The Professional Counselor as Administrator: Perspectives on Leadership and Management of Counseling Services Across Settings

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L. Erlbaum Associates, 2006 - Education - 340 pages
A largely undiscussed problem exists in the counseling community. Each year many excellent professional counselors with little or no administrative preparation or leadership experience are asked to assume administrative roles in schools, colleges and universities, state and federal government offices, community agencies, and foundations. The purpose of this book is to lighten their challenge by providing them with knowledge of the basic tasks and tools needed by a professional administrator and, equally important, how to adapt those tasks and tools to various professional settings. Key features of this outstanding new book include the following:


*General Skills -- Chapters 1 and 2 address the meanings of the terms leadership, management and administration, examine the tasks associated with each term, and provide the concepts and skills (e.g., strategic planning, budgeting, recruitment and development of staff, use of technology, etc.) needed by any counseling administrator in any setting.

*Applications -- Chapters 3-9 examine the similarities and differences in counseling leadership and management in different settings. The point is made that counseling services are rarely stand-alone structures; typically they are part of larger institutions to which they must demonstrate their contribution. No other book examines how counseling services are adapted to different settings.

*Expertise -- Written by three professional counselors who collectively have more than 90 years of administrative experience, this book supplements existing research and scholarship with a wealth of personal experience -- especially on those topics where the published literature is thin.


This book is appropriate for the following audiences: 1) graduate students in counselor education or counseling psychology who aspire to leadership positions; 2) practicing counselors entering (or those new to) administrative positions; 3) practicing counselors seeking to understand the institutional settings in which they practice; and 4) counseling administrators seeking an easy-to-use reference volume.

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About the author (2006)

Edwin L. Herr is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Education (Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology) and Emeritus Associate Dean, College of Education, Pennsylvania State University. He received his BS degree in Business Education from Shippensburg State Teachers College (Now Shippensburg University), and an MA and EdD in Counseling and Student Personnel Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was an Alumni Fellow. A former business teacher, school counselor, and director of guidance, he previously served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Counselor Education at the State University of New York at Buffalo (1963-1966) and as the First Director of the Bureau of Guidance Services and the Bureau of Pupil Personnel Services, Pennsylvania Department of Education (1966-1968). The author or coauthor of more than 300 articles and 32books and monographs, he is Past President of the American Counseling Association, Past President of the National Vocational Guidance Association, and Past President of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the American Association for Applied and Preventive Psychology, and the National Career Development Association. Among his many awards, he has received the Eminent Career Award of the National Career Development Association, the extended research award from the American Counseling Association, and the Counseling Innovation and Vision Award of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.

JACK R. RAYMAN is Affiliate Professor of Education and Counseling Psychology and Director, Career Development and Placement Services, Pennsylvania State University.

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