American
Academy of Counseling Psychology
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ARCHIVE
Counseling The American Board of Counseling Psychology
(ABCoP) remains steadfast in our commitment to promote
excellence within the profession and in the practice of
counseling psychology. During the past year, we: (a)
continued to work with the ABPP Board of Trustees (BOT) in
the advancement of their agenda, (b) welcomed new members
into the organization, (c) continued our examination of the
diplomating process, and (d) initiated some discussion of
the long term growth and viability of the organization. ABCoP continued to work in concert with the ABPP BOT
by providing input and consultation on the various projects
and concerns which they addressed. Some of the projects for
which our input was solicited included: (a) reviewing and
critiquing a BOT generated document entitled: Standards for
Specialty Boards, Candidacy, and Examinations, (b) examining
the relationship between various credentialing organizations
such as the National Register, (c) taking a look at the exam
activities of the various boards, (d) recertification, and
(e) financial plans for the specialty boards. We've enjoyed
a good relationship with the BOT and look forward to our
continued collaboration. For example, as the BOT modifies
its bylaws, ABCoP will move in concert with those
revisions. We are especially excited about working with and
supporting Dr. Ted Packard, President-Elect of the BOT Dr.
Packard has been a very hard working and diligent member of
ABCoP, and it's nice to know that we will be able to
continually seek his counsel and guidance as we grow and
mature as an organization. In 1997, ABCoP welcomed eight (8) new diplomates into
the organization, Drs. Jeffrey Pollard (Granville, Ohio),
Roy Crouse (Radford, Virginia), Paul Polychronis
(Warrenberg, Missouri), and Paul Byrd (Provo, Utah) were
invited to join after having successfully passed the May 17,
1997 oral examination held at Duke University in Durham,
North Carolina. Our most recent oral examination was held
this past October 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota and
resulted in the Board extending invitations to join to Drs.
Ina Carlson (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Jerry Duncan (Tulsa,
Oklahoma), Bruce Hartman (South Orange, New Jersey), and
David McPhee (Phoenix, Arizona). Each of our new members
brings the sorts of training and experiences from which the
larger organization will surely benefit. The board has tentatively scheduled the next oral
examination for late April, early May, 1998 and two (2)
candidates already have been approved to sit for the exam.
With several other well qualified candidates "in the
pipeline," we are looking to include at least 3-4 additional
Spring, 1998 examinees. ABCoP is also pleased to announce the election of Dr.
Norma Simon as a new board member, Dr. Tom Skovholt as
Secretary/Treasurer, and Dr. Hank Robb as President-Elect.
ABCoP is looking to fill a vacancy on the board that will be
created by the August, 1998 departure of Dr. Bert Lucas,
current Chair of the Oral Examination Committee. Dr. Lucas
is a valued member of our board whose presence and energy
will be sorely missed. Announcement of his replacement will
be forthcoming. Finally, Dr. Jim Clack rotated off ABCoP as
Past President this past August, 1997. His departure left a
seven member board, which is consistent with our original
plan of board member composition. A project about which we are most excited involves our
further revision of the diplomating process. In our ongoing
attempt to develop a process that is fair, qualitatively
sound, and that reflects current professional realities,
we've devoted considerable time to taking a critical look at
the steps involved in pursuing the counseling psychology
diplomates Our efforts have resulted in a nearly completed
document entitled: Alternative Procedures for Credentialing,
Work Sample, and Oral Examination of the American Board of
Counseling Psychology. The document will outline (a) the
process of being identified as having appropriate
credentials for admission to the work sample review phase of
the ABPP process, (b) the materials submitted in the work
sample phase, (c) the number and role of the work sample
reviewers, and (d) the materials submitted during the oral
examination. Essentially, the document acknowledges our need
for the diplomating process to feel more user friendly, yet
not compromised. The revisions, which we hope to introduce
formally in January, 1998, provide the bases for making the
process sufficiently more flexible for candidates at various
levels of professional development. For example, we have
developed one set of work sample criteria for applicants
with 3-14 years of post-doctoral experience, and a second
for those with 15 or more. We are hopeful that one of our
1998 examinee classes will be able to take advantage of our
new system. While the diplomating process is one area to which
ABCoP devotes considerable time, we have also accepted the
responsibility to serve as a catalyst for discussion of
issues which are germane to the larger counseling psychology
organization. The growth and development of our
organization, including its establishment in the minds of
our constituency as a respected and viable entity, is of
paramount concern to all of us. During this past year, our
concerns have stimulated discussions about the need to
increase counseling psychology diplomats membership. In the
very immediate future, we will add substance to these
discussions by developing a very specific strategic plan to
infuse some "new blood" into the organization. Collaboration
with the American Academy of Counseling Psychology (ACoP) to
bring the plan to fruition will be encouraged strongly. We
are committed to set in motion a process that will allow the
organization to attract, recruit, and retain a varied group
of counseling psychologists into the ABPP family. In addition to increasing the number of counseling
psychology diplomates, there is a glaring need in our
organization to diversify with respect to gender, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, and physical challenge. We also have a
strong desire to grow in the areas of professional expertise
and background. Over the years, counseling psychology has
become a more diverse profession and one that has ventured
into many professional realms. Furthermore, our applied and
research based contributions to these new areas have been
well received and, in some cases, have established us as
pioneers and leaders in the field. The profile of our
organization, however, has yet to reflect the richness that
seems to be characteristic of the larger body of counseling
psychologists. If we are to be seen as viable and relevant,
we will need to develop a profile that mirrors the profile
of the larger body of our professional colleagues. Our goal is to stimulate a process for developing an
organization with which our professional colleagues will
want to affiliate. This translates to our need to create an
organization that, as a matter of course, behaviorally
demonstrates its commitment to diversity in the broad
context. ABCoP is committed to actualizing this aspect of
our growth agenda and will work in concert with the Academy
to make our goals a reality. Updates regarding the specifics
of our ambitious but very doable project will be provided in
upcoming issues of The Diplomate. William D. Parham |