COUN5223 U3D1
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Capella University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
5223
Subject
Health Science
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by MateTeamAntelope70
Professional Organizations in Counseling and You
If you have not already done so, complete the activity, Research Professional Counseling Organizations and Competencies, in this unit's studies. Then, in your post, address the following: Support your ideas by citing your sources using APA style.
Describe one division of the ACA that interests you. Include the cost of joining, membership benefits, activities, services to members, and current issues.
One division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) that interests me would be the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA). “The AMHCA’s mission is to use education, advocacy, licensing, and professional development to improve the profession of mental health counseling,” (Erford, 2018). Erford (2018) continues to express the advocacy for the client-access to qualify services within the health care industry. The cost of joining the AMHCA would be $147, along with a state fee (American Mental Health Counselor Association, 2018). Louisiana is not a participating chapter, so the state fee, if there is one, is unknown. The benefits of joining this fine association would include discounted professional liability insurance, free access to continuing education credits, free listing in the membership directory, discounts on continuing education events, on-demand continuing education offerings, networking opportunities, keeping public policy supporting me, my profession, and clients, access to the AMHCA community forum, as well as issues of The Advocate Magazine
and the Journal of Mental Health Counseling
(American Mental Health Counselor Association, 2018). Some activities/event that the AMHCA are hosting is a Fall Summit that is promoting healing for
the community, clients, and counselors along with another event that is webinar based that is titled “The Need for Culturally Competent Treatment: African American Women & Depression.” The services that the AMHCA provides to their members are “holistic and strength-
based in working with individuals, couples, families, and groups,” (American Mental Health Counselor Association, 2018). There are no current issues that AMHCA are handling, although the most recent was opening the comment section to the revisions of the Bylaws of the AMHCA.
Post your ACA region and the link for your state counseling association. What is the cost for you to join and be a member of these associations?
My ACA region is in the Southern region, https://www.lacounseling.org/lca/default.asp. Louisiana’s cost to join and be a member of their counseling association would be $350.00 per year (Louisiana Counseling, 2021). Provide the necessary requirements for your entrance into the Chi Sigma Iota honor society. After reviewing Capella's Chi Sigma Iota Chapter Web site, what benefits do you see? Are you interested in joining when you are eligible?
The necessary requirements for entrance into the Chi Sigma Iota honor society are for students in counseling programs who have completed at least one full semester of study and maintained a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale, must receive a letter of invitation to be eligible for join, and
must complete the New Member Application and pay any fees (Chi Sigma Iota, 2018). After I reviewed Capella’s Chi Sigma Iota (Chi Upsilon Chi) Chapter website, the benefits would lead us members to great professionalism, recognition of personal excellence, professional development, access to plenty of reliable resources, create a rich development of leadership, along with awards of excellence and high achievement (Chi Sigma Iota, 2018). I would be interested in joining since it seems to go well with my master’s program, however, I am only 2 quarters into my master’s program and would love more information on joining chapters and becoming familiar with what chapters are and how they can benefit me and my future.
What benefits do you see in belonging to one or more of the counseling profession's associations for your future practice?
The benefits that I see in belonging to one/some of the counseling profession’s associations for my future practice are continuing to better myself by being around people who maintain the same interest for the population around us, staying up to date with new researches and data about the population, and having recognition for my motivation of bettering my professional career.
References
American Mental Health Counselors Association. (2018).
About us
. Retrieved from
http://www.amhca.org/?page=facts
Chi Sigma Iota. (2018). Membership - chi sigma iota. Retrieved from https://www.csi-
net.org/general/custom.asp?page=membership
Erford, B. T. (2018).
Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations
(3rd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Louisiana Counseling. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.lacounseling.org/lca/default.asp
Response Guidelines
Respond to at least two other learners in a manner that advances the discussion in a meaningful way. Respond to one learner whose interests in a division or region are the same as yours, and one learner with different interests. Your response is expected to be substantive in nature and reference the assigned readings, as well as the Web sites for the organizations discussed. Reference your sources using standard APA guidelines. (For guidance on the proper way to cite information from the Internet, review the APA Style and Format information, linked in the Resources.)
Response #1 to Mary Winter:
Hello Mary!
What an interesting organization to be interested in, I enjoyed reading your discussion!
Before today, I have never head of the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities. I’m glad to have read the information that you provided; I will most definitely research this society on my own to gain more knowledge about it. What sparked your interest in this society?
You said your degree is in Clinical Psychology; when you are ready to join a chapter, what chapter would you join instead of Capella’s Chi Sigma Iota chapter? Would it be Psi Chi like you mentioned? In undergrad, I was invited to join Psi Chi, sadly I passed on it because of 2 reasons: 1) at the time, I wasn’t really interested in joining mainly because I wasn’t set on what my master’s degree was going to be in, so I didn’t want to join it and it end up not benefiting my future plans, and 2) I had a lack of knowledge about joining organizations how beneficial they can be to our futures. With the help of our professors and research, I’m sure we’ll soon gain much knowledge about how beneficial organizations can be to our careers. Best,
Callie Desormeaux
Response #2 to Noelle Doty:
Hello Noelle!
I enjoyed reading your post about your interest in joining the ACAC! What sparked your interest in joining? So far, it seems that majority of the Organizations that I’ve read up on all include most of the same benefits: professional tools, education, advocacy, a community, and discounts. While that can be a good thing, I find that there is a lack of variety that may hinder the interest in joining an organization. With the benefits almost being the same and the annual fees of being a member, someone may choose to pick the cheapest organization, rather than one that really interests them,
just to gain recognition. That may not be the case, but that was just a thought that popped up.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
I feel the same as you when it comes down to joining a chapter; although I have read up on many, I still feel as if I’m missing so much information and would rather from an active member of an organization their thoughts of being a part of the chapter.
I hope one day, all of us counselors in training find an organization that best fits us and pushes us
to provide our most excellence service and dedication to the profession.
Best,
Callie Desormeaux