Professional organizations and accreditation bodies in counseling practice

Professional Organizations, Divisions and Accrediting Bodies Involved in Being a Professional Counsellor

American Counselling Association

The American Counselling Association (ACA) is a not-for-profit, academic and professional organization committed to the development of the counselling profession. It is the largest association in the world serving over 56,000 counsellors. ACA offers powerful and credible content as well as support to counselling professionals (American Counseling Association, 2016).

Membership Benefits

ACA provides exclusive members-only discounts for professional liability insurance through the Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO). Some of the member benefits are a special discounted rate on Home insurance and auto insurance from Liberty Mutual. ACA offers its members great benefit from a Fortune 100 company that protects millions of individuals in America. Members also get discounts on prescription, imaging and lab services; personal and home insurance products; and discounts from top hotel, credit cards, and travel industries among others (American Counseling Association, 2016).

American School Counsellor Association (ASCA)

This association supports the efforts of school counsellors involved in assisting students to concentrate on academic, emotional/social and career development. ASCA offers professional development, research, advocacy, publications as well as other resources to professional school counsellors all over the world (American School Counselor Association, 2016).

American Mental Health Counsellor Association (AHMCA)

AMHCA is the top national organization for licensed medical mental health counsellors. The association offers the backbone of resources and skills required by medical mental health counsellors to succeed in the world today (American Mental Health Counselor Association, 2016).

Membership Benefits

Members receive exclusive discounts on webinars as well as continuing academic programs and several other free programs initiated by AMHCA. Members also get the chance to converse and interact with fellow medical mental health counsellors across the world, with the help of AMHCA's community discussions site. Additionally, members get access to data from AMHCA publications. They also receive discounts on shipping costs, 'Mental Health Weekly', and 'Today Counsellor' websites among others (American Mental Health Counselor Association, 2016).

Council for the Accreditation of Counselling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

CACREP offers leadership and supports excellence in professional preparation via the accreditation of counselling and other associated programs. It is dedicated to the development of procedures and standards that reflect the need of an intricate, diverse, and dynamic society (Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2014).

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)

This is a not-for-profit organization. The main objectives of the organization are to develop and supervise a national system of certification, to recognize the counselors that have voluntarily searched for and got certification, and to keep a register of such counselors (National Board for Certified Counselors, 2016).

Benefits

Members have access to low-cost highly valued liability insurance through Lockton Affinity. They are also enabled to market themselves through the certification and can utilize NBCC certification marks on their business cards, websites, and commercials. Other benefits include a free 6-month listing in the Therapy Directory and the chance for participating in free webinars provided by the NBCC Foundation among others (National Board for Certified Counselors, 2016).

State Dept. of Education

The mission of this department is to encourage student success and preparation for international competitiveness through promoting academic excellence and guaranteeing equal access. The department has 4,400 employees who are committed to developing policies on federal financial help for learning, and the distribution and monitoring of these funds among other responsibilities (U.S. Department of Education, 2016).