Letter from the Board Chair

June 5, 2020

These past few months have been difficult for all of us. The COVID-19 global pandemic, and the ensuing restrictions and shut-downs, have added stress to our lives; yet we are persevering. At this moment, however, counselors are bearing witness to how important our efforts toward healing and social justice are to support all the communities we serve. As counselors we are guided by the mission of the American Counseling Association, which is to “enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity.” (ACA Code of Ethics, 2014, p. 2, emphasis added)

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are the latest examples of longstanding systemic injustice against communities of color. We all need support in the discourse of our own self-examination and self-reflection. The need for the infusion of multiculturalism and cultural competency education continues to be evident for us all. Compassion and helping to facilitate the personal growth of others is the driving force for our work. We all need help processing trauma as it impacts our collective social well-being.

The Board encourages all licensees to never forget or lose sight of the essential societal focus on cultural competency training as well as endeavoring to uphold the multicultural and social justice counseling competencies. We feel that it is important that we all embrace related training resources and opportunities to support Mental Health Counselors and our clients, specifically, at this time.

Our Board is committed to promoting respect for human dignity, diversity, facilitating healing, good mental health and protecting the public. We promise to do our part and stand with those fighting for unity, social justice, equality and equity, eradicating structural racism, and justice in the state of North Carolina and any other place in the world. We remind everyone that we are a community – committed to the tenets of self-care and personal growth, and that we are stronger together than we are apart.