The American Counseling Association is the world's largest organization representing professional counselors in various practice settings. Learn more about counseling.

VISION | OUR IMPACT

Every person has access to quality professional counseling to thrive.

MISSION | WHAT WE DO

Promote the professional development of counselors, advocate for the profession, and ensure ethical, culturally-inclusive practices that protect those using counseling services.

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Spotlight

  • Free Ce icon

    FREE CONTINUING EDUCATION

    ACA members get free continuing education in 12 free annual online courses (a $264 value). Find out what we're offering this month. 
  • Ethics icon

    CODE OF ETHICS

    Find the tools needed to ensure compliance with the ethical standards of the counseling profession.
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  • ACA Gov affairs Icon

    ACA ADVOCACY 

    Stay up-to-date on legislative news, policy updates and timely announcements that affect the counseling profession. Read
  • ACA News Icon

    ACA NEWS

    Get quick access to the latest in counseling in our two, bi-weekly newsletters, Counseling Insider and Member Minute (members only), industry news updates and our three blogs. 
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  • CT_August 2018_FA_cover

    COUNSELING TODAY

    Counselors can help LGBTQ clients navigate the often-turbulent waters between religious faith and healthy self-concept. Read more in Counseling Today's August cover story.

  • Journal of Counseling & Development

    Distress within intimate relationships is a common reason for clients to seek counseling. For young adults, romantic experiences also play an important role in the development of their identity. In Young Adults: Attachment, Relationships and Social Media authors Sherrell and Lambie begin to explore the directional relationship between college students’ attachment styles, their use of social media and the quality of their relationship development. Read

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State Licensure & Certification Boards

Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) provide mental health and substance abuse care to millions of Americans. LPCs are licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Find the licensure board in your state.

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  • Loss is No Disaster

    Aug 16, 2018
    I am reading Mary Catherine Bateson’s Composing a Life for the umpteenth time, each time finding renewed guidance and comfort in her wisdom. Her emphasis on how the “deep chasm of discontinuity” leads us, especially if we are paying attention, to use our circumstances to creatively compose and recompose our life, resonates powerfully with me and also sends me back to Elizabeth Bishop’s line from “One Art” I use as title to affirm “loss is no disaster” but the beginning of something new.
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  • Creating Healthy Boundaries In Relationships

    Aug 15, 2018
    Boundaries is perhaps the most common skill I teach to clients as a clinical therapist. In our childhood we learn that sharing is caring, we learn about the golden rule (doing unto others as you would want them to do unto you) and we learn that it is important to be a good Samaritan.
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ACA Publications

Bookstore
  • The Counseling Dictionary, Fourth Edition

    The Counseling Dictionary, Fourth Edition

    Samuel T. Gladding
    Even more comprehensive than previous editions, the 4th edition of The Counseling Dictionary fills an important void in the counseling field.... Learn More
  • The Secrets of Exceptional Counselors

    The Secrets of Exceptional Counselors

    Jeffrey A. Kottler
    Every profession has trade secrets that are passed on from one generation to the next and counseling is no exception.... Learn More
  • Counseling Research: A Practitioner-Scholar Approach

    Counseling Research: A Practitioner-Scholar Approach

    Richard S. Balkin and David M. Kleist
    This introductory text for counselors-in-training and emerging researchers focuses on research methodology, design, measurement, and evaluation.... Learn More
  • ACA Ethical Standards Casebook, Seventh Edition

    ACA Ethical Standards Casebook, Seventh Edition

    Barbara Herlihy and Gerald Corey
    The seventh edition of this top-selling text provides a comprehensive resource for understanding the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and applying its principles to daily practice.... Learn More

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American Counseling Association

  • 6101 Stevenson Ave, Suite 600. Alexandria, VA 22304
  • 800-347-6647 | 800-473-2329 (fax)
  • © 2015, American Counseling Association,
  • All Rights Reserved.