Dear counseling psychology students,

I want to introduce myself as the new President of the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) in 2011-2012. I am writing to invite you to participate in SCP and to become a member of the Student Affiliates of Seventeen (SAS) if you are not a member already.

There are a number of reasons for joining SAS:

1. SAS is an integral part of SCP. Most SCP members begin their membership with SAS where they develop their professional identity as a counseling psychologist, and network with professionals and other students. Many people find life-long close friendships with people they meet in SAS and SCP.

2. As a SAS member, you gain access to a number of resources such as awards and grants, The Counseling Psychologist (the official journal of SCP), SAS and SCP newsletters, and lower subscription and registration rates for publications and conferences. Join the SCP listserv div17discuss@lists.apa.org if you have not done so. There you will find a lot of useful information, dialogue, announcements, and job postings.

3. In addition to leadership positions in SAS, most of the SCP governing positions have designated seats for SAS members (e.g., Executive Board, committees, and special task groups). Please look out for announcements from SCP and SAS when these opportunities become available, usually at the beginning of the Fall semester (i.e., now).

My presidential theme for 2011-2012 is “The Future of Counseling Psychology Campaign.” I created three projects as part of this campaign, all of which welcome your participation. The first one is the SCP Leadership Academy, established to inspire and develop new leaders in counseling psychology. Students and early career professionals are encouraged to apply. If selected, you will participate in leadership training in January 2012, in conjunction with the SCP Executive Board midwinter meeting in Ft. Lauderdale. You will be paired with a current or past SCP leader as your mentor, and will design your own leadership project to be completed by, and presented at, the 2012 APA Annual Convention in Orlando, FL. Please check out details of the Leadership Academy and application process on the Division 17 website.

The second project is a video campaign for counseling psychology, in the form of a contest. Guidelines will be provided for submission of short videos that showcase counseling psychology (e.g., what is counseling psychology, how counseling psychology is related to and different from other mental health professions, why one should become a counseling psychologist, the impact of counseling psychology). I know that many students are very savvy with video technologies, and I encourage you to submit videos to the competition. Winners will receive an award, and their videos will be showcased at the 2012 APA Convention and the SCP website. More details will be available soon.

My third presidential project is Globalization of Counseling Psychology. I have charged a special task group (STG) to coordinate on four workgroups composed of international colleagues. Please check out the STG’s website to learn more about the workgroups and how to participate.

As the future of counseling psychology, you are encouraged to communicate with me and other Executive Board members regarding your ideas, concerns, comments, and suggestions. I hope to hear from you soon (y.chung@neu.edu). Wish you a productive and enjoyable semester.

Y. Barry Chung, Ph.D.
President, Society of Counseling Psychology (American Psychological Association Division 17)
Professor and Chair
Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology
Bouve College of Health Sciences
Northeastern University
404 International Village
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115-5000

Phone: 617-373-8120
Fax: 617-373-8892
Email: y.chung@neu.edu