I In the world of ophthalmology, 20/20 eyesight means that a person can see the letters on an eye chart clearly and sharply while standing 20 feet away. It is estimated that only 35% of adults can see 20/20 without the help of glasses or other corrective aids.
Fifteen years ago, executives from a large number of consulting organizations started an initiative to focus more on the profession and its future. These leaders, who represent 31 consulting organizations, met regularly between 2005 and 2013 to identify and forge a vision for the direction the consulting profession should take – into 2020 and beyond. The initiative, jointly sponsored by the American Counseling Association and the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB), ultimately dubbed 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling.
What the organizers originally intended to be a two-year endeavor spanned eight years. Unsurprisingly, attendees didn't always agree, but that it was a turning point for the profession to have delegates from more than 30 advisory organizations – representing a wide range of areas of expertise and passions – in the same room.
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“The saying goes about herding cats, but these cats were all dedicated professionals who were passionate about consensus building. apparently different cats whose visions would contribute immeasurably to the creation of a uniform profession, ”says Kurt L. Kraus, who in recent years made the 20/20 initiative possible as the successor to Samuel T. Gladding, a former president of ACA.
"I believe that all of our partner organizations will be ready before the work of 20./20. [initiative] have worked tirelessly to establish themselves as free-standing and supportive pillars in a warehouse for advice and related areas. However, the project challenged the delegates and their organizations to look at the house as a whole, ”says Kraus. “It was time in our development to answer the question of whether we are a profession. And the answer was a resounding "yes".
Steps towards unity
The 20/20 initiative grew out of a conversation about the future of the consulting profession that ACA and AASCB executives had over breakfast at the 2005 ACA Conference & Expo in Atlanta. The group, which included David Kaplan, then Chief Professional Officer of ACA, as well as the presidents, elected presidents, and elected presidents of ACA and AASCB, was eventually set up as the oversight committee for the initiative.
Kaplan remembers Gladding and Kraus as "world-class" mediators who "knew exactly when to comfort those affected and meet those who were comfortable". Kaplan also recognizes Gladding for creating the 20/20 title for the initiative.
The initiative was in full swing at the ACA 2006 Conference & Expo in Montréal. Gladding brought the first full meeting with delegates from each of the participating organizations to order. Lynn Linde, now ACA's Chief Knowledge and Learning Officer, recalls the energy and enthusiasm that filled the room as the delegates took their seats.
“It was exciting that we were doing something historical – and confusion about how we were going to get there. … It was overwhelming, but also exciting. The consulting profession needed this, [had] talked about it for a long time, ”recalls Linde, who initially acted as a 20/20 delegate for the ACA's southern region before joining the supervisory committee as elected ACA President and ACA President (2009 -2010).
Over years of work and countless hours of discussion, the 20/20 initiative produced several important achievements, the first of which was a document entitled Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the Profession.
The policy document drawn up by the delegates as the first milestone of the project and unanimously approved identified seven critical areas that had to be considered by the consulting profession:
Strengthening the identity
We present ourselves as a profession
Improvement of public perception / recognition and approval of professional issues
Creation of license portability
Expansion and promotion of the research base for professional advice
Concentration on students and prospective students
Promoting the well-being and advocacy of customers
When delegates returned the document to their respective organizations, only one declined to endorse it: the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).
The drafting and ratification of the policy document was historic, Kaplan says, as almost all major players in the field recognized and recognized for the first time that they were part of a unified profession: the profession of counseling.
“Advisory organizations tended to operate as a loose federation, each with its own specific focus. The Profession Unification and Empowerment Principles marked the first time in history that members of career guidance, training and certification organizations stated in writing that they have a common professional identity and that they are all part of a single profession, ”said Kaplan, former president from ACA (2002-2003), who retired in 2019 after 15 years at the club. “The Unification and Empowerment Principles were a catalyst for both the American School Counselor Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) to move from ACA to an independent organization. While the change in ASCA and AMHCA affiliation status resulted in disruption … this was a healthy development for both the organizations and the counseling profession as it was recognition of a development that had been going on for many years. "
ACA President-elect S. Kent Butler, who served as the 20/20 delegate to the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) added, “It was important to go through [the 20/20 process] so that the Consultants can unite and find a voice that we can all support and use to successfully advance our profession. The takeaway for me is the bonding that took place, although sometimes controversial, because we were on this mission together. In the 31 participating organizations, I was also able to establish close professional relationships with many delegates. "
Consensus finding
After the participating organizations approved the 20/20 policy document, targeted efforts were made to address two of the critical areas identified in the document: the consolidation of professional identity and the path to license portability or the ability of consultants to doing so will transfer their professional license when moving from one state to another.
One of the most important ways the delegates could strengthen their professional identity was to develop a uniform definition of counseling. The definition should be an "elevator parking space," something succinct that would easily explain what advisers do to the public and other helping professionals. Ultimately, the 2010 20/20 delegates agreed on one sentence within one sentence: “Counseling is a professional relationship that enables various individuals, families and groups to achieve mental health, wellness, educational and career goals. "
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“It was important that we define the counseling and the principles on which it is built and that no outside groups try to define it for us,” says Gladding. “It was also important to note that the advice is diverse, but has a common core. As Maya Angelou writes in her poem "Human Family", "We are more similar, my friends, than we are not."
Former ACA President Bradley T. Erford counts the creation of a consensus definition of advice as one of the initiative's most significant achievements. “I like to say that it took 31 consultants 24 months to agree on a 21-word definition of advice. But we did it, ”he says. “20/20 was a coming-of-age event in the consulting profession. We needed consensus on some of the most pressing issues of the day, including licensing requirements and professional identity. "
Erford initially served as a 20/20 delegate for the Association for Assessment and Research in Advisory (AARC) for six years before joining the Board of Trustees when he was named President-Elect and President of the ACA was (2012-2013).
Lack of portability has long been a problem in the consulting profession, in large part because license requirements vary widely. Consultant licensing requirements were determined from state to state over a period of decades – beginning with Virginia in 1976 and ending with California in 2009 – as the profession matured and established itself. However, there were significant differences between consultant licenses in the United States in terms of the number of monitoring hours required to obtain a license for the licensed titles themselves.
The 20/20 delegates hoped to trigger a movement towards license portability by developing and supporting a single overarching area of activity for the profession and a single preferred licensed title. Both ideas emerged from an initiative by 20/20 called the "Building Blocks to Portability Project".
“We wanted to find out who we are as a profession, our professional identity. We spent hours in this room talking about it, ”recalls Linde. "Everyone was amazed that we got there, that we trusted the process and were actually able to [reach consensus]."
The 20/20 delegates set the consensus license title – Licensed Professional Adviser Selection (LPC) – and scope in March 2013. (See the full text of the 20/20 Scope, a five-paragraph job description that defines the work of professional consultants below.) Both points were addressed in a letter co-authored by the ACA and AASCB leadership and sent in the summer of 2015 , recommended for government licensing bodies in the United States.
The 20/20 delegates also discussed, but ultimately could not reach consensus on a third part of the Building Blocks to Portability project: uniform educational requirements for licensing. Nevertheless, the 20/20 initiative is overall a great success, which has advanced the consulting profession and prepared it much better for later challenges.
"Until 20/20: A vision for the future of consulting, we have allowed external forces to define what we can do," says Kaplan. “Aside from the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) and the Training Standards Council for Rehabilitation Education (CORE), this was the first time in history that the counseling profession told the world what our skills are. As with the title of the consensus license, a practice encouraged by professional advice to the licensing bodies helps solidify the identity of the advisor, makes licensing more portable, reduces public confusion, and facilitates the necessary legislation. [This initiative] was the sign of a profession that had matured. By 20/20, the counseling profession had focused on being reactive and responding to the definition of others – especially psychology. … [The 20/20 initiative] was the first time in history that all of the more than two dozen stakeholders in the consultation have worked together over a longer period of time in order to develop a roadmap for the further development of our profession. "
A lasting legacy
In January 2019, ACA signed a contract with the National Center for Intergovernmental Contracts of the Council of State Governments and started a multi-year project to develop an intergovernmental contract focusing on the portability of consultant licenses. The project is still at an early stage, but its ultimate goal is to create a treaty that states could adopt to accept the qualifications of professional advisors approved in another state. Individual state licensing agencies could impose additional requirements such as a case law review or an FBI background check. However, the contract could prevent consultants from having to apply for a new license when moving – in some cases starting from scratch across state lines.
The creation of this project was facilitated by the foundation set up by the 20/20 Initiative, says Linde, who acts as the ACA's liaison to the Interstate Compact for portability project. She notes that the cohort uses LPC, the 20/20 consensus license title, in their work.
“The 20/20 project made it a lot easier for the compact project to reach an agreement about who we are and what we do. We didn't have to warm up years of work. This made it easier to get started and to consider other problems related to portability, ”says Linde.
Kaplan agrees, saying that the 20/20 initiative “provided both background and energy for ACA's national intergovernmental compact project. Many members of the ACA governing council referred to 20/20 when they approved the substantial amount of money needed to fund this project. If everything goes as planned, the Interstate Compact will make a major contribution to solving our longstanding license portability and cybercounseling problems [telebehavioral health]. "
(For more information on the compact project, see the article “Interstate Compact Plan Offers Hope for License Portability” at ct.counseling.org.)
20/20: In their own words
Today's consultation addressed some of the 20/20 participants: A vision for the future of the consultation, to reflect on the lasting effects of the initiative.
What thoughts would you like to share now that the 20/20 initiative is in the rearview mirror?
“The elegant premise that change creates change is so visible when we look back where we have been and where we are now. … I remember getting closer to my role as moderator – not to mention how daunting that role felt after Sam Gladding was asked by the Oversight Committee to finalize this "two year project" before 2020 hit – when that of an orchestra conductor. The 30+ people gathered were each soloists, and it was my job to help them form an ensemble – a fitting analogy for the project's mission.
“The delegates had to see themselves as a cohesive group that could only practice briefly together before the individual members would return to play in their home symphonies. At home, they then had to present this vision for the future of counseling to their organizations / affiliations in order to achieve 90% approval [the majority needed for consensus approval during 20/20] and adoption. Conducting was an honor for me. "- Kurt L. Kraus, LPC, 20/20 Moderator and Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program in the Department of Counseling at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
“I would like to emphasize that everyone – all 31 organizations – could be heard and that every voice had weight. No voice was more important than anyone else's.
"Sometimes I see the [20/20] definition of counseling for someone's email signature and I feel like we really made a difference. It's in textbooks, and we have a whole group of counselors out there trained on that definition. I've had these elevator speeches with people. It's nice to have some ready-made words to answer the question “What are you doing?” – Lynn Linde, Former President of ACA and current Chief Knowledge and Learning Officer
Why was it important to go through the 20/20 process?
“In some cases, due to our fragmentation as a profession, our profession has been excluded from major legislative initiatives, insurance reimbursements and the recognition of the effectiveness of the advice. By bringing all the players together [the 31 participating organizations] we were able to speak with one voice to the public and the government. In addition, we were able to dismantle fences between us and make the necessary connections to evaluate each other's contributions to the profession. – Perry C. Francis, LPC, 20/20 delegate to the American College Counseling Association and professor and counseling coordinator at Eastern Michigan University
Do you think the project has hit the mark now that we are in 2020?
"Yes and no. Yes: We see the fruits of our labor take root as licensing laws are rewritten, collaboration between organizations increases, and the consulting profession expands into a previously denied territory. CACREP and CORE eventually merged due in part to the 20/20 process.
“No: What I had hoped for as faster progress and greater unity has not been realized. For example, we're still struggling to get reimbursed with Medicare, and the process of hiring consultants for the US Department of Veterans' systems is painfully slow. By the time we got to the end of the 20/20 process, many of the leaders moved on to other issues and the momentum subsided. "- Perry C. Francis
“We did the tasks that were possible back then. I was proud of our decision to end the project when we did because the work really didn't end then. Like a therapeutic goal that cannot be fully judged as achieved or not achieved in the office, we had to let go, be patient, and watch as the vision of the consulting profession would be operationalized to fully unfold in real time. In 2020 I smiled every time I read a note about the work of everyone involved in the project. It was a cast of hundreds.
“The results are visible, the references to our work are numerous and the process led to a number of further steps. The development of a profession is associated with change – the work not done results from the work done. Since our profession is rooted in humanity and all of its complexities, it is safe to say that our work is always being rolled back. "
– Kurt L. Kraus
In your opinion, what was achieved with the 20/20 initiative: A vision for the future of consulting?
“Several positive things have happened in the past few years. First and foremost, all 50 states now have a [counselor] license, the last being California. Another advance was communication between states. There were times when states did not communicate with each other. Some states were exclusive rather than inclusive. Now there seems to be more acceptance between states.
“Another achievement is the uniformity of state requirements. Other countries meet the stricter requirements, for example 60 hours in a degree program. … As one person put it, [prior to 20/20,] going from state to state was more like going from one country to another. "- Charles Gagnon, LPC and Supervisor, member of the 20/20 Oversight Committee and former President of the AASCB
“The project brought advisory groups together in an apolitical and altruistic way. We have all worked for the good of the profession, what it could be. There was some disagreement, but there was [also] a lot of harmony, and when delegates were not together on one point, they worked constructively to reach consensus. I've never been in a better group in my life. It was a lot of hard work but it was worth it.
“I wish we could have achieved more, but since we only met in person once a year, we did well, and I think the consulting profession is better and stronger for 20/20.
“20/20 was a proactive project. Too often the advice was reactive. 20/20 changed the mindset and made effectiveness even more important professionally. I think the 20/20 spillover continues. "- Samuel T. Gladding, 20/20 moderator, former ACA president and professor of counseling at Wake Forest University
“The project produced many things. Firstly, the consensus definition for consulting, which helped us to standardize our profession. I believe the project was also a slowly evolving start to the inclusion talks. This may have been underpinned in our conversations about unifying the profession.
“While many years later it is [it is] funny how in 2020 we will be able to have conversations that are actually important if they relate to unity. I've found in the past that there may have been a breakthrough where it appeared like we'd given ourselves permission to participate in enriching conversations that further unify our advisory community. A few years ago I was able to lead a task force that provided a template for difficult dialogues. Amazingly, the current pandemic has forced our hand, and we are now bravely joining in the process.
“After all, although we are not where we want to be in the struggle for portability, we are making strategic progress in realizing this concept with the pursuit of an intergovernmental pact. The vision gave us flexibility, perhaps to find alternative ways to support counselors who want to relocate or start a practice in another state. "- S. Kent Butler, ACA President-elect, 20/20 Delegate to AMCD and Provisional Chief Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Officer and Professor of Consultant Education at the University of Central Florida
Which work remains untouched?
“The only thing that did not reach a 90% consensus [during 20/20] was the educational requirements as CACREP and CORE had not yet merged. If we had extended the task force for another two years, I believe that the adoption of the CACREP standards would have been consensual.
“There are many additional counseling problems that have been emerging under the surface for a number of years that a new multi-organizational task force should address. And many of these topics are internationally oriented. I suggested setting up a multinational working group [while I was ACA president] to deal with international counseling issues and priorities. [but it] was never prioritized. – Bradley T. Erford, Past ACA President, AARC 20/20 Delegate and member of the 20/20 Supervisory Committee; Director and Professor in the Advisory Program at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
“The consulting profession is constantly changing and there is still more to be done. It is certainly a next and ongoing important step to consider counselors as central mental health providers and reimbursed by the military, government and insurance companies. "- Samuel T. Gladding
What's next? Do you think the consulting profession should start a new strategic planning project to continue this work?
“An idea that was thrown around for future strategic planning lies in the area of concentrating on potential students [one of the seven points in the Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the Profession]: Development of a bachelor's degree in consultation. In contrast to other helping professions such as psychology and social work, there are no feeder programs in professional counseling. As a result, our students happen to find us. Many students who enjoy careers in professional counseling and would greatly benefit the clients they serve never hear about our programs. Exactly what a bachelor's degree in counseling looks like and how it will be implemented is for a future planning process that focuses on the counseling profession in 2030 and beyond. "- David Kaplan, 20/20 Administrative Coordinator and retired Chief Professional Officer of ACA
“I think the profession really has to take on the dynamic that began with the dismantling of systemic racism. In order to remain true to our code of ethics, we must consciously and consistently ensure that professional advisors do not cause harm. A very important addition to our next strategic plan must be targeted attempts to make our job more integrative, especially at all management levels of all ACA units.
“Each of us is accountable and should be a beacon for our students and colleagues to ensure that they are adequately trained and / or accountable for the work they do with their clients. … We must also be accountable to society and work to remove barriers that prevent justice for all. "- S. Kent Butler
31 advisory organizations took part in the 20/20 initiative. This photo courtesy of Samuel T. Gladding (kneeling in center) shows some of the delegates and other stakeholders who attended the first full 2006 meeting in Montréal during the ACA conference.
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Find out more
For more details on the 20/20 Initiative, its participants and achievements, please visit the ACA website at tinyurl.com/2020InitiativeACA.[19459003
In addition, three articles in the Journal of Counseling & Development were generated from the project:
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20/20 Area of activity for professional advice
Independent counseling practice comprises the provision of professional counseling services to individuals, groups, families, couples and organizations using recognized and established principles, methods, procedures and ethics of mental health counseling.
Counseling promotes mental health well-being, which includes achieving social, professional and emotional development over the entire lifespan as well as preventing and treating mental disorders and providing crisis interventions.
Counseling includes, but is not limited to, psychotherapy, diagnosis, assessment; Management of ratings, tests and assessments; Referral; und die Erstellung von Beratungsplänen für die Behandlung von Einzelpersonen, Paaren, Gruppen und Familien mit emotionalen, mentalen, Sucht- und körperlichen Störungen.
Die Beratung umfasst die Beratung und Programmevaluierung, die Programmverwaltung innerhalb und an Schulen und Organisationen sowie die Ausbildung und Überwachung von Praktikanten, Auszubildenden und vorlizenzierten professionellen Beratern durch anerkannte und etablierte Grundsätze, Methoden, Verfahren und Ethik der Berateraufsicht
Die Beratungspraxis umfasst keine Funktionen oder Praktiken, die nicht im Rahmen der beruflichen Aus- oder Weiterbildung liegen.
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Erinnerung an J. Barry Mascari
Jede Erwähnung der 20/20-Initiative wäre nicht angebracht, ohne die wichtigen Beiträge von J. Barry Mascari anzuerkennen, der im Mai im Alter von 71 Jahren verstorben ist. Mascari war von Anfang an Teil der Initiative. Teilnahme an ersten Diskussionen und Planungssitzungen als gewählter AASCB-Präsident. Er blieb während der gesamten 20/20-Initiative eng involviert.
„Barry wird immer als Vater von 20/20 bekannt sein: Eine Vision für die Zukunft der Beratung“, sagt David Kaplan, Verwaltungskoordinator der ACA-Mitarbeiter für 20/20. „Es war seine Idee, und er hat es ins Leben gerufen. Barry wird sehr vermisst, aber sein Vermächtnis, das Wachstum des Beratungsberufs zu katalysieren, geht weiter. “
Zum Zeitpunkt von Mascaris Tod gab ACA-CEO Richard Yep zu, wie maßgeblich er an dem 20/20-Projekt sowie an zahlreichen anderen Fortschritten im Beruf beteiligt war, einschließlich der Mitautorisierung des Beraterlizenzgesetzes in New Jersey.
"Seine unermüdliche Arbeit, die Portabilität von Lizenzen zu verbessern, seine Studenten zu betreuen und sich für den Beruf einzusetzen, führte teilweise zu seiner Auswahl als ACA-Fellow im Jahr 2019", sagte Yep.
Mascari, ein lizenzierter professioneller Berater und Beraterpädagoge an der Kean University in Union, New Jersey, war zusammen mit seiner Frau Jane M. Webber Autor des Buches Disaster Mental Health Counseling: Ein Leitfaden zur Vorbereitung und Reaktion von der ACA Foundation.
Lesen Sie mehr über Mascaris Leben und Erbe unter Counseling.org/aca-community/in-memoriam
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Bethany Bray ist eine leitende Autorin und Koordinatorin für soziale Medien bei Counseling Today. Kontaktieren Sie sie unter [email protected].
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Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.
