March 18, 2012
Contact: Debra Bass
dbass@counseling.org
703-823-9800, x243
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEARLY 4,000 COUNSELING PROFESSIONALS CONVENE IN SAN FRANCISCO MARCH 21-25 FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ALEXANDRIA, VA…..Nearly 4,000 counselors, counselor educators, and counseling students from across the U.S. and 30 countries are attending the American Counseling Association (ACA) 2012 Conference & Expo in San Francisco, March 21-25.
Attendees will be immersed in many societal issues prevalent today such as bullying (in the workplace and school), posttraumatic stress disorder, addictions, getting into college, finding a job, and many more. In addition, they will be learning about best practices in helping individuals cope with stress, grief, troubled relationships, as well as LGBTQ issues, among many other topics.
From sessions such as “Counseling in the Czech Republic,” “Vietnamese Americans’ Perceptions of Play and Counseling,” to “Border Violence,” counselors will gain global and multicultural perspectives.
One of the most influential psychiatrists in the world today, Irvin D. Yalom, MD, is keynote speaker at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 23. He will address techniques in psychotherapy. Craig Windham, an NPR reporter who is also a licensed clinical professional counselor, will speak on “Counseling in the Social Media Age: Swimming with the Current – and Against,” on Saturday, March 24 at 9:00 a.m.
“This conference is a microcosm of the pressing issues we face in society today,” said ACA President Dr. Don W. Locke, Dean of the School of Education at Mississippi College. “As ACA celebrates its sixtieth anniversary this year, it is especially gratifying to see our membership reach 50,000 and conference attendance to remain strong.”
“Having achieved licensure in all states with the passage in 2010 of counselor licensure in California, consumers now can select counselors who meet stringent standards for education, professional development, and quality of care,” said ACA Executive Director Richard Yep, CAE. “This conference is one of the ways that counseling professionals keep up-to-date on best practices in the profession.”
The ACA Conference & Exposition is the single largest, most comprehensive educational and networking event in the world dedicated to the counseling profession.
The American Counseling Association (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 more than 50,000 professional counselors in various practice settings.