NBCC International (NBCC-I) was launched on January 1, 2005. Since then, the NBCC-I staff has been working to promote the profession of counselling and support others working to make counselling a unique and strong profession in various regions of the world. Efforts to facilitate the growth and relevance of counselling include collaborations with a number of country, regional, and worldwide organizations. The subheadings which follow are consistent with the World Health Organization’s geographic regions.
INTERNATIONAL
UNESCO/OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development): “Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross- Border Higher Education.” The OECD invited NBCC to join more than sixty countries at the OECD headquarters in Tokyo and later in Paris to help develop guidelines for quality in cross-border higher education. NBCC Chair Tom Collins was one of more than 100 delegates representing higher education and professions globally. Only the professions of counselling and nursing were represented by global credentialing organizations.
World Health Organization (WHO): ATLAS and Mental Health Certification. ATLAS is a surveillance initiative that maps international mental health resources such as the availability of providers and services (www.who.int/mental_health/ evidence/atlas/). Eventually, an ATLAS publication will allow individuals to identify the number of counsellors available in relation to specific populations, the existence of policies for credentialing NBCC INTERNATIONAL UPDATE counsellors, and descriptions of work carried out by counsellors in each responding country. NBCC-I and WHO have reached an agreement whereby NBCC-I will spearhead data collection and writing efforts. This will mark the first time that counselling as a separate mental health profession has been systematically and completely mapped globally by WHO or any other entity. Currently, the initial survey, which will include 192 countries, is being refined. Data collection is expected to begin at the end of 2005.
NBCC-I is working with WHO to design a certification meant to address the sometimes conflicting efforts of expanding capacity and providing quality assurance. Modeled after the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF), in which individuals are certified based on specialized training and supervised experience, this certification will allow development of true community-based helpers within national mental health programs. Such programs are designed with both universal and countryspecific standards to ensure cultural appropriateness. Depending on a given nation’s mental health policies, these certificants may be initial helpers of choice and/or may serve as a referral source for more acute services. NBCC-I and WHO have entered into an agreement for NBCC-I staff to develop curriculum and training plans for this credential with a large network of professionals from around the world.
AFRICA
African Association for Guidance and Counselling (AAGC) and Guidance, Counselling, and Youth Development Centre for Africa: Job Analysis and Conference Presentation. NBCC and NBCC-I have been collaborating with representatives of more than forty countries in Africa to formulate a framework for credentialing counsellors. A job analysis, which describes the work that counsellors do, forms the basis by which standards of practice may be defined and qualifying exams/ certifications could be structured to measure competencies. Such efforts provide a means for quality assurance and portability across the continent. Reports from participants indicate there is a profound need for such efforts due to the growing demand for services in Africa.
Malawi Center—Resource/ Training Venue. NBCC-I continues to help strengthen the Guidance, Counselling, and Youth Development Centre for Africa located in Lilongwe, Malawi. That centre reports transition in directors and a surge in support from ministers of education from the forty-two member countries. The Guidance, Counselling, and Youth Development Centre for Africa has the capacity to provide training to counsellors working in the underserved areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The center will also facilitate information exchange between counsellors in Africa and NCCs around the world.
The AMERICAS
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES)— NBCC International Fellows at ACES. One of the goals of NBCCI is to facilitate relationships with future leaders of the counselling profession in other parts of the world. In this spirit, NBCC-I founded the NBCC-I Fellows at ACES program. Created by NBCC-I and ACES for international students studying counselling in the U.S., the program facilitates these students’ participation in the ACES National Conference. At this year’s conference held in Pittsburgh, PA, USA, selected Fellows will participate in a training workshop and share their knowledge about counselling in their home countries with attendees. Fellows were nominated by their program faculty following a call for nominations in March 2005. Six Fellows studying counselling in the United States were selected from a competitive applicant pool, and invitations to participate were sent in early July. NBCC-I also solicited applicants from areas affected by the 2004 tsunami and Middle Eastern countries.
Jamaica Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education (JAGCE)—Ministry of Education: Job Analysis. A job analysis is being conducted in Jamaica through the country’s counselling association in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. NBCC-I representatives met with Jamaican leaders in the counselling field to structure the survey of professional practices within the country. The job analysis survey will be distributed to Jamaican counsellors in August.
Federación de Asociaciones Venezolanas de Orientadores [Federation of Venezuelan Counseling Associations —FAVO]: Job Analysis and Conference Presentation. Paralleling work in Sub-Saharan Africa and Jamaica, a job analysis is now underway in Venezuela. While counselling and counsellor education have been well established for more than fifty years in this country, credentialing of individuals and training programs on a national level has not been established. NBCC-I representatives facilitated the initial job analysis meeting in July and conducted a conference session on the process of professionalization with emphasis on credentialing. In February 2005, NBCC Chair Tom Collins announced NBCC’s plans to partner with FAVO to create NBCC-Venezuela under the FAVO umbrella. Since that time, NBCC has completed a memorandum of understanding with FAVO to establish NBCC-Venezuela. NBCC-related credentials in countries other than the U.S. are administrated by a counselling organization within those countries. Individual processes and regulations are created by and for counselling professionals who practice in those respective nations and are immersed in the day-to-day realities of counselling there. Use of the NBCC name is contingent upon the establishment of appropriate mechanisms and empirically based certification standards.
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
NBCC-I Fellows at ACES. In addition to the six Fellows selected to participate in the ACES National Conference, two additional Fellows were selected from outside the U.S. One of these Fellows is from Lebanon and has been invited to participate in the ACES conference and other Fellows activities.
EUROPE
NBCC-Romania. Following the First Romanian International Conference on Career Counseling (organized within Romania) in June, NBCC launched NBCCRomania and NBCC-I Europe. This NBCC affiliate and NBCC-I Secretariat is housed at the University of Petru Maior and is directed by Dr. Andreea Szilagy, former NBCC-I International Counsellor-in-Residence (ICR). The affiliate and secretariat will be responsible for the administration of GCDF-Romania credentials and will serve as a center for counselling advocacy in Romania and in Europe.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Conference Presentation. The 11th International Counseling Conference is scheduled for late December in Bangkok, Thailand. NBCC and NBCC-I will be sending representatives and are honored that current NBCC Chair Sylvia Fernandez has been asked to present a plenary session on the activities of NBCC-I.
This summary references only NBCC-I projects which are well underway. The staff of NBCC-I is pleased to represent NCCs in advocating for the worldwide recognition of professional counselling.
