ALEXANDRIA, VA....About 4,000 professional counselors are meeting this week in Charlotte, NC, to attend the 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition of the American Counseling Association (ACA).

Career counseling, coping with the stress of the economy, counseling military vets and their families, suicide prevention in colleges, depression in the workplace, working with sexual minority clients and their significant others, stress management, and internet and other addictions are among the topics addressed in the 500+ education sessions on the program.

Keynote speakers include Judy Shepard and C. Adolfo Bermeo, PhD, two individuals who didn't like the injustices they were seeing in society and in our educational system.  They set out to achieve a different kind of "climate change." They will share their dramatic stories.

Judy Shepard is the mother of Matthew Shepard, who was brutally attacked on October 8, 1998 due to a hate crime. She will speak on Sunday, March 22 at 9 a.m in the Convention Center Ballroom.  Three days after he was attacked, Matthew died from his injuries.  In 1999, Judy Shepard testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  Ms. Shepard will deliver a powerful message about what we can do to help make our communities and schools safer for everyone, regardless of their race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation. 

C. Adolfo Bermeo, PhD, is a Senior Scholar for The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. Dr. Bermeo works with both state and national organizations committed to increasing access to higher education for historically underrepresented first-generation and low-income students. Dr. Bermeo will speak Saturday, March 21 at 9 a.m in the Convention Center Ballroom.

"Counseling support is exactly what the world needs right now given the enormous stress facing individuals and families across the entire spectrum of demographics," said ACA President Dr. Colleen Logan in a recent NPR interview.

One of ACA's 19 Divisions—Counselors for Social Justice—will donate $1,000 to Pat's Place Children's Advocacy Center in Charlotte, an organization that connects children who have been sexually abused to area resources. Dr. Eric Green, CSJ president, will present the donation Saturday, March 21, during a 2-3:30pm program entitled "Advocacy Counseling for Children in Crisis: Perspectives from the Field" in room 210 AB of the Convention Center. Another ACA Division—the Counseling Association for Humanistic Education and Development (C-AHEAD)—is collecting donations for the Charlotte charity, A Children's Place, which provides support to homeless children.

Now in its 56th year, the ACA Conference & Exposition (March 19-23) remains the single largest, most comprehensive educational and networking event in the world dedicated to the counseling profession.  The conference, which will take place March 19-23, is cosponsored by the North Carolina Counseling Association, and will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center.

The American Counseling Association (www.counseling.org) is a not-for-profit professional and educational organization that is dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the counseling profession. Founded in 1952, ACA is the world's largest association exclusively representing professional counselors in various practice settings.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Interviews can be arranged. E-mail dbass@counseling.org or call 703-271-0889 or onsite March 19-23 at 202-409-7974.  Reporters also may go to the Convention Center Registration Desk and ask for Debra Bass.