The dictionary defines identity as the distinguishing character or personality of an individual or group — in other words, who we are. Members of the “20/20: Vision for the Future of Counseling” project are taking that a step further and also defining who counselors want to be as a group.

Continuing their work from counseling summits held earlier this year at the American Counseling Association Convention in Montréal and the American Association of State Counseling Boards Annual Conference in Phoenix, delegates have split into seven committees that are focusing on the most prominent issues facing the counseling profession:

• Strengthening identity
• Presenting counselors (no matter their specialty) as one profession
• Improving public perception/recognition and advocating for professional issues
• Creating licensure portability
• Expanding and promoting the research base of professional counseling
• Focusing on students and prospective students
• Promoting client welfare and advocacy

The project, a collaborative effort initiated by ACA and AASCB, includes counselors from all ACA divisions and regions, as well as the National Board for Certified Counselors, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, the Council on Rehabilitation Education and Chi Sigma Iota. Twenty-eight counseling organizations have united for the first time not only to define what a counselor is, but also to plan, prepare and delineate what the profession could or should look like in the year 2020. The project’s aim is to create a unified professional identity to assist in the implementation of the AASCB portability plan and to eliminate the wide variation of state licensing standards.

Chairing the committee examining the issue of presenting counselors as one profession is NBCC President Thomas W. Clawson. “This topic is one that I have pondered for years,” he says. “It is close to the heart of what the NBCC Board discusses so often. Being able to start a dialogue that includes ideas for real change and real possibilities of unity within the profession, while respecting the differing needs of 28 different counseling organizations, is energizing.”

So far, the committees have submitted first draft bullet points to the project’s Oversight Committee, which is composed of ACA President Marie Wakefield, AASCB President Barry Mascari, ACA Immediate Past President Patricia Arredondo, AASCB Immediate Past President Charles Gagnon, ACA Past President Sam Gladding, AASCB Past President Jim Wilson and ACA Chief Professional Officer David Kaplan (serving as the administrative coordinator).

Beginning in December, all seven workgroup drafts will be sent to the 28 delegates for comments and feedback. Soon, the counseling community at large will be able to provide suggestions via postings on the ACA website and notices sent through Counseling Today, the AASCB newsletter, listservs and other venues. The comment period for both delegates and the counseling community as a whole will last through the middle of February 2007.

As part of the feedback process, the 20/20 Oversight Committee will conduct a town hall meeting in January 2007 at the AASCB Annual Conference in Sarasota, Fla. All 20/20 delegates attending the AASCB conference are encouraged to come to the town hall meeting. Both the internal (delegate) and external (public) comments will be provided to all 20/20 delegates at the beginning of March 2007 for review. Additionally, all delegates will meet at the 2007 ACA Convention in Detroit to review the initial drafts and feedback and to provide direction for the subsequent draft. A final draft will be written over the summer of 2007 and presented to the delegates for ratification. The 28 delegates will also present portions of the final draft to their respective organizations for ratification.

“We are excited about the outcomes that will be generated by the committees and the feedback that we will receive at the AASCB and ACA conventions,” Gladding says.

In addition to serving on the Oversight Committee, Mascari is chairing the Counselor Licensing Portability Committee. “This is really an easy topic for statements of principle,” he says. “I think there is relative consensus on the major points concerning portability, and much of that is contingent on what happens with the rest of the profession. The portability issue is intertwined with other issues, including the CACREP revisions, counselor identity, supervision standards and individual states’ different ways of doing things. Depending on when a state adopted their legislation, reflecting the fact that we are relatively new in the licensing game, regulations look very different. The biggest single roadblock to portability is the wide variation in standards. What are really being reflected in licensure are the areas of weakness in our profession. Many statutes allow the language ‘and related professions’ as part of the counselor licensing, which opens the doors to graduates from psychology degree programs to be licensed professional counselors. This brings people with weak or nonexistent counselor identity into the counselor licensing world.”

Mascari adds that the Counselor Licensing Portability Committee is one piece of the larger puzzle that must address education and training and, ultimately, counselor professional identity. “The work of 20/20 is the fulfillment of a dream of mine ever since my dissertation where I found identity unraveling and the lack of common standards threatening the future health of the counseling profession,” he says. “My dream was to have a summit where all groups from the profession would come together and resolve some of these long-standing issues. Interestingly enough, in reading old AASCB minutes, I found that there was a call for a summit around 1986 to address training and certification standards, (but) it never happened.”

“When legislators look at the diversity of training standards and the counselor professional groups claiming to be separate and distinct professions based on work settings, I would say we have some work to do,” Mascari continued. “Sam Gladding said it best to me. He said his goal was, in 2020, when on an airplane and someone asked a social worker what that was, that person would reply, ‘You know, it’s like a counselor.’”

Counseling Today will continue to provide updates on the progress of “20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling.”

With the 2007 American Counseling Association Convention in Detroit just a few months away, the host branch, the Michigan Counseling Association, is gearing up to show off its revitalized city and help stage another successful convention. Counseling Today caught up with two MCA leaders to find out more about the branch, what’s in store for convention attendees in the Motor City and, of course, where the best places are to eat in town.

Founded in 1965, MCA is the state’s largest association exclusively representing professional counselors in various practice settings. MCA provides leadership training, publications, continuing education opportunities and advocacy services to nearly 1,700 members.

MCA President Laura Kitkowski says the organization’s legislative agenda is geared toward licensure and issues such as mental health parity, Blue Cross Blue Shield and third-party reimbursement, Medicaid, school counselor tenure, college counseling, and K-12 funding and protection.

“There’s a term in Spanish, entre metida, that means you get into everything, and our leaders really do get into a lot of different things such as informal discussion groups and regional positions,” Kitkowski says. “We really have people here who are involved in other professional work and disciplines. It’s really neat to see the different credentials that people have, yet they are still members of the counseling association.”

Since the current economy in Michigan is doing poorly compared with other parts of the nation, Kitkowski says that one of the major issues MCA continues to see is unemployment and the ripple effect that has on both individuals and families. “One of the more challenging issues they are facing, especially in the case where school counselors refer students, is the lack of insurance,” she says.

The ‘new’ MCA

“Communication is the theme that I have been instilling in our Executive Board and leadership. This is the new MCA, because we have so many opportunities to go nowhere but up. We have increased communication, and we are rebuilding trust within the branch,” says Kitkowski, referring to a riff between MCA and Michigan school counselors that led to two school counseling associations — one affiliated with ACA and the other with the American School Counselor Association. She says MCA is working hard to improve communication between leadership and MCA members, while at the same time assisting members to connect with other members. Kitkowski believes it’s vitally important to help counselors utilize one another’s expertise.

“Another huge thing I’m charged with is investigating licensure and communicating to membership on legislative issues,” she says. “State laws can supersede federal laws on some things, so the members need to be aware of what’s going on.” Kitkowski adds that she hopes to both solidify the association’s financial foundation and provide new communication portals. “It’s not just about listservs,” she says. “We have to build on that.” Eventually, she would also like MCA to establish a statewide interdisciplinary discussion group for those in the helping professions.

“Like most professional associations, people are looking outside the box and are trying to find new ways to reach out to the people they are representing,” says Chris Larson, a longtime MCA member and leader. “We are moving ahead like everyone else, but we are also feeling the same growing pains and the impact of the world around us. My vision is that MCA would remain the constant for the helping professional in this ever-changing, global, technological economy and still meet the grassroots needs of professionals in the state.”

Larson would also like MCA to remain in partnership with the state colleges and universities that are training counselors. “We have a very strong graduate student connection,” she says. “We should continue to draw on graduate students for mentoring and for when they become professionals to return and continue to give strength to the organization and to the profession in the state of Michigan. As counselors, we can often be isolated in our work setting, so our professional association is the tie that binds us together, and I see us continuing to nurture that piece within the new MCA.”

Look out Detroit, here we come

“We are really trying to get as many people (to the ACA Convention in Detroit) as we can,” Kitkowski says. “We are rolling it out to divisions and chapters, and they are being very active and supportive. The division and chapter leadership are identifying what they can do beyond volunteering.”

Detroit has had a profound impact on the world. From the invention of the automobile to the Motown sound, the city has played a major role in crafting American culture. Unknown to many, the city and surrounding area are currently undergoing a renaissance with new development and attractions. Both counselors gush about how Detroit is cleaning up its image and re-establishing itself as a safe, big-city tourist stop.

“It’s such a wonderful area,” Kitkowski says. “There’s so much going on — casinos, comedy clubs, (the new) Tigers stadium, riverboats, the history. There is just so much to do and see. We have fantastic microbrews here, and the pubs in the downtown area are great.” She adds that the burgers at the Hockeytown Café, rated the No. 2 sports bar in America by ESPN2, are the best (though not cholesterol-friendly).

Kitkowski and Larson agree that ACA Convention attendees should check out Greektown for dining and entertainment, and perhaps for trying their luck at the blackjack tables. Greektown is located less than half a mile from the Renaissance Center (which is also home to the ACA headquarters hotel, the Marriott Renaissance) and can easily be reached using the Detroit People Mover. Greektown is home to more than 20 restaurants (ranging from fine dining to authentic Greek fare), pastry shops and the Greektown Casino. The famed Astoria Bakery, located on Monroe Street, serves up classic Greek pastries and desserts. Certain buildings in the neighborhood are designed to resemble the Parthenon and other classics of Greek architecture.

Counseling Today will continue to give members the inside dish on what to expect at the ACA Convention in Detroit (March 21-25, 2007) in the months to come. Remember to take advantage of the advance rate now through Feb. 15, 2007. Register online at www.counseling.org/convention, or call ACA Member Services at 800.347.6647 ext. 222.