In this issue readers will find:
- NAS Report Examines Parent Screening for Depression and Impact on Children
- Flat and Down Slightly: A Tale of Two Test Scores
- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Interviewed in ACAeNews for School Counselors
- Fast Fact: Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television Rises Significantly
- Hurricane Responders Input Needed for ACA Study
- Worth Reading: Parent Role in Childhood Obesity Conference Clipping: Diversity Trainer, Author to Keynote
- Conference Clipping: Diversity Trainer, Author to Keynote
- Sign of the Times: Adult and Teen Cell Phone Ownership Gap Closes
- Two New ACA Podcasts Delve into Adlerian and Jungian Theories
- Calling for Counselors Engaged in Video or Internet Aided Counseling
- Calendar: ACES, NE, NM, WV, LA, AK, KY, and PA to Hold Conferences
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NAS Report Examines Parent Screening for Depression and Impact on Children
A new report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), reported in the August 11 edition of Psychiatric Times, recommends that screening of depression consider the impact of a parent's mental health status on the health and development of children. The NAS report calls for the extension of insurance coverage and removal of restrictions that inhibit access for both parents and children to mental health treatment.
Flat and Down Slightly: A Tale of Two Test Scores
The annual release of student test scores from ACT and the College Board for the recent class of high school graduates shows the ACT numbers flat while the SAT numbers dropped slightly. The scores for the ACT admission entrance exam, although flat, are seen as a positive sign, given the increasing number of students who are taking the test. The College Board's test participation numbers are also on the rise, but gaps in student scores, as measured by race, ethnicity, and family wealth, continue to ring alarm bells. The College Board reported that this year's graduating class has the most college-bound students taking the SAT in history, and this class also stands out as having the most diverse participation in SAT history, with 612,666 minority students testing.
The national average ACT composite score for 2009 graduates was 21.1, unchanged from 2008 and 0.2 point higher than in 2005. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score. The average scores on the four subject-area tests were as follows: English-20.6 (unchanged from 2008); mathematics-21 (unchanged); reading-21.4 (unchanged); science-20.9 (up 0.1 point). The average scores in English, math and reading are all higher than they were in 2005; the average score in science is the same as it was in 2005.
On the SAT, this year's college-bound seniors averaged 501 in critical reading, 515 in mathematics and 493 in writing. In 2008, the average score in critical reading was 502; in mathematics, 515; and in writing, 494. The writing section of the SAT was introduced in 2005. In 2006, the first year the writing scores were reported for the college-bound seniors' cohort, the average writing score was 497.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Interviewed in ACAeNews for School Counselors
ACAeNews for School Counselors was privileged to have an interview with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in the "Back to School" edition of this special focus e-newsletter that was released September 3. Duncan spoke to the importance of counseling in schools and the role of the school counselors in promoting student achievement and development. He also spoke to the challenges facing educators as the school year begins and of the need to "fix" schools that are not working.
ACA members wishing to receive any of the four ACAeNews special focus e-newsletters at no charge (ACAeNews for Mental Health, Private Practice, and Community Agency Counselors;ACAeNews for School Counselors; ACAeNews for Counselor Educators; or ACAeNews for Counseling Students and New Professionals) can opt-in by logging into the website and clicking on Manage Membership.
Fast Fact: Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television Rises Significantly
The exposure to alcohol advertising among youth ages 12-20 on television has risen by 38% since the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth began monitoring in 2001. From 2001 to 2007, the number of alcohol advertisements seen in a year by the average TV-watching adolescent and young adult increased from 216 to 301. Almost all of these ad placements were on cable television and seen at times when young people are most likely to be watching.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion awarded a $4 million grant to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to monitor youth exposure to alcohol over the next five years.
Hurricane Responders Input Needed for Professional Resiliency Study
Did you participate in the response efforts for Hurricane(s) Katrina, Rita, Gustov, or Ike? Did you provide counseling services in the impacted tri-state region, including Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas? If so, please participate in a Virginia Tech study, sponsored by ACA, that is examining the effects of those counseling efforts on your professional resiliency. The results of the study will help ACA and other professional organizations to learn more about what type of support is needed by professional counselors who nobly respond to large-scale natural disasters. To share your input electronically, go to
Worth Reading: Parent Role in Childhood Obesity
Will obesity cause today's children to be the first generation to experience a shorter life span than their parents? Not if the parents promote improved eating habits and exercise, says Dr. Edward Abramson, author and professor emeritus at California State-Chico in a presentation at the recent American Psychological Association convention. Abramson, author of Body Intelligence and Emotional Eating, suggests eating reform begins with the promotion of a healthy body image and places the responsibility squarely before parents.
Science News Article:
Conference Clipping: Diversity Trainer, Author to Keynote
What would you be doing today if you had only 37 days to live? This is the title of Patti Digh's award-winning blog, which turned into a book, but it is so much more — it is her philosophy, her new sense of intentionality. Patti Digh (pronounced "dye"), co-founder of The Circle Project and author of numerous books, will share her thoughts on what is real and what matters, as she gives us insider tips on how to make minuscule life corrections that result in quantum shifts in experience. Her sold out workshops are focused on unmasking personal stories for deeper creativity and fuller living.
Her background includes diversity and leadership initiatives and training for clients around the world. While she was Vice President of International and Diversity Programs for the Society for Human Resource Management, the world's largest association of human resources professionals, she created the Institute for International HR, the award winning SHRM Diversity Initiative, the Diversity Train the Trainer Certificate Program, and more innovative programs. She has served on the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and in diversity advisory roles with the American Red Cross, AARP, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
On her new book, Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally, one reviewer commented: "Reading Life is a Verb is like mainlining goodness." Her Keynote presentation is scheduled for Saturday, March 20 at 9:00 a.m.
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The Education Sessions and Pre-conference Learning Institutes will be posted on counseling.org by Friday, September 11.
Sign of the Times: Adult and Teen Cell Phone Ownership Gap Closes
Information released in August by the Pew Internet & American Life Project indicates that teens have narrowed the gap with adults in cellular telephone ownership. In the 2004-2008 period, cell phone ownership by teens grew from less than half (45%) to nearly three-quarters (71%) of the population. Half (51%) of the 12-year-olds (youngest surveyed) and 84% of the 17-year-olds were packing phones.
Two New ACA Podcasts Delve into Adlerian and Jungian Theories
The very popular ACA Podcast series has added two new titles that examine the counseling theories of Alfred Adler and Carl Jung and their relationship to contemporary counseling.
In Podcast HT0011, Adler, Theory and Practice, Dr. Jon Carlson, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Counseling at Governors State University (IL) and a psychologist with the Lake Geneva Wellness Clinic (IL) responds to a host of questions about Adlerian therapy, including its steps and stages and how modern counselors can use a therapy model created nearly a century ago. Running time: 49:27 minutes.
In Podcast HT0010, An LPC and a Jungian Analyst? Rosanne Shepler, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Psychoanalyst (NY) and member of faculty of the C. G. Jung Institute, explains the difference between counseling and Jungian Analysis and how dreams play a vital part in the theory. She also addresses how a counselor works with transference and counter-transference. Running time: 64 minutes.
The ACA Podcast Series now includes 11 titles. A 12th title is in development now on the topic of cybersex treatment. The podcasts are free to ACA members and can be used in counselor education classes.
Calling for Counselors Engaged in Video or Internet Aided Counseling
ACA has received inquiries from the news media on the use of video and Internet technologies to facilitate counseling, sometimes called cybercounseling. If you are engaged in any type of cybercounseling, particularly if you use Skype or other video tools, and would be willing to serve as a point of contact for interview and/or background information for news reporters, send an email to Debra Bass, at dbass@counseling.org. Include your telephone and email and a few sentences describing your work in online counseling.
Calendar: ACES, NE, NM, WV, LA, AK, KY, and PA to Hold Conferences
September 16-18
Nebraska Counseling Association Annual Conference
Omaha Marriott Omaha, NE
September 25-26
New Mexico Counseling Association Annual Conference
Chamisa Hills Country Club, Rio Rancho, NM
October 1-3
West Virginia Counseling Association
Days Hotel, Flatwoods, WV
October 4-7
Louisiana Counseling Association
Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, Baton Rouge, LA
October 7-9
Alaska Counseling Association
Hotel Captain Hook, Anchorage, AK
October 14-18
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
Theme: Transformative Actions - Expanding Social Respect and Relational Consciousness
Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, CA
October 21-23
Kentucky Counseling Association
Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel, Louisville, KY
October 30-November 1
Pennsylvania Counseling Association
Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, State College, PA
Details...
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.
ABOUT ACAeNews
ACAeNews is published 24 times annually 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.
Lynn E. Linde, President
llinde@loyola.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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