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April is Counseling Awareness Month!
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Spread the word on social media! Use #TexasCounselorsCare.
On Facebook - check out our custom #TexasCounselorsCare
profile picture frame that you can use all through April!
Take part in our Twitter contest -
download this print out, add your own message, take a selfie and share on Twitter. Add #TexasCounselorsCare! One winner will be chosen at random. The winner will receive a
free Professional Growth Conference registration! You must be following
TCA on Twitter to be eligible. Contest ends at midnight on April 30th. Winner will be announced on TCA's Twitter!
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ADVOCACY UPDATE: YOUR CALLS MATTER!
SB 426
(Lucio) to require school counselors to spend at least 80 percent of their time working directly with students and delivering the comprehensive school counseling programs will be heard TOMORROW – 4/11/19 – in Senate Education Committee. Lesa Pritchard, TSCA Board member and the Executive Director of Student Support Services in Boerne ISD will testify in support. CONSTITUTENT CALLS to the Senate Education Committee are most helpful.
Use these talking points!
HB 1501
(Naverez) to reauthorize the behavioral health regulatory boards and create BHEC passed the House and is on its way to the Senate where Senator Robert Nichols is the sponsor (SB 611). Your calls kept off a bad amendment in the House that would have pulled the psychology board from the new agency. Congratulations!
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TCA's Advocacy Days
Our first Advocacy Day on March 19th brought 70+ professional counselors to advocate for YOU!
We've got two more coming up! Join us next week on April 16 and again on May 14!
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Be prepared and stay engaged!
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TCA App Includes Advocacy Tools!
Download our App from your app store. Use this app to access our conference apps, learn about TCA, and ADVOCATE! We have lots of great public advocacy resources available through this app!
You can...
- Access TCA's Public Policy Agenda as well as other TCA Public Policy resources
- Register for an Advocacy Day and get all the info you need about attending!
- Find your legislator and and call or email them - straight from the app!
- Use our quick link to sign up to testify (must be present at the Texas Capitol)
- Receive our action alerts - sent straight to your phone! (Make sure you have notifications turned on.)
Click here to download the app from your app store. You can also find it by searching "Texas Counseling Association".
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Are you Using All of Your Member Benefits?
TCA offers a variety of member benefits...
- Unlimited free Legal consultations through LegalCare
- Subscription to our bi-annual Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory, & Research
- Industry news and updates
- Online Directories for Client Referrals and Speakers
- Opportunity to purchase HPSO liability Insurance
- Included and discounted insurance through American Income Life
- Big Discounts on our Continuing Education and Professional Development
- Education Endowment Fund Grants of up to $500
- Access to our online Career Center which includes job postings from around the state
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Tell Us
Let us know how you feel about your member benefits by completing this 1 minute survey.
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BIG NEWS! TCA is launching our new and improved website soon.
Our new website and membership system is coming very soon. We have been hard at work making some serious upgrades for our members. Be on the look out for communications regarding this! In order to get the most out of our new system, you will likely need to update your membership profile information.
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TCA & TSCA at SXSW EDU!
As invited guests at
#SXSWEDU
this year, TCA &
TSCA
had the chance to engage in some great conversations about professional school counselors.
TCA Executive Director, Jan Friese was on a panel discussing the shortage of professional school counselors and the counselor’s role in getting more students to higher education.
Naderia Hartley, TSCA board member, was part of a film screening and Q&A about the film
Personal Statement. The film involves low-income students and their struggle and amazing resilience in achieving their goal of going to college.
It was a wonderful chance to broadcast the important roles of professional school counselors and how TCA and TSCA support you!
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Call for Programs Open for our
63rd Annual Professional Growth Conference
in November!
The Texas Counseling Association is now accepting programs for our 63rd Annual Professional Growth Conference happening in Fort Worth, November 13-16. Persons in all areas of the counseling profession are invited to submit a proposal. Students presenting a program may not be primary presenters and must have a college professor as a co-presenter. A presenter may participate in a maximum of three (3) programs.
Call for Programs Closes May 25th!
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Early Bird Registration is open!
Register now and save the most money on your conference experience. Early Bird rates are only available to current TCA Members so take advantage of this reduced pricing!
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Texas Members Receive ACA Professional Awards
K. Michelle Hunnicutt Hollenbaugh
ACA Best Practices Research, Faculty Award
Rochelle Cade
Kitty Cole Human Rights Award
Texas A&M University, Commerce
ACA Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Doctoral Degree Students Honorable Mention
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Call for Committee Volunteers
TCA depends on the commitment of its members to keep our association strong! Consider applying to serve on a committee! Each committee works to hone the focus of TCA’s Strategic Plan to impact positive change and support professional counselors! Appointments are for one year and begin on July 1st!
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2019 Grant Applications
Texas Pride Impact Funds is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations providing support and services to our state’s LGBTQ community. Texas Pride Impact Funds supports a wide variety of community needs including programs and projects that emphasize health care, seniors, youth, employment and social support.
Last year, Texas Pride Impact Funds selected 15 proposals to receive an aggregate of $120,000 in grants.
Learn More on who is eligible to apply, what we fund, funding priorities, evaluation criteria, timeline and more.The application deadline is 5 p.m. CT on Friday, May 10, 2019.
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Generation TX Decision Day 2019 - May 3rd
#GenTXDay is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate students for their postsecondary plans in front of the entire student body. Complete the survey online and commit your school to initiate and plan activities that promote both GenTX Month 2019 and GenTX Decision Day 2019. As a participating school, you will receive a GenTX campus Participation Pack and #IApplied stickers for every high school senior. Your school could also win additional GenTX promo items.
Learn more.
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Nominate volunteers for the 2019 Heroes for Children Award
The State Board of Education Heroes for Children award is designed to recognize excellence in advocacy for education and to highlight outstanding volunteers whose efforts represent significant contributions to public school education in Texas.
Any Texas resident who gives time, effort, service, and support to public schools and students, with the exception of elected officials and educational employees, can be nominated for the Heroes for Children award.
The nomination period starts
on April 1, 2019
and ends on
June 14, 2019
at 5 p.m.
More information.
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Call for Reviewers for the Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research
The
Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research (JPC), the official journal of the Texas Counseling Association, is currently accepting applications for positions on the journal editorial review board team. JPC is an indexed, semi-annual scholarly publication, aiming at providing clinical, theoretical, and empirical guidance to counselors, educators, researchers, and other mental health professionals. Qualifications include a graduate degree and licensure in a counseling field, a record of scholarly publications in peer-reviewed journals, and a commitment to providing prompt and comprehensive reviews of approximately 3-5 manuscripts annually. Becoming an editorial reviewer is a great way to: Impact and guide the profession, build your resume/CV, grow your name and brand in the counseling profession.
Individuals interested in applying are asked to include (a) a cover letter outlining their interest, relevant experience, and reasons for applying and (b) a current CV or resume.
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Your TCA Experience
Tell us why you choose TCA for your professional home. We may feature it on our website or through our social media channels!
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Wellness Update:
Quick Stress Relief Tips for Busy Counselors
Brought to you by TCA Wellness Committee Member
Sal Acosta, LPC-S
This time of year for many counselors can be busy and stressful. For school counselors late spring means “testing season," end of the year activities, start of next year activities, graduation, etc. Whether you are busy right now or not, we all have periods of time that get hectic, making it hard to prioritize stress relief and self-care. Here are some tips to make it through a stressful or busy time:
- Take time away, such as taking 15 or 30 minutes to eat lunch, regroup and recharge each day.
- Consult with others. Whether they are next door or a phone call away, you are not alone!
- Take a short walk down the hallway or outside the building to reset.
- Listen to music that lifts your spirit or takes you away. Best done on the way to work to start the day!
- Attend to basic physical health needs through proper rest/sleep, healthy eating, and regular movement.
- Have something to look forward to after work each day and/or over the weekend. Could be as simple as a book to read, cooking a meal, spending time with family and/or pets, exercise, etc.
- Take a stretch break while at your desk for long periods of time, when you think you cannot get away. See some examples.
For additional strategies see Betty White’s lists of Wellness Practices:
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The
Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs,
5th Edition
With new organization, competencies, domains, strategies and tools, the 5th Edition of the
Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs
has been updated to reflect best practices and statutory requirements for school counseling programs.
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DISCLAIMER ABOUT PAID ADVERTISEMENTS: Any reference to a product, service, activity, or program in this electronic communication does not imply endorsement by the Texas Counseling Association.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2019
April 16
May 25
May 14
May 27
Last Day of Texas Legislative Session
June 30
November 13-16
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