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Spring 2020

CSI: Past, Present and Future

Contributions to the Profession

Dr. Thomas J. Sweeney, Alpha Chapter

Founder and Executive Director Emeritus

Any attempt to cover this topic in a short article is mission impossible! That said, I will touch on a
few points of interest to those who believe history is important to the present and future. In addition, I
suggest that readers at least scan the past-presidents’ recollections as they will be sharing history and
contributions of which we stand today as beneficiaries. Without their part in our evolution, there well
may have been no reason to celebrate a 35th anniversary. I also feel compelled to apologize to the many
who so generously gave tirelessly of their time and expertise to make CSI what it is and who for usual
editorial reasons could not be mentioned in my recollections. Thank you for understanding!
In an effort to be more concise, I will briefly address four topical areas: 1) professional identity,
2) servant leadership, 3) mentoring, and 4) advocacy.

Professional Identity
First, spin back with me to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Counselor credentialing was in
its infancy. Preparation standards and accreditation were not widely supported. In fact, the college
deans’ association openly opposed counselor accrediting teams being invited to campuses. Counselor
educators were unsure with whom to identify, whether it be psychology, marriage and family therapy,
school counseling, community counseling, mental health counseling, or all of the above! Increasingly
what had been school counseling programs were retooling into community counseling programs as
federal funding shifted from schools to community mental health agencies. Very quickly, former school
counseling faculty were outnumbered by clinical mental health faculty, which included individuals with
preparation in disciplines other than counselor education. In addition, many school counseling faculties
were seeking post-doctoral training and experience to teach in an evolving graduate program.
Students would go into their advisors’ offices and see membership certificates or credentials
from a variety of organizations or groups tangential to counseling. In numerous reported cases, faculty
academic advisors would encourage their best students to seek advanced degrees in fields other than
counseling. I perceived an identity crisis, not just for students but for entire programs and faculty alike.
Some programs preparing school counselors used their master’s program to support those seeking
doctoral accreditation in counseling psychology. In the process, they also changed their program’s
professional identity to psychology.
I had just completed my service to AGPA (now known as the American Counseling Association)
and was chairing the Council for the Accreditation and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
during its formative years (1981-1987). APGA, as with ACA today, had open membership such

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