Looking into joining the ACA

Today, as part of continuing my professional development for my current class, I checked out the American Counseling Association website. The ACA is an organization for that educates and supports professional counselors. If I join, my membership includes free malpractice insurance, which you really can't beat! The ACA also hosts conferences once a year where people present papers on different topics in counseling. I went to a conference once for the American Anthropological Association, and really enjoyed hearing all the different papers on subjects in anthropology and archaeology that I wasn't as familiar with. The ACA conference serves the same purpose. Plus, the conference in 2013 is in Cincinnati, my hometown. Definitely an extra encouragement to go!

As I surfed their website I was really overwhelmed by all the services they offer. Their webpage stated they have free ethics counseling 5 days a week. There are newsletters and a journal, along with online newsletters. They also offer career services. One of the bigger draws for me is the podcasts for members about different counseling topics. I scrolled through some of them and they look really interesting. There are also links to other counseling associations, and as an ACA member I would be able to join the other associations at a discount.

After doing the research, joining the ACA seems like a smart choice. I'm looking forward to utilizing all their resources. I think it will be a great help during my graduate studies and professional career.