By Chioma Anah, EdD
I had the pleasure of attending the ACA 2015 Conference & Expo from March 12-15 in Orlando, Florida. What an awesome and inspirational experience! Here are some of the highlights:
The Conference was held at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Hotel, Orlando, and what a gorgeous hotel it was, filled with incredible artwork:
Keynote Speakers:
Mariel Hemingway- Friday, March 13th
Dr. Richard Balkin and Dr. Jeffrey Kottler- Saturday, March 14th.
Actress, Mariel Hemingway- About counselors…”You create a safe space for people to find themselves.”
Dr. Richard Balkin and Dr. Jeffrey Kottler- The Power of Relational Connection! “Counseling is a professional relationship…counseling promotes wellness…stories are what creates relationships.”
“100% of what we do in counseling is holding and honoring [the stories of our clients] and helping them see a different path…and promote change that lasts a lifetime”- Kotter, ACA Conference 2015
Education Sessions
Friday, March 13, 2015
- Kara Lauren Carnes-Holt, Kristen K. Meany-Walen, Andy Felton-Express Yourself: Creative Strategies for Counseling Supervision
- Dr. Gerald Corey & Dr. Jamie Bludworth- Becoming a Professional Counselor. “As counselors, self-care is our responsibility…take responsibility for your own self-care.”
- Dr. Michelle A. Mitcham, Dr. Beverly J. O’Bryant, Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji, Dr. Angela D. Coker, Dr. Rhonda M. Bryant, Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Dr. Tarrell Awe Agatha Portman, Dr. Wendy Greenidge, and Dr. Norma L. Day-Vines- Courageous Conversations with Women of Color in Counselor Education: Surviving and Thriving.
“Stay focused…your work will speak for itself.”- Dr. Day-Vines, 2015 ACA Conference
Education Sessions
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Dr. Justin D. Lauka- A Social Justice Approach to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. “Social Justice- is a process of acknowledging systemic societal inequalities and oppression while acting responsibly to eliminate the systemic oppression in the forms of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and other biases in clinical practice both individual and distributive levels” (Odegard & Vereen, 2010, p. 130).
Dr. David Kaplan and Art Terrazas- Keeping Up with the Counseling Profession: Current Issues on the National Level
Dr. Courtland Lee, Dr. Vivian Lee, & Dr. Dione Mifsud- Counselors as Global Citizens: Developing Transcultural Counseling Competency
“Transculturally competent counselors are globally literate human beings who view themselves as global citizens who can think and act locally and globally” (Courtland Lee, ACA 2015 Conference).
Dr. Derald Wing Sue- Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Mental Health Practice
“Microaggressions are constant and continual without an end date” (Derald Wing Sue, ACA 2015 Conference).
More pictures from the conference:
Dr. Anah