While membership to professional counseling organizations is not mandatory, there are
multiple benefits to joining an organization. Most offer a discount to conferences for continued
education, newsletters to inform members of changing laws, and having a support group and
advocation center for the member (Simmons et al., 2024). These benefits leave little reason to
deny membership, especially with as many different organizations that there are to choose
from. Just as the Bible talks about Christians coming together, the same can be said about
professionals. There is power in community.
The American Counseling Association (ACA) has always had one mission- to represent the
profession of counseling with a unified voice (Simmons et al., 2024). Unlike any other
organization, the ACA has 56 branches. A major part of their recent focus has been to acquire
greater accessibility for counselors and clients alike. This was accomplished with the Counseling
Compact (Simmons et al., 2024). Additionally, they publish a quarterly journal, a monthly
magazine, and host a yearly convention.
The American Mental Health Counseling Association (AMHCA) is a former division of ACA
(Simmons et al., 2024). The AMHCA strives to provide a voice to a broader range of counselors
(Simmons et al., 2024). Like the ACA, the AMHCA provides a quarterly journal and an annual
conference, but they provide their magazine monthly. The AMHCA also offers the opportunity
to advocate in the capital of the United States, including transportation and training (Simmons
et al., 2024).
The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) was specifically founded to
support counselors in the Christian faith. This includes counselors that function inside of the
confounds of a ministry as well as faith based professional clinical counselors. Like the ACA, the
AACC has a code of ethics published on their website (Simmons et al., 2024). Their conferences
are held every other year and rotate between national and world conferences. The AACC also
offers online courses to further education (Simmons et al., 2024).
The Military and Government Counseling Association (MGCA) captured my attention. The
resource that I spent the most time with is an article titled “Best Practices For Counseling First
Responder Populations” (Jackson-Cherry & Perron, 2021). This research-focused resource is
intended to be used as a guideline for counselors that work with first responders to make their
time with the client more effective (Jackson-Cherry & Perron, 2021). Each category assess
culture, systems, assessment of presenting concerns, and treatment (Jackson-Cherry & Perron,
2021).
References
Jackson-Cherry, L., & Perron, N. (2021, October 14). Best Practices For Counseling First
Responder Populations. Military and Government Counseling Association.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369619844_Best_Practices_for_Counseling_Fi
rst_Responder_Populations_Best_Practices_for_Counseling_First_Responder_Population
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Simmons, R., Lilley, S., & Kuhnley, A. K. (2024). Introduction To Counseling: Integration Of Faith,
Professional Identity, And Clinical Practice (2nd ed.). Kendall Hunt.
