About Us
The Alliance for Professional Counselors (APC) is a new membership organization within the counseling profession dedicated to promoting the inclusion of all qualified counselors in licensure, certification, employment, and insurance reimbursement. We are committed to promoting excellence, informed by the best available evidence, in practice and policy.
The APC was founded by individuals and groups who have long advocated for inclusion of ALL counselors within our professional organizations, and at state and federal levels. We are a true alliance of counseling professionals, educators, and allies. We value the diversity of graduate programs across academic disciplines that have historically contributed to the profession and the training of highly competent Professional Counselors. We believe that this rich tradition best serves the public’s diverse counseling needs.
The APC is passionately committed to defending and promoting the right of all qualified counselors to obtain certification and licensure, and to practice in the counseling specialty areas in which they have been trained. We promote a vision of unity in the counseling profession, and seek to advance professional identity through standards based upon evidence, and the removal of false dividing lines.
Our Mission & Purpose
The mission of APC is to educate and inform the public, policy makers and counseling professionals about the importance of inclusion and open access to mental/behavioral health services.
The purpose of APC is to
- build linkages among professional counselors, trainees, educators, organizations, and academic training programs to promote broad and inclusive recognition of highly trained counselors;
- to remove barriers to care for those seeking services; and
- to promote professional counseling services that are empirically-based and informed by cultural competence and a social justice perspective.
Our Goals
The goals of APC are to act proactively and responsively to developments in the field of Professional Counseling, in order to
- disseminate information and critical updates on issues of importance to professional counselors, trainees, educators, organizations, and academic training programs;
- foster collaborative relationships among professional counselors, trainees, educators, organizations, and academic training programs;
- advocate for inclusive language, policies and practices in accreditation, licensure and portability, credentialing (such as TRICARE certification), and hiring and reimbursement in public and private spheres;
- provide information on academic program accreditation, licensure, and board certification at the Master’s level;
- highlight and promote innovative and evidence-based services for culturally diverse populations for practitioners, the public, organizations, and policy-makers;
- support state APC chapters, grassroots organizations and networking at state and national levels; and
- promote a broad and inclusive counselor identity.
Join us today!
Click here to read about the benefits of membership and how to register.