoting our research base is essential to the efficacy of professional counselors and to the public perception of the profession.
- Focusing on students and prospective students is necessary to ensure the ongoing health of the counseling profession.
- Promoting client welfare and advocating for the populations we serve is a primary focus of the counseling profession.
To date, 27 of the 30 participating organizations have endorsed the Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the Profession. A list of those organizations can be found here.
At this point, there is a critical mass of organizations agreeing to the unifying principles for advancing the profession, and so the next step will be for the delegates to work on operationalizing those principles (e.g. developing a clear and agreed upon definition of "counseling,"; standardizing one licensure title across all states and licensing boards). Delegates will meet March 20 during the ACA Conference in Charlotte. 20/20 works on a consensus model; any ideas promulgated in the next phase will need to be approved by a minimum of 90% of the delegates. Items that reach consensus will then be sent to all participating organizations for review and ratification.
ASCA Counseling Program Model Receives National Attention on Edutopia Website
The American School Counselor Association National Model for School Counseling Programs received some deserved attention through a major story on the Edutopia website. Supported by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, Edutopia addresses important issues facing the nation's elementary, middle, and secondary schools. The accompanying story reports on how schools and school districts implement the ASCA model.
Relevant Research: What Social Networking Sites Tell Us About Adolescent Behavior
Monitoring risky teen behavior via Internet social-networking sites can lend insights into adolescent behavior for parents, physicians, counselors, and other mental health professionals. According to Megan Moreno, MD, and her associates browsing MySpace.com affords parents and caregivers the unique opportunity to examine the public personas contained in the profiles placed there. Most significant was the finding that more than half of the examined adolescent profiles included references to high-risk behavior, including sexual activity, drug use, and drinking. The research is published in the January edition of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Just how effective such monitoring of social-networking sites can be was the thrust of a Newsweek web exclusive on January 5th.
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine...
Fast Fact: 1 in 7 Americans is Illiterate, Federal Study Finds
In 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) to measure the English literacy skills of the nation's adults. The bottom line is that 1 in 7 Americans, approximately 32 million people, have very low literacy skills, a number influenced in recent years by growing numbers of non-English speaking immigrants. Tasks such as reviewing a paycheck for accuracy, reading a map, or following cautionary guidance on a warning label are likely to be a challenge for these individuals. It also means they are unlikely to be able to read what you just did.
New ACA Book: Best Practices for Counseling Services with Multiple Heritage Clients
Counseling Multiple Heritage Individuals, Couples, and Families
Written and edited by Richard C. Henriksen Jr. and Derrick A. Paladino
This new ACA book examines the strengths of and the challenges facing multiple heritage individuals, couples, and families and offers a framework for best practice counseling services and interventions specifically designed to meet their needs. Topics covered include historical and current racial classification systems and their effects; identity development; transracial adoptions; and counseling strategies for children, adolescents, college students, adults, couples, families, and GLBT individuals. Poignant case studies illustrate important concepts and techniques throughout the book, and chapter review questions provide a starting point for lively classroom discussion.
2009
235 pages
Order #72883
ISBN 978-1-55620-279-7
List Price: $44.95
ACA Member Price: $33.95
Yahoo Electronic Job Board Cites Counseling as "Hot" Profession
This item will come as a "shocker" to those counselors whose jobs have been affected negatively by the current economic crisis, but the Yahoo Hot Jobs website lists counselor and career counselor among the professions likely to be in demand in 2009. Citing the current state of the economy as having a negative effect on people's self esteem and confidence, Yahoo states that "counseling and mental health services will be in high demand." Those wishing to re-engineer their careers or find employment will "need the personalized guidance and feedback from an expert counselor," the site states. Read more about this and the other "hot" professions for 2009.
Adlerian Approaches, Multi-Family Treatment, and Working with Today's Retirees: New, Advanced LIs on ACA Conference Program
Among the 41 Pre-Conference Learning Institutes are three Advanced Level programs on new topics. Registration is still open for these Thursday (March 19) sessions.
09002 The Family Journey: An Experiential Approach for Multi-family Group Treatment
Stephen P. Becker and John Conway, March 19, 9am-4:30pm $155*
This LI focuses on the integration of families into an experiential therapy framework, providing clinicians with theory, format, and a model of an intensive 5-session experiential family group.
09014 Retirement: A Diverse Menu of Options
Vera Sonja Maass, March 19, 5:30pm-8:45pm $115*
Retirement is more complex these days, requiring a broader approach to helping retirees adjust.
09017 Adlerian Early Recollections, Second Order Change, and Therapeutic Abreaction
Thomas J. Sweeney, Jane Myers, March 19, 5:30pm-8:45pm $115*
Adlerian counselors use projective techniques to uncover the client's private logic related to current challenges.
*Registration fees are lower for students, new professionals and retirees.
Already registered for the conference? You can easily add a Learning Institute online or call 800-347-6647 x222. The ACA Conference & Exposition is March 19-23, in Charlotte.
Counseling Service Members, MBTI and STRONG Topics of Special ACEG Sessions in Charlotte
ACA Division, Association for Counselors and Educators in Government (ACEG), is holding two special programs in Charlotte:
"Supporting and Advocating for Our Service Members: Pre, In, and Post Service" will be held Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, 2009. This PDI will update counselors and educators on the various support services including education, mental and physical health, legal, and career development. Counselors of all specialties are encouraged to attend this PDI. A separate registration fee applies.
1 Day: (Either day) ACEG member advance registration $180 (nonmember & on-site registration $195); Fulltime Graduate Students: $150 advance registration ($160 on-site)
2 Days: ACEG member advanced registration $310 (non member & on-site registration $335). Fulltime Graduate Students: $260advance registration ($275 on-site).
The ACEG Awards Luncheon will be held on the 19th and is included in the registration fee.
In addition, a special ACEG Workshop, which is open to all attendees, will be held: "Using the MBTI and STRONG for Career Development."
Advance registration $75 (on-site $85). This workshop is included in the 2-day registration fee or the 1-day fee on the 20th.
For more information visit the ACEG website at http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/organizations/aceg/PDI.htm. CEUs are available. Address all PDI programming questions to Dr. Janet Wall at jw4aac@earthlink.net.
NECA Brunch/Symposium to be Held in Charlotte
The National Employment Counseling Association (NECA) is holding a brunch/symposium, at the ACA Headquarter hotel—the Westin Charlotte in the Harris Room, Friday, March 20th from 11:00 am - 1:30 pm. The cost for this event is $75 and includes a full brunch. Visit www.counseling.org to register for this event or you may contact Member Services at 800-347-6647 x222.
Click here for information on other Division and Branch Events.
Grants: HP Grants Promote Innovation by Educators, Career Awareness by Students
Hewlett Packard Innovations in Education grants provide support for educators to launch innovative projects resulting in improved student achievement in math and science in grades 6 -12 and improved awareness of high tech careers. Eligible applicants: School districts/systems (public or accredited private) serving a minimum of 2,000 students. Maximum grant: $270,000. Deadline: March 30, 2009.
Worth Reading: Kids Are Healthiest at Age Ten, Then Decline Starts
Young people at the age of ten are the healthiest in the population. Then a decline in wellness and an increase in health risks starts to occur. A new study by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine has concluded that the system of care available to the nation's adolescents is both fragmented and poorly designed.
Although many risky behaviors such as teen smoking and pregnancy have declined, issues such as obesity are on the rise. Teens are also more likely today to be injured in a car accident and experience a chronic disease such as asthma and diabetes. In addition, 10 to 20 percent of teens experience a mental health disorder annually.
Call for Nominees for Voice Awards
ACA is a proud partner with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and numerous professional and public organizations in recognizing individuals in the entertainment industry who give voice to individuals with mental health problems. The Voice Awards honor writers and producers who incorporate dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of people with mental illnesses into film and television productions. If you would like to nominate a film or television program released between October 1, 2007 and March 15, 2009, click on the link below. The awards will be presented in Los Angeles this fall.
Calendar: ACA/NCCA, CA, KS, and ME Conferences Approaching
February 13-15, 2009
California Counseling Association
Santa Clara Marriott, Santa Clara, CA
Information...
March 12-13, 2009
Kansas Counseling Association
Highland Hotel and Convention Center, Great Bend, KS
Information...
March 19-23, 2009
American Counseling Association/North Carolina Counseling Association
Charlotte, NC
Information...
March 30-31, 2009
Maine Counseling Association
Samoset Resort, Rockport, ME
Information...
ACA divisions, branches, and regions are valuable sources of learning and professional development. Information on events will be posted approximately 8-10 weeks prior. This information is made available to ACAeNews via the ACA master calendar and the various organization web sites. Send calendar items to dwilliams@counseling.org. Please provide the sponsor, dates, site and contact person information. Information posted here is restricted to that sponsored by ACA divisions, branches, regions and related organizations.
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ACAeNews is published bimonthly by the American Counseling Association for the benefit of members across the counseling profession. Any reference to a product, service, activity, or listing of a website in ACAeNews does not imply endorsement by ACA. Any views and opinions are those of the sponsoring organization and may or may not be shared by ACA.
Direct comments, questions, and submissions to fburtnett@counseling.org. All submissions will be subject to review by ACA for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance to the readership and may be edited.
Colleen Logan, President
clogan@argosy.edu
Richard Yep, CAE, Executive Director
ryep@counseling.org
Debra Bass, Director of Marketing and Communications
dbass@counseling.org
Frank Burtnett, NCC, NCCC, ACAeNews Editor
fburtnett@counseling.org
Don Kenneally, Internet Development / Production
dkenneally@counseling.org
ACA Website: www.counseling.org
Copyright 2009, American Counseling Association, 5999 Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304. Telephone: 703-823-9800. Email: fburtnett@counseling.org. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce anything contained in this newsletter as long as the American Counseling Association is identified as the original source of the information.
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