So, you've recently received your Ph.D., you're trying to get your career going, you want to have a life beyond work (which you missed terribly in graduate school). How does the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) fit into your plans?

When I first graduated, I gravitated toward the SCP as a place to stay connected with my grad school cohort, my internship class, and my professors. My friends from graduate school and internship had scattered across the country and were in a wide variety of professional settings, so maintaining these connections gave me a national network of counseling psychologists, some of whom were primarily researchers and some of whom were primarily practitioners. I appreciated the insight this network provided me as my own experience represented only a slice of what counseling psychologists do.

The SCP is a volunteer organization, and the best way to get to know people on a more substantial level is to work together. Almost immediately after graduation, I became the Newsletter Editor for the Section for the Advancement of Women (SAW). This was a marvelous opportunity to learn about everything that was going on within the Section and connect with the leadership of the SAW. I went on to become the Membership Chair of SAW and the Diversity Chair of what is now the Section for LGBT Issues (SLGBTI). These roles helped me stay connected with counseling psychologists in between annual APA meetings, and they helped me to develop leadership skills in very supportive environments. I encourage you to consider joining a Section or Special Interest Group (SIG). These organizations reside within the SCP, and they focus on particular professional settings, issues, or identities. The SCP is a large organization, and the Section and SIGs provide an opportunity to find a professional home within our larger (and sometimes overwhelming) membership. If you'd like to join or volunteer, contact the Chair of a Section or SIG or committee that interests you.

Congratulations on your entry as a professional in the field of counseling psychology! Please let me know if there is anything the SCP can do to better serve your needs.

Sincerely,
Tania Israel, Ph.D.
SCP President, 2010- 2011
Associate Professor, Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, UCSB