Skip Niles

The Penn State community has been rocked by tragic allegations of the worst kind. Our collective hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to victims of sexual abuse in our community and in every community. The allegations have exposed locally what is a global issue that needs serious and immediate attention by all of us. One out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys are sexually abused. One out of 20 cases are reported. These are sobering statistics that serve as a call to action for all of us. This exposure has led Penn State to take real and serious steps to raise awareness and take appropriate action. This work will be ongoing.

Many within the Penn State community, myself included, have also found aspects of the media coverage to be disturbing. On one level, it has distracted attention from where it can be most useful (focusing on the issue of pedophilia) to where it can make the most “noise” (e.g., the reactions of a very small percentage of students to board of trustees’ decisions). I use the word “noise” because when I asked a national reporter why he didn’t cover the candlelight vigil held to focus attention on the issue of child molestation, his response was that events of that kind don’t make enough “noise” to become headlines- despite the fact that 10,000 people attended this event.

As a professor, I am witnessing the demoralization of good people whom had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation. Concern for one group does not lessen concern for another. We remain concerned first and foremost for the alleged victims. At the same time, I have concern for members of the Penn State community who are struggling to sort out feelings of pride in their university and in their work when many in the media and public consider the entire community to be guilty by virtue of enrollment or employment. The acts of a few do not define the character of the many. And, I am proud of our many students, faculty, staff, and administrators who care deeply about doing good work the right way. I am also confident that our community is committed to becoming an even more compassionate university dedicated to academic and moral excellence. The list of accomplishments and good work performed by Penn State students, faculty, staff, and the more than 500,000 alumni is endless.

In the meantime, there are many opinions that have already been formed about the allegations, and, at this point, there are relatively few facts that have been revealed. Until the judicial process is completed, it is inappropriate to comment on the case. All people (the accused and those making the allegations) are entitled to a fair trial without prejudgment. And, on every day and in every location, our children are entitled to safety, care, and protection. Perhaps this is a good time for everyone to remember and recommit to these values.

Spencer G. Niles is a counselor and Distinguished Professor, Department Head, Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Penn State University

Jeffrey Guterman

It’s easy for some people to see that individuals who commit the heinous act of child sexual abuse are monsters. But human problems seldom, if ever, occur in isolation. Rather, they usually occur in context. And so is the case of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. According to linguist and social activist Noam Chomsky, some people lose sight of important, sometimes critical issues as a result of mindless devotion to an organization. Irrational subservience often contributes to individuals becoming apathetic, distracted, and diverted.

Consider the role that spectator sports plays for so many people in our culture. Sports fans root, root, root for the home team—no matter what. In some cases a fan might hardly know some players on their team, yet their allegiance is unwavering.

On November 9, 2011, a throng of Penn State football fans rallied to support coach Joe Paterno when he announced, amidst the child sex abuse scandal, that he would retire at the end of this season. This occurred one day before Paterno would be fired by Penn State’s board of directors. Distracted by their fanatical devotion to Paterno and the Penn State football team, those fans failed to see how their reactions were inappropriate.

The next day, when news of Paterno’s firing was announced, some fans rioted. But their anger was misdirected; it should have been channeled toward the perpetrator of the child sex abuse as well as those involved in its cover-up. Again, some fans were confused and misguided as a result of their irrational devotion to the team.

But there was another, even more pernicious example of mindless devotion at Penn State.

The failure of multiple Penn State employees to report the child sex abuse to authorities was also an abuse, an abuse second in severity only to the child sex abuse, itself, that occurred at this institution.

How could this happen!?

With the investigation still underway, one can only speculate. Perhaps the employees’ irrational devotion to their organization played a significant role. It may have been a fear of retaliation. A fear of tarnishing the Penn State brand may also have contributed to the cover-up.

In the weeks that transpired since the scandal broke, it has been argued that current laws, such as state laws in Pennsylvania, are inadequate because they do not mandate all employees to report child sex abuse. Although much legislative work needs to be done in this area, I take the position that all citizens should be expected to immediately report any suspicions of child abuse to authorities—law or no law. I would think any reasonable person can see this.

The cover-up at Penn State was wrong. Also dangerous was that the cover-up seemed to develop within a cohesive organization. Dynamics similar to this play out all the time in all types of organizations (e.g., business, education, family, work), but usually of much less consequence.

The question at hand is when and how does one choose to participate in a world of covert operations, double standards, and secrets? Sometimes it’s difficult to decide. At other times, such as when child abuse occurs, the choice should be clear. As citizens of the world, all of us need to swiftly identify and eliminate threats to human dignity, freedom, and well-being.

I am afraid that unless our society makes significant changes now, we may look back at these times and tragically conclude that we failed to protect many of our children. But it’s not too late! Our profession could play a significant role in the solution by continuing to raise public awareness, provide education, and offer counseling services related to child sexual abuse, trauma, and healing. In addition, the counseling profession has a responsibility to continue taking a leadership role in developing social advocacy strategies aimed at improving legislation and public policy. We also need to work at the grassroots level to help individuals and organizations act against the type of abuses that occurred at Penn State.

Jeffrey T. Guterman is a counselor and an Associate Professor at Barry University, Adrian Dominican School of Education, Counseling Department. To find out more visit his Web site at http://JeffreyGuterman.com

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Applicants must be ACA members in good standing and maintain their membership during the entire revision process.

The following qualifications are desired:
• 3+ years of post-graduate experience.*
• Experience with the application of the ACA Code of Ethics from a practitioner’s perspective and/or participation in scholarly activities pertaining to the ACA Code of Ethics (teaching, publications, presentations, etc.)

*Doctoral students enrolled in a Counseling or Counselor Education and Supervision program are eligible to apply for one designated slot reserved for a student member.

ACA wishes to develop an Ethics Revision Task Force rich in diversity; as such, we invite individuals represented in the Nondiscrimination section of the ACA Code of Ethics (C.5) to apply. In addition, we are seeking practitioners from varied settings and specialties.

To Apply: Send an e-mail stating your desire to be considered for the ACA Ethics Revision Task Force to ethics@counseling.org For the subject line, please put: Ethics Revision Task
Force application. Please include the following:
• Your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and work telephone number.
• Your ACA member number, along with a statement verifying that you are an ACA member in good standing and committed to maintaining ACA membership during the entire revision process.
• An attached resume or vita.
• An attached Word document using Times New Roman 12 point type highlighting practitioner-related experience with the ACA Code of Ethics and/or scholarly activities focusing on the ACA Code of Ethics.
• An attached Word document using Times New Roman 12 point type stating why you are interested in serving on the ACA Ethics Revision Task Force.

Please send an e-mail with “Ethics Revision Task Force application” in the subject line and each bullet point above addressed to: ethics@counseling.org by May 15.

Gargi Counseling-Haiti

“Dear Colleagues,

We have returned from Haiti after serving in a clinic that is run by a religious organization, Partners in Development. This clinic is located in Blanchard, the poorest of poor communities outside Port au Prince. In one week, the clinic with one Haitian doctor and American nurses, who are like Florence Nightingales, served 800 patients. I provided psychological first aid/crisis management counseling to approximately 15 clients per day, one family, and one group of women and girls.

Clinical Psychology student, Corey Gifford, did similar work. Our counseling spaces were created under blue tarp tied to trees, one wall, and clothes lines. Our translators were young men who had no public college to attend and could not afford tuition. They’re self-taught English-speakers and provided the best translation services that I have experienced in my work. The conditions in Haiti are desperate in every sense this word. Large-scale disaster response organizations have not met with success.

The smaller missionary-led organizations that have located themselves within tent cities are doing effective work and are accepted by the local people. It was my privilege and honor to share in the lives of Haitian women, men, youth, and children, whose spirit to survive, resilience, good humor, hard work, and faith in god, despite constant hunger, unemployment, and no infrastructure to speak of, have made me a stronger and very hopeful person. As 4th of July and Labor Day come around, I cherish the rights, privileges, and opportunities that the United States has granted me.

Thank you dear supporters of Disaster Shakti’s efforts.

Gargi Roysircar”

All day yesterday, I was at several orphanages working with children. Some have lost everyone, and they seem very sad and lost. One little girl was so very sad that she just started crying and sat on my lap, just wanting to be held. Children we saw seem to struggle with lots of nightmares about the earthquake and the deaths they saw. Their stories have touched our hearts today, as they are such a vulnerable population. Some of their parents have been found, but other’s fates are unknown.

We are also hearing some very sad stories from adults that show how so many Haitians suffered, and that relief came for some of them very slowly. But there are also stories of people putting their own lives at risk to save a stranger’s life. One man told us that the day after the earthquake, as he looked around Port-au-Prince, he saw a hand sticking out of a collapsed building. He wasn’t sure at first if the person had died, but as he got closer, he could hear the man calling out for help. The man was stuck, and another Haitian man, a total stranger, started to remove the debris piece by piece. Others who were around started to help and they freed most of the rubble, but they saw that his femur was broken and sticking out through his skin, and his other leg was all twisted around. The rescuer was not sure what to do next, as the man ‘s leg, which he had feverishly worked on freeing for several hours, seemed to be wedged in and couldn’t be freed. The trapped man begged him, saying “Please don’t leave me.” The helping man said he would try but could not promise that he would be successful. He looked around and noticed that there was a very small space in the debris below the man. It was barely big enough for him to fit, but he pulled himself through this tight space on his belly. At one point, when the space got even tighter, he paused for a moment, thinking that he would die should another aftershock occur (there were many after the earthquake), but he decided he could not stop. He inched forward and was able to see what prevented the leg from being freed. He worked slowly but persistently, cutting off parts of the man’s pants and shoe to free up the leg, which was the only thing keeping the man trapped.

This good Samaritan periodically came out from the tight space under the trapped man, only to go right back in to keep on working. Someone else also took a turn, and the last time he went in, he realized that there was a small part of the trapped man’s pants that were keeping him trapped. He slowly cut away, inch by inch, until suddenly, like a springloaded machine, the leg twisted back into the right position and set him free. The man was airlifted to the hospital. The rescuer does not know what happened to the man he was willing to risk his life for. Was he okay? He only knows that “It was the right thing to do.”

There were many other heroic acts in the hours and days after the earthquake, with strangers helping strangers, at times risking their own lives to help someone in need.

Karin Jordan is a counselor and a guest blogger writing from her volunteer work site in Haiti

I’ve given hundreds of talks in my professional life. Though I’ve bombed out a few times, I would rank most of my presentations as “good or better.” But sometimes, like at our conference, I am in flow. I am “in the zone.” I’ve always wondered what makes the difference, for me, between a good talk and a great talk. Was it thinking beforehand about what might be helpful? Was it good planning? Was it getting the right amount of input from the audience during the talk? (Was it that delicious cup of coffee I had right before the talk?)

Yes, all those things count, but there’s something more involved– the quality of the audience and the fit between audience and speaker. When you have a good audience, an audience that listens and tries to understand your point of view, it brings out the best in a speaker.

At my ACA presentation, I felt so on the same wavelength as my audience that I told the group, “I think I feel my mirror neurons firing.” And I did!

I had a similar experience talking with conference-goers one-on-one, whether on the plane, at the events, or in the hotel. Each time I met or renewed ties with someone, I felt a little more tuned in to myself, a little more tuned in to others, and a little more alive.

During lunch one afternoon, I couldn’t help but overhear how politely the young woman at the next table spoke to the waitress. “Are you here for the conference?” I asked her. Of course she was. Together we wondered if the Pittsburgh natives noticed that their city had suddenly become a few degrees nicer. 3500 counselors can make a difference in the courtesy level of a city, I would think.

I do know that I was not the only presenter who felt uplifted by the warm response. Our keynote speaker, Patti Digh, also waxed enthusiastic about the ACA audience. I’m willing to bet that many other presenters felt the way I did as well. And I felt those same good vibes when I presented at our local American Counseling Association of Missouri (ACAM) conference last week. Henry David Thoreau summed it up well: “It takes two to speak truth, one to speak and another to hear.”

I used to think the words “Thank you for being such an attentive audience” were just a polite way of ending a talk. Now I know how much power a good audience has to co-create a good presentation. ACA members, your attentive listening brought out the best in me, and I hope I contributed something to you in return!

Guest blogger Meg Selig is a counselor, author, and was a presenter at the ACA Conference in Pittsburgh.

Howard Smith

On January 21, I was sent to Haiti by the American Red Cross (ARC) on a special assignment. Having 17 years of experience as a Disaster Mental Health Volunteer for the ARC I have been deployed to over 25 national disaster relief operations and worked extensively with my local ARC Chapters so I know a bit about disaster relief operations and the mental health impact a disaster has on individuals. However, this was the first time I had been deployed by the ARC International Services Department to a disaster where the relief operation was coordinated by the International Red Cross/Red Crescent organization. There was another mental health worker, a sheltering expert (an engineer) volunteer in our party, and a logistics and two other staffers who were consultants to help manage the financial end of reestablishing the operation of the American Delegation Office that is a permanent office in Port-au-Prince.

We were flown into Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, since the airport at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, had sustained some damage by the earthquake which occurred on January 12th and was only allowing planes carrying supplies to land there. We were lodged there overnight and then had a 234 mile, 12 hour, bus ride to Port-au-Prince the next day in convoy fashion along with other International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) responders from other nations. The bus trip was an education in and of itself. Once we left the four-lane, divided highway, about 20 miles outside of Santo Domingo, every 8 – 10 miles there were speed bumps across the highway and in many instances, vendors, had set up stands along the side of the road selling fresh fruit and local crafts. We had heard that there had been significant delays at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; however it took us only about an hour to be cleared and allowed to enter Haiti.

Once we arrived in Port-au-Prince, due to the damage and debris that literally blanketed the city of 1.75 million residents, it took us over 3 hours to get to the Base Camp that was being set up by the ICRC. In an International Response to a disaster, nations work closely together so that every nation does not have to deliver a full component of services. So in addition to the American Delegation office staff (n = 10) who had been there before, during and after, the earthquake, there were 12 – 15 First Responders from the ARC who were working at Base Camp where supplies were being delivered and dispersed. At the Base Camp, everyone was housed in tents and it became a bit of an International Village with the responders from each respective nation having their tents clustered together in the compound. Those individuals stationed at the Base Camp worked long and hard hours, ate, and slept inside the compound. The extreme heat and humidity added to the discomfort. What few amenities that existed were welcomed. Many different languages were being spoken with efforts to cooperate, collaborate, and communicate with responders from other nations. Each nation had its specific tasks to perform but it was also vitally important that they all work together.

One of the ARC Delegation staff members had not been heard from since the earthquake and was presumed dead. A few more had to move out of their damaged apartments. The ARC staff at Base Camp had been working 18 – 20 hour days in an attempt to get set up for and respond to the huge response that was required in the immediate aftermath. Fatigue, if not exhaustion, was beginning to show. The added stressors of the many languages, the intense heat, the constant drone of the gas and diesel engines used to generate electricity, and the lack of adequate cell phone towers all were beginning to take a toll.

The special assignment for me and the other disaster mental health person was to provide mental health support to the other ARC people and their respective staff members and to assess the need for an on-going mental health presence for these responders. That is very different from a domestic disaster in which mental health responders provide services to the people most directly impacted by the disaster as the primary focus, and to the other responders as a secondary mission. In this case, the language used by the Haitians was primarily Creole and Haitian culture was less open to mental health assistance than most others.

As indicated earlier, many of the streets were still blocked by the buildings that had come cascading down during the earthquake. The concrete blocks strewn out in many areas made the streets impassable. Initially, bulldozers simply drove down the streets pushing the rubble aside so emergency vehicles, cars, and trucks could move about. Not surprisingly, many of the local vehicles had flat tires from driving in the rubble and several cars were literally buried under the concrete that had fallen on them. The difficulty in getting from one place to another was exacerbated by the foot traffic walking in the narrow streets.

Amidst all of this chaos, grief, confusion, and difficulty, I found the Haitian people to be very gracious and courteous. They went to great lengths to groom themselves and wear clean clothes when going out and about. At the first aid station that was set up in the compound of the ARC Delegation building that had suffered adequate damage to be declared unsafe itself, people would walk great distances to get the dressing on their wounds changed. They would often stand for hours in line waiting to be helped, in spite of the heat and humidity. If someone came along who had worse wounds than theirs, they would encourage them to go to the front of the line. Amputees were often physically carried in for a change of dressing on their wounds. During the week that I was there I saw only one set of crutches and not a single wheel chair. There were many post-disaster foot wounds where people had stepped on sharp objects as many had either no shoes or merely wore flip-flops.

There were tent cities or shacks strewn all over. The first day we were there a couple of staff members of the ARC Delegation asked if we would like to go for a walk. In this one area close to where the Delegation building had stood, there were over 6,000 individuals living in rows and rows of shacks which they had built out of corrugated tin and scrap lumber they had scavenged from the fallen buildings. A family of 6 would be living in a 10 foot by 10 foot area. They had lost their household goods such as pots, pans, and other necessary utensils but strangely enough, they had obtained food that had been brought down from small mountain farms. There were charcoal grills that had been rigged up to cook stew or broth. Fresh fruit was present and very popular.

Many of the children were finding ways to entertain themselves by making kites from plastic shopping bags and twigs, or playing with some make-shift objects. When ICRC distributed goods, again, the people were generally polite with one another. One truck brought a load of tarps and blankets. These were being distributed as the rainy season was about to begin and the shacks they had constructed were not weather proof. Other things distributed were the household items mentioned above and water.

Overall, the responders were coping very well with the stressors that were ever-present. It enhanced my regard for the volunteers who respond to these hardship disasters. Toward the end of the week, there were a few of those first responders who were getting ready to return home. While going home is part of the experience, in many ways it is the toughest part because they see the need is so great and the job not yet done. And on the other hand there is always the excitement of returning home to family and friends, and a regular job for most.

I left Haiti with some of the same mixed emotions. I wanted to stay and continue to help in whatever way possible at the same time, the magnitude of this disaster for a country that had little to begin with I knew that I was incapable of making a significant difference in their lives. It is a very humbling experience.

My “take-away” message from the experience is this: We, who by accident of birth were, so fortunate to live in this country, to have the benefits of comfort at the level we have them, often times act as if we deserve this good life. After being in Haiti, where the population is so dense and abject poverty reigns supreme, I sincerely hope that I never become so calloused that I either come to think that I deserve what I have in life, or ever become so comfortable that I would not want to do what I can to help those whose accident of birth gave them so little. Even for those of us who cannot “go” to offer assistance, there are many ways we can help through contributing financially or of our time. To be sure, there are areas we can help individuals who are less fortunate right here in our own area. We can read to children, visit the elderly, assist someone who is disabled in some way, or find an agency or an entity that offers assistance and make your contributions through them.

The study was commissioned by Congress to provide guidance on whether or not to remove the physician referral and supervision requirement for counselors’ services within TRICARE, the health care program serving members of the armed forces and their dependents.

We attended Friday’s briefing with some trepidation. This was ACA’s third visit to the IOM panel. At the first meeting, I testified on behalf of ACA along with Dr. Carol Bobby from CACREP and Dr. Tom Clawson from NBCC. We came away from our testimony somewhat discouraged and feeling that many on the panel – especially the psychiatrists – didn’t get it. The second meeting was better. The panel had done their homework (and maybe heard us more than we thought) and seemed to have a better grasp of professional counseling and our qualifications. So we approached the release of the final report with cautious optimism but not really knowing what to expect.

We were therefore pleased when David Butler, the administrator of the report, announced that the study unequivocally recommends independent practice authority for professional counselors.

ACA commends the Congressional commissioned panel for endorsing TRICARE counselor independent practice, but we also note that the report contains some challenges. The report recommends that only those counselors graduating from a CACREP-accredited, 60-credit program and having passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) be recognized for independent practice. ACA recognizes the hardship this would cause for many qualified counselors, and will be working with Congress to address these barriers in the course of removing the physician referral and supervision requirement from current statute.

ACA would like to thank the two representatives from professional counseling, Dr. Vilia Tarvydas and Dr. Ted Remley, for their work on the panel. Vilia and Ted clearly made a difference in helping panel members understand that the scope of practice, credentials and standards of professional counseling meets or exceeds those of our sister helping professions. In addition, I would like to personally thank Scott Barstow, ACA Director of Public Policy and Legislation, for his extensive and effective efforts on behalf of the association and our members.

The full TRICARE study is available on the IOM website at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Provision-of-Mental-Health-Counseling-Services-Under-TRICARE.aspx. ACA public policy staff will be analyzing the report in greater detail in the coming days at http://www.counseling.org/publicpolicy.

For more information, contact Scott Barstow at ACA’s public policy office: 800-347-6647 x234, email: sbarstow@counseling.org.

Guest blogger, David Kaplan, is the Chief Professional Officer of ACA.