07/01/2024

PCA President Welcome

Hello PCA members!

My name is Dr. Eric Owens and I am humbly beginning my term as President of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association. I am honored to be in this role and to continue the great work that PCA has historically done and continues to do. 

I must start by thanking our Immediate Past President, Ashley Deurlein. I’ve had the privilege of working beside Ashley for the past year and learning about the role of the President, as well as how PCA works. This has also allowed me to see all that we’ve accomplished as an organization over the past 12 months, including:

• Being integral in the passing of Act 4 of 2024, which provides tiered licensure for professional counselors and the creation of the Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (LAPC) credential. This will provide additional opportunities for counselors in PA who are seeking licensure.
• Increasing our membership by almost 20% over the past year!
• Using these additional membership dues and careful fiscal planning to secure the services of a consultant who is us advocate for our needs in Harrisburg. We hope this will help PA join the Counseling Compact as soon as possible.

My goals over the next twelve months are to continue to build on this momentum. For example:

• We are already hard at work on the passage of SB1165, which would pave the way for PA to join the Counseling Compact.
• We are working diligently at securing parity in reimbursement for LPCs (as compared to other helping professions) and for counselors providing telehealth services.
• We continue to grow and develop our identity as a profession, and we are increasingly being invited to be part of the conversations where “the sausage gets made,” so to speak.
• We will be holding our annual conference again in Harrisburg, PA from October 25-27, 2024.

There are so many people to thank, but most of all, THANK YOU! Your membership in PCA allows us to accomplish great things. When we’re advocating, we can talk of our growing membership and our strong professional organization. As we continue to make progress, we need your support; if you’d like to be more involved, we have many committees and leadership roles where you can be a bigger part of the action. When I joined PCA in 2007 as a first-year doctoral student, I received an email similar to this one. I probably didn’t pay it much attention but 17 years later, after serving in multiple roles in PCA, I’m here writing this welcome message. As we say, trust the process!

As servant leaders, we are here to support you in your growth as a professional counselor. If I can ever be of assistance or answer any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at pca56.president@gmail.com. Thank you for your support and here’s to all the great things ahead.

Be well!

Eric

Eric W. Owens, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS

President 2024-2025, Pennsylvania Counseling Association