Some of you might remember the posts I have written about the need for a mentoring program within the ACA. I remember my frustration trying to email and call various divisions within the ACA in my desperate attempts to find a way to connect with a mentor. I learned in time that while the need for a mentoring program for our grad students was great, I was not alone in my search or willingness to get something started. It just so happened that I attended a presentation on graduate student concerns at the Texas Counseling Association conference which provided me with an opportunity to share my thoughts and frustrations about the lack of mentoring with none other but Dr. Heather Trepal, the head of the ACA Graduate Student Committee.
We kept in touch and talked about ways in which we could go about to set something in motion and she came up with the idea of creating the ACA Mentoring Taskforce. Along with other counselor educators and graduate students, we have since worked on getting the Mentoring Program off the ground.
I am pleased to let everyone know that we made it! The Mentoring Program is in motion and all ACA members interested in entering a mentoring relationship are encouraged to apply. Below, you can find the official announcement for the program:
Join the new ACA Mentoring Program!
The purpose of the new ACA Mentoring Program is connect ACA members who are graduate counseling students and post-degree, neophyte counselors with ACA members who are experienced senior counselors, and to facilitate formal mentoring relationships in order to promote personal and professional growth and development. Pairs will be matched based upon on each party’s interests, location, and personal attributes. The duration of the mentoring relationship is one year or dependent upon the dynamic and needs of the mentor-mentee relationship. The styles of communication used may include face-to-face, or electronic (e.g., skype, phone, email). The ACA Graduate Student Committee Mentoring Program Coordinators will check in with the pairs on a bi-yearly basis email, to determine the status of the relationship, progress and challenges.
If you are interested in more information about the ACA Mentoring Program or would like an application packet to sign up as either a mentor or mentee, please email Mentoring Program at mentoring@counseling.org
Also, the ACA Graduate Student Committee will hold an event (presentation and round table discussions) at the ACA Conference in San Francisco. If you would like to attend and learn more about the program and sign up, please join us!
Name of event: The ACA Mentoring Program: An Introduction and Welcome for Mentors and Mentees
Day: Saturday, March 24, 2012
Time: 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Location: Hilton San Francisco hotel: Room- Golden Gate 5
Diana C. Pitaru is a counselor-in-training, and a student at Walden University. Her theoretical interests are in Gestalt, Art, and Narrative therapy while focusing on multicultural issues and eating disorders.