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Chapter 10: Professional Organizations and Membership
Multiple Choice
What is the purpose of professional organizations?
a. To provide and enforce ethical guidelines
b. To reflect the values and direction of the field
c. To provide members with professional development activities
d. To hold annual national conventions
Whose mission is to enhance quality of life in society by promoting the development
of professional counselors and promoting respect for human dignity and diversity
through counseling?
a. American Counseling Association
b. Chi Sigma Iota
c. Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
d. American Personnel and Guidance Association
What decade has had the most profound impact on counselors?
a. 1990’s
b. 1970’s
c. 1950’s
d. 2000’s
Who created the first “sound code of ethics for counselors”?
a. ACA
b. CACREP
c. APGA
d. Chi Sigma Iota
Following the creation of the first code of ethics for counselors, what soon changed
in the profession?
a. Dramatic increase in counseling graduate programs
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b. Counselors began receiving supervision
c. Licensure regulations were created
d. Professionalism and membership increased
Why was CACREP formed?
a. To refine and standardize counselor education programs
b. To revise and update the counselor ethics code
c. To create requirements for licensure
d. To enhance professionalism and legitimize the field
APGA changed its name to _____________________________ in 1983.
a. Chi Sigma Iota
b. Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs
c. American Counseling Association
d. American Association for Counseling and Development
Why did APGA change its name?
a. To reflect the changing demographics of society
b. To reflect the changing demographics of its membership
c. To include all counseling specialties
d. To be more concise
Which of the following factors did not lead to a rapid increase in AACD divisions?
a. Increase in culturally diverse clients
b. New legislation affecting the counseling profession
c. Increased employment opportunities for counselors
d. Change in counselor demographics
Why were region organizations and state level branches created within the larger
ACA organization?
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a. For members to feel more connected in a large organization
b. To allow ACA to be more effectively managed
c. Provide membership services that are unique to particular regions or
states
d. To provide members an efficient way to communicate with the larger
organization
How many ACA divisions are there in total?
a. 3
b. 10
c. 19
d. 32
What is a difference between regional organizations and specialty divisions?
a. Regional organizations have physical locations, whereas specialty divisions
do not
b. Specialty divisions only allow membership to individuals that have
expertise in that particular area
c. Regional organizations provide leadership and resources to members,
whereas specialty divisions do not
d. Specialty divisions are more elite and only allow membership to
experienced counselors
What is Chi Sigma Iota?
a. A division of ACA
b. A regional organization of ACA
c. International honor society in counseling
d. Counseling education accrediting organization
Who was the founding president of Chi Sigma Iota?
a. Sweeney
b. Pederson
c. Patterson
d. Rogers
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Which of the following is not part of the Chi Sigma Iota application process?
a. Endorsement of a local chapter affiliated with a counseling degree program
b. Two letters of recommendation from a graduate counseling program or
counseling supervisors
c. Enrollment or graduation from a counseling program with a 3.5 GPA or
higher
d. Membership dues
Counseling professionals and training programs can be endorsed by all of the
following except:
a. Accredited
b. Certified
c. Licensed
d. Approved
How are certifications obtained?
a. Community or academic training
b. Supervision
c. Graduate training programs
d. Application to ACA
Which of the following endorsement is granted to an academic program, rather than
an individual?
a. Approval
b. Licensure
c. Accreditation
d. Certification
___________________ grants licenses and oversees and governs professional counseling.
a. CACREP
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b. State boards
c. ACA
d. Chi Sigma Iota
Which of the following reasons is not one of the important purposes of accreditation
for graduate programs?
a. Student enrollment
b. Provides minimum quality standards of training
c. Ensures student competence in the field
d. State and private funding
The national accreditation body for counseling programs is:
a. CACREP
b. APGA
c. ACA
D. AACD
Which of the following is not true regarding accreditation through CACREP?
a. CACREP is determined by each program’s faculty/university or state
b. Is required to be considered a legitimate graduate counseling program
c. Granted after a stringent review of multiple program components
d. Payment of fees
The __________________________ is part of the accreditation process that entails an
evaluation of the program’s resources, objectives, strengths, and limitations with the
intention of improving program effectiveness.
a. Training portfolio
b. Site visit
c. Program evaluation
d. Self-assessment
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_________________________ provides in depth reviews of program related functions,
coursework, facilities, and student-faculty interactions during the accreditation
process.
a. Site visit
b. Self-assessment
c. Training portfolio
d. Program evaluation
All of the following is true of CACREP except:
a. All state licensure boards require an individual to hold a CACREP
accredited degree
b. CACREP grants accredited status in a variety of master’s counseling
programs, such as addictions counseling and school counseling
c. Prospective counseling students are increasingly seeking CACREP
accredited programs to attend
d. Attending a CACREP accredited program may help avoid training,
supervision, or credentialing problems in the future
What is the debate that the counseling field has experienced over the past decade?
a. Whether ACA should take on CACREP responsibilities
b. Whether all counseling programs should conform to CACREP guidelines
c. Whether counseling reflects a unified profession or different and distinct
professions
d. Whether counselors are equipped enough to work with an increasingly
diverse society
Which of the following are implications of the debate of whether counseling reflects
a unified profession or different and distinct professions?
a. Counseling-related organizations unification or competitiveness of
memberships, identities, and resources
b. The identity of professional counselors
c. State licensures requirements and portability
d. All of the above
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What is the purpose of the 20/20 – A Vision for the Future of Counseling?
a. Create innovative methods to teach counselors the necessary knowledge
and skills needed for the profession
b. Disseminate information to professional organizations
c. Provide accreditation and licensure standards
d. Identify needs of the counseling profession
While it is important to develop a paradigm that identifies core commonalities of the
counseling profession, it is also important to emphasize:
a. Counselors have specialized areas of training
b. Counselors have more differences than similarities between specialties
c. Counselors should have expertise in multiple specialties
d. All of the above
What is one of the most important benefits of organizational dues?
a. Provides legitimacy to organizations’ members
b. Provides governmental recognition
c. Provides means to fulfill organizations’ missions
d. Provides opportunities to market and advertise the organization and
profession
True/False
The American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA) was originally a
professional interest network focusing on bringing counseling-related groups
together.
One implication of the growth of licensure in counseling was an increased number
of counseling graduate programs.
CACREP is a relatively new affiliate organization that is still trying to set forth its
identity.
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The APGA changed its name to be inclusive of all subdivisions of ACA.
American Association for Counseling and Development changed its name to the
American Counseling Association.
ACA is the world’s largest association exclusively representing professional
counselors in a wide range of practice settings.
Chi Sigma Iota was one of the first counseling organization founded in the 1960’s.
Chi Sigma Iota is an international honor society.
ACA establishes guidelines that must be followed by accredited counseling
programs.
Certifications are sufficient to allow individuals to practice professional counseling.
Certifications are required for professional counselors to obtain prior to licensure.
Accreditation allows a professional to legally use the specific title of licensed
professional counselor.
Some examples of CACREP guideline requirements for graduate programs are
related to number of semester credit, course content, and knowledge/skill
requirements for students.
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Multiple accreditation bodies are available in professional counseling and it is
graduate programs’ responsibility to select which accreditation they seek.
Some benefits of attending a CACREP accredited graduate program including
knowing that appropriate knowledge and skill are included and that the program is
stable professionally and financially.
Some graduate counseling programs require coursework and supervision
requirements beyond the minimum CACREP standards.
If an individual needs to transfer from one CACREP graduate program to another,
the coursework is likely not transferrable since CACREP requirements differ from
program to program.
One debate in the counseling has been whether the field reflects one unified
profession or multiple distinct professions with a common core.
Counseling is defined as a professional relationship that empowers diverse
individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education,
and career goals.
Short-Answer/Essay
What were the original four organizations that became part of the American
Personnel and Guidance Association?
Provide a brief history of the development and progress of the American Counseling
Association.
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Answer –
List the benefits available to members of the American Counseling Association.
What is the difference between certification, licensure, and accreditation in
professional counseling?
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What are advantages of CACREP accreditation?