The Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) Leadership Academy is a presidential project created by Dr. Y. Barry Chung, SCP President for 2011-12.  The purpose of the Academy is to inspire, recruit, and train future leaders in counseling psychology.  Participants will attend a leadership training program, and be assigned mentors to complete leadership projects that they design.  Outcomes of the leadership projects will be presented at the American Psychological Association (APA) 2012 Annual Convention in Orlando, FL.  We anticipate that graduates of the Academy will in the future plan to serve on committees and run for elected offices in SCP, and possibly take on future leadership roles in APA, their places of employment, and society at large.

We invite counseling psychology students and early career psychologists (7 years or less since doctorate) who are interested in and committed to leadership in the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17) to apply for the SCP Leadership Academy. As part of Dr. Y. Barry Chung’s presidential theme, “The Future of Counseling Psychology” campaign, the Leadership Academy is designed for students and ECPs who are interested in leadership but have not yet held leadership positions in SCP. Training a diverse group of students and ECPs, the Leadership Academy will help develop the division’s next leaders and contribute to the future of counseling psychology.

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Northeastern University, as well as SCP presidential project funds, most of the training weekend costs will be covered for participants. By pairing future society leaders with past and current leaders, the Leadership Academy hopes to create opportunities for students and ECPs to take the next steps toward leadership in counseling psychology.

Components of the Leadership Academy

1. Participate in the leadership training weekend concurrent with the SCP Executive Board mid-winter meeting
2. Observe part of the Executive Board meeting and join in activities with the Executive Board
3. Design and conduct a project that addresses a current issue in the Society of Counseling Psychology (e.g., a project to increase ECP membership), with the help of a mentor who is a past or current leader in SCP.

Criteria for Participation
The Leadership Academy Special Task Group is seeking a diverse group of students and ECPs who meet the following criteria:

• Currently a student in a counseling psychology doctoral program or a counseling psychologist with completion of doctorate in the last seven years
• Interested in and committed to making a professional impact through leadership, and have some vision for such impact
• Interested in leadership skills and pursuing leadership positions in SCP and possibly in APA in the future
• Not yet elected to SCP offices, chaired SCP committees, or served in major leadership positions within APA (serving as board member or chairing committee or task force)
• Available to attend training beginning in the evening, Thursday, January 6th and ending around noon on Sunday, January 9th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Committed to complete a leadership project in 2012 to present at the August convention in Orlando, Florida

Application Procedure
To apply for the Leadership Academy, please submit the following materials to Linda Forrest at forrestl@uoregon.edu by October 15, 2011. Materials will only be accepted via email. Please send all materials in a single attachment. The file name should be your last name, e.g. “Bingham.doc”.

• A letter of interest. In this letter, please tell us a little bit about yourself and discuss why you would like to participate in the Academy. Indicate specifically what you would hope to gain from the Leadership Academy experience and how you would see yourself utilizing the Academy experience in your future work as a leader in SCP. Please also briefly discuss current/previous leadership experiences you have had and what you learned from them.
• A current curriculum vita.
• A letter of recommendation which specifically addresses your potential as a leader, your interpersonal skills, and your ability to complete projects successfully in a timely manner. If you are a student, please have a faculty member send this letter on your behalf. If you are an Early Career Psychologist, this letter could come from a colleague or mentor.

Learning Outcomes
From the weekend leadership training, participants will begin to fulfill these learning outcomes:

• Gain heightened self-awareness of leadership potential and identify next steps in development as a leader
• Learn about the structure and function of leadership positions in SCP
• Develop greater understanding of current issues facing SCP
• Conceptualize and implement a project to be completed and presented at the 2012 APA convention

Leadership Academy Special Task Group (STG)
Rosie Phillips Bingham, STG Co-Chair
Linda Forrest, STG Co-Chair
Candice Crowell
Katharine Hahn
Sandra Shullman
John Westefeld