President's Message

Greetings to all as we launch a new year in the life and activities of WVCA! The spirit of the ACA Conference in Hawaii this past March was energizing for three of your board members who were able to represent you at the international gathering in Honolulu. It was affirming to observe that West Virginia is respected and competitive in the delivery of counseling services at many different levels and with diverse populations.

The theme of this year’s WVCA Conference is “MAINTAINING THE HUMAN LINK.” In a technological world, it sometimes seems that our sense of “touching” the lives of others has lost the human connection it once held. The jargon of helping has also changed, along with implications for ethical practices. The terms cyber-counseling, cybersober, and others reflect a hi-tech approach to meeting human need, and we struggle to deal with confidentiality issues in the process.

I would hope that our mission this coming year would be to strengthen that human link, so that we may better embrace the human predicament. I reflect on a story told about a little boy who was afraid of the dark, and so his parents installed a night light. However, young Tommy was still frightened, and unable to sleep, would call out for his parents. The child’s father, quite frustrated, finally said, “Tommy, you know that we have taught you that God is always with you and you are not alone. You’re OK, now go to sleep.” To that, the child replied, “But I want somebody with a face on.”

I hope that our association will provide opportunities in which you will be able to participate to enhance your own growth and development, whether you are inexperienced or well seasoned! I am pleased to say that we now have a graduate student on the board representing Marshall University, charged with linking with other counseling students around the state. We therefore need many of you as “mentors” for those just starting their journey in the helping professions. So----From October 16-18, 2008, Lakeview Convention Center in Morgantown will be our gathering place, where you can see other faces from other places. I hope to see YOU there! Let us together reaffirm the “HUMAN LINK,” as we put a face on the mission we all share.