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Heather Trepal, the 68th President of the American Counseling Association
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Heather Trepal, the 68th President of the American Counseling Association
A When I have been President of the American Counseling Association for almost a year, I would like to share with you some of the things I learned about our profession and our club during this trip.
Consultants are adaptable and experts in the crisis. It was a historic year. The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented challenges and changes for consultants and the way they meet their clients' needs. Consultants in all situations took up the challenge. There is important work we must continue to do, including a) support and advocacy for consultants in all situations, b) support for students and new professionals in training and starting their careers in these turbulent times, and c) leadership in the process changing landscape of mental health.
We commented on important issues. This year, our association has ruled against violations of the ACA Code of Ethics related to the sharing of advisory notes for unaccompanied underage clients in government custody (see tinyurl.com/ACAUnaccompanied). We have continued our commitment to non-discrimination and worked to support bans on conversion therapy in all states.
Our state branches advocate and honor the work of their members. I have met many ACA members on trips to branch conferences. Our branches do amazing legal work. For example, the Colorado Counseling Association was very involved in advocacy related to the review of all state mental health laws by the Colorado legislature. In addition, many branches offer mentoring programs and other means to honor the work of their members and to create a pipeline of various new leaders. For example, the South Carolina Counseling Association has an award (Mrs. Harriet Gardin Fields and Mrs. Candice Bates-Quinn Graduate Student Memorial Award) that is named after two former members who have passed away. The sisters of one of these former members come every year to present the award.
Our departments do important lobbying. There are many examples of our ACA departments lobbying hard this year. For example, the Association for Group Work Specialists, led by President Ana Puig, held its annual conference in Puerto Rico. The conference included opportunities for service to the local community as Puerto Rico continues to try to recover from the devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and a series of earthquakes. In addition, the association for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advice in counseling led by President Misty Ginicola recently decided to change its name to Society for Sexual, Affective, Intersexual, and Gender Identity (SAIGE) has been very active in the struggle against the ongoing anti-trans legislation.
Our volunteer leaders are committed to the work of this association. Our ACA committee and working group members have worked, among other things, to steer our association in the areas of human rights, climate change, international advice, member behavior, ethics, PhD students, and public policy and legislation. My special thanks go to the chairs of this year's Task Forces: Thelma Duffey, Victoria Kress, Kelly Wester, Maria Haiyasoso and Abigail Conley.
We have partnerships that are important. ACA maintains many important partnerships. A strong example is our work with the human rights campaign as a co-sponsor of the annual Time to Thrive conference to promote security, inclusion and well-being for LGBTQ youth.
ACA CEO Richard Yep and the ACA staff are the best. If you have ever contacted our CEO Richard Yep, I would bet that you would have an answer within a few hours, if not minutes. Rich is one of the most responsive people I've ever met. He really cares about ACA, the consulting profession and our members. Our ACA staff, including our leadership team, have had to steer the cancellation of the ACA conference and have worked tirelessly to support our members through the current public health crisis by providing resources and lobbying. ACA staff will continue to serve our members and the profession as we work, among other things, to establish an intergovernmental license agreement.
We are ready to lead in the future. Finally, I wish the well-chosen President Sue Pressman all the best if she takes over the baton and heads our association for the next financial year. Many thanks to all members of the Governing Council who are ending their term and leaving the Board. And welcome everyone, including the new Governing Council members and elected ACA President Kent Butler, to join our association's leadership team.
Perhaps the most important thing I learned in the past year is that the consulting profession is more incredible and diverse than I could have imagined. It has been an honor and honor for me to serve as ACA President from 2019 to 2020. I wish each of you every success in your personal and professional endeavors.
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Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherTrepal
