05/05/2025

PCA May Announcements and Upcoming Events

UPCOMING EVENTS:

May 16, 2025
PASERVIC’s Month Grounding Support Group

In these challenging and uncertain times, the Pennsylvania Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (PASERVIC) continues to host a monthly, peer-to-peer Grounding Support Group for counselors and therapists. This group occurs on the third Friday of each month at 9:00 am (remaining dates listed below). GSG is free for all members of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association. Please email Frederick Clemens Pratt, LPC, ACS at pca.paservic@gmail.com for more information or to register. An email with a Zoom link will be sent to registrants before.

PCA Advocacy Drive

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  Join your fellow PCA members in advocating for the counseling profession by connecting with your local legislators! Because Mental Health is Health.

#1 Find your local legislators. 

#2 View this virtual training and complete this attestation form.

#3 Download the attached resources to guide your efforts. Make sure you highlight the importance of passing the Interstate Counseling Compact in PA (House Bill 668) and that it will soon make its way out of the House of Reps Professional Licensure Committee to the House floor and then the Senate for a vote!

#4 Schedule a meeting with your local House and Senate reps using the Find Your Legislator resource on PA General Assembly's website.

#5 Complete this PCA Legislator Feedback Form to let the GRC know how your meeting went. Take a photo with your legislator to share with us for PCA social if you feel comfortable!

Email advocacy.pca@gmail.com with any questions.

SAVE THE DATE for the
Pennsylvania Counseling Association’s 57th Annual Conference!

Announcements:

Join the PCA Ethics Committee
Make an Impact Across Pennsylvania!

The Pennsylvania Counseling Association (PCA) is seeking dedicated and thoughtful members to join our Ethics Committee. This vital committee plays a key role in upholding the integrity and ethical standards of our profession.

What does the Ethics Committee do?

Members of the Ethics Committee are responsible for reviewing and responding to ethical questions and concerns submitted by counseling professionals across the state. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute your expertise, support your peers, and help shape ethical practice within Pennsylvania.

Why join?

• Engage in meaningful dialogue on complex ethical issues
• Provide valuable support to counselors seeking guidance
• Strengthen your own ethical decision-making and professional development
• Collaborate with colleagues who are passionate about ethics and best practices

We’re looking for members who:

• Are current PCA members in good standing
• Have a strong interest or background in counseling ethics
• Can commit to regular virtual meetings and timely responses to inquiries

If you’re interested in joining or would like more information, please contact Kathy Richardson, PCA Ethics Chairperson, at karichar@lvc.edu

Help us maintain the highest standards of professional conduct in our field—your voice matters!

Accepting Proposals for the 57th Annual Conference 

The Pennsylvania Counseling Association’s 57th Annual Conference will be held at the Wind Creek Bethlehem - November 7-9th, 2025.  This year’s theme is “From Insight to Action: Leading the Future of Counseling.” Proposals should be geared toward counselors, supervisors, graduate students, or educators.  

The deadline to submit proposals has been extended to Thursday, May 15th at 11:59PM.

All proposals should address this year’s theme as one of four (4) presentation types: 

• 90-minute Education Session
• 1 hour Education Session 
• 1 hour Roundtable Session 
• 1 hour Poster Presentation 

Please note that if you are submitting a proposal for an education session or roundtable, presenters should be prepared to present on Friday OR Saturday. Presenters submitting a proposal for a poster presentation should be prepared to present on Friday evening. 

All proposals will be accepted via SCHED. Additional details about the proposal requirements and process are available in the proposal form. 

Click Here to Submit a Proposal

If you have any questions about proposals, please contact Joe Charette or Stephanie Onkst, Conference Programs Co-Chairs at pca.programs@gmail.com. We look forward to your submissions!

The Spring 2025 Journal has been Released!  

Log into your PCA Member Account to access the Spring 2025 JPCA.  You may also earn up to 2 hours of home study NBCC CE, a PCA member benefit.

Exciting things are happening at The Journal of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association! 

The Journal of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association (JPCA) is a professional, refereed journal dedicated to the study and development of the counseling profession. As such, the editorial team has been working to provide additional professional services to journal authors and readers, including recently joining Crossref. Moving forward, authors submitting manuscripts to JPCA are consenting to a Similarity Check that ensures all journal publications are original work. In addition, all published manuscripts will receive a DOI, allowing for searchable access to the article. Please visit JPCA's website for full submission requirements.