Leadership and Advocacy

CACREP 2024 Leadership and Advocacy Core Competencies

a. Theories and skills of leadership
b. Leadership and leadership development in professional organizations
c. Leadership in counselor education programs
d. Knowledge of accreditation standards and processes
e. Leadership, management, and administration in counseling organizations
and other institutions
f. Leadership roles and strategies for responding to crises and disasters
g. Strategies of leadership in consultation
h. Current topical and political issues in counseling and how those issues
affect the daily work of counselors and the counseling profession
i. Role of counselors and counselor educators advocating on behalf of the profession and professional identity
j. Models and competencies for advocating for clients at the individual, system, and policy levels
k. Strategies of leadership in relation to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice issues
l. Culturally sustaining leadership and advocacy practices
m. Ethical leadership and advocacy practices
n. Role of self-care in advocacy and leadership

Leadership and Advocacy Artifacts

Graded Discussion Posts – Leadership & Advocacy Course – meets A-N

Chi Sigma Lata Membership Invitation – meets B

Counseling as a Business Presentation – meets D

Social Justice Plan – meets K, L, M, N

Counselor Leadership Competencies

Maintained LPC in the State of Wisconsin since 2008 (Leadership #6)

Membership of ACA since 2017 (Leadership #2)

Membership of NCACES since 2022 (Leadership #2)

Membership of CSI since 2023 (Leadership #2)

Membership of EMDRIA since 2022 (Leadership #2)

Membership of European Branch of ACA (Leadership #2)

Advocated for Counseling Compact in WI as part of the WCA Board (Leadership #1)

Attended WCA Annual Conferences in 2022 and 2023 (Leadership #3)

EMDRIA Annual Conference -2022 (Leadership #3)

Attended and presented at Law & Ethics in Counseling Conference in 2024 (Leadership #3 and 5)

Attended and presented at Research Week Conference online at Liberty University – 2024 (Leadership #3 and 5)

Attended and presented at Mental Health Summit online at Liberty University – 2024 (Leadership #3 and 5)

Participated in LU Send Study Abroad Trips with qualitative research studies embedded in each trip (Kosovo and Germany) as a student leader in 2023 and 2024. (Leadership #1 and 4)

Manuscript submitted for publication in a peer reviewed counseling Journal (Leadership #4)

Leadership and Advocacy Reflection

As a leader in the counseling field, I have further developed my reach throughout this program by becoming more engaged in professional organizations, owning and selling a counseling practice, and learning to make professional presentations and conduct sound research.

I have found great value from maintaining my professional memberships in the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), and EMDRIA (EMDR International Association) for many years. In the past two years, I have become involved in the European Branch of the ACA and have learned so much about what is transpiring in the counseling field in other parts of the world. The publications and trainings have contributed to my professional growth and identity and have been instrumental in who I am as a counselor and counselor educator today.

I have maintained my license as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Wisconsin since 2008. Through this licensure, I have been able to work in private practice as well as state and county government spaces as a licensed mental health professional. As the Graduate Student Chair for the Wisconsin Counseling Association for two years, I was able to participate in advocacy efforts related to the inter-state counseling compact. I was also able to engage students across the state and help increase student membership significantly. I assisted in putting on two state annual conferences and coordinated student poster presentations both years.

I have had several opportunities to make scholarly presentations about our Germany research at the annual Law and Ethics Conference, Research Week and the Mental Health summit at Liberty University and speaking at a CSI meeting about “The Business Side of Counseling. I have learned that although I get somewhat nervous before speaking, once I am into it, I truly enjoy it. Also, I have been told I am quite good at it!

I am in the process of publishing two manuscripts from study abroad trips I have taken to Germany and Kosovo. I worked with a team of PhD students and professors on each trip to conduct qualitative research regarding the impact of cultural immersion experiences on counselor growth, professional identity, and cultural awareness. I have one publication that has been submitted to a professional journal that is currently being reviewed. It is a systematic literature review regarding online clinical supervision that I conducted with a team of PhD students and two professors. This was a great experience, and I learned so much about how to conduct a systematic literature review from start to finish. I also feel great about contributing to the field in this way.

As I complete my dissertation, titled “The Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Clinical Supervision of Counselors in Training”, I have extended my ability to conduct sound research and work collaboratively with my dissertation committee to produce something valuable that also displays the excellence of Christ. I look forward to continuing to conduct research as a leader in the field of Counselor Education.