President’s Column

In October of 2001, one month after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, a severely damaged tree was discovered at Ground Zero. The tree had snapped roots, burned and broken branches, and was barely standing. The tree was removed from the rubble and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation aided in its recovery and rehabilitation. The tree was returned to the National 9/11 Memorial in 2010. Newly grown, smooth limbs extended from the deformed stumps, creating a visible distinction between the tree’s past and present. The “Survivor Tree” stands as a living memorial of resilience, survival, and rebirth. 

The human capacity for resilience is an idea that has always captivated me. How is it that people can endure so much and not only survive, but thrive? The book, Man’s Search for Meaning, had a profound impact on me, as I am sure it did many of you. Frankl’s focus on creating meaning and finding purpose in the most unfathomable situations is a timeless message. A belief in human resilience, the capacity to change, and the importance of responsibility and choice, is foundational to our work and has led us to become humanistic counselors. 

Two years ago, when I was first elected AHC President, I knew I wanted to select a conference theme that related to this idea of growth through struggle. Having dedicated my career to advocating for and counseling those who have been victims of abuse and trauma, I have repeatedly witnessed the strength of the human spirit in the face of great adversity. In January of this year, I committed to the following conference theme: Growth Through Struggle: Cultivating Strength and Resilience.

At that time I couldn’t have imagined what the year had in store for us and how prophetic this theme would be. Now, more than ever, I think this idea of change and growth in difficult times is an important concept to which counselors should aspire, both personally and professionally. 

We are wrestling with so much right now - a global pandemic and all of the ensuing fallout, a revolution around systemic racial injustices, a politically polarized country – yet the struggles with which we wrestle can hold opportunities for positive change.

A quote I appreciate, follows:  “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” In other words, the struggles and threats we experience serve to grow us in ways we may not yet be able to imagine. Our challenge and responsibility is to determine how we will take these challenges, find and create meaning around them, and move forward in ways that serve ourselves and others. As humanistic counselors we are uniquely equipped to rise to that challenge. 

Over the year, AHC will be providing a number of free webinars to support our members and decrease the sense of isolation we know so many of you are experiencing right now. We plan to double our webinar presence and we aim to provide two free member webinars each month. These webinars will address a variety of contemporary topics which include counselor self-care during these difficult times, humanistic telemental health counseling, and conversations about systemic racial injustice, along with webinars that focus on humanistic counseling topics that can help you enhance your practice. If there are webinar topics that interest you or if you are interested in presenting a webinar, please reach out and let me know.

You might have noticed AHC has a new look. First, we have a new logo and we greatly appreciate the feedback and input our members provided around the development of this logo. Next, we hope you find our new website to be easy to navigate and helpful as you seek out information.  Another development: the board voted to change the name of the newsletter from Infochange to The Humanistic Counselor:  The Association for Humanistic Counseling's Newsletter, and we are grateful to Dr. Sarah Stewart-Spencer, who pioneered the development of our new e-newsletter format.

If there is anything we at AHC can do to support you, please reach out and let us know!  

Warmly,

Victoria Kress, AHC President 2020-2021 

victoriaEkress@gmail.com