1.   How do I log on to the Member's section of the ACES website?

You must be an ACES member. If you do not know your UserID and password, please call ACA Headquarters or e-mail your request for information to aces@counseling.org. The ACA phone numbers dedicated for ACES members are 866-815-ACES (2237) (toll-free) or 703-212-ACES (local). 

2.   What is in the Members' Section of the ACES website?

Once you log on to the Members' Section, you may access copies of the Spectrum (our quarterly newsletter) and the following documents (click on "documents"):

·    ACES Bylaws

·    ACES Guidelines for Online Instruction in Counselor Education

·    ACES State Presidents

·    ACES Strategic Plan

·    ACES Technology Competencies for Counselor Education

      Students

·    The Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors (1993)

·    ACES Vision Statement

·    Minutes of Executive Council and General Assembly meetings

You may also access contact information for chairs of our committees and interest networks if you click on "Committees." You'll also see information about the upcoming events and the 2007 ACES Conference on our homepage.

3. How do I become an ACES member?

ACES has several categories of membership. ACA membership is required in all instances.

      Professional: Open to persons who are employed in counselor education

            or counseling supervision positions.

      New Professional: Open to persons who have completed a graduate

            degree in counseling in the past twelve months. This has a reduced

            dues level and is available for only one year.

      Student: Open to individuals who are enrolled at least half-time in a college

            or university program related to counseling.

      Retired: Open to those who are retired from the counseling profession

           and have been active ACES members for the past 5 consecutive years.

If you want more information, contact the ACES Membership Chair, Geoffrey Yager. His email is geof.yager@uc.edu. To join ACES, call ACA headquarters at 1-800-347-6647, x222. (Have your credit card ready.)  You can also join via the internet at www.ACESonline.net. Click on "Membership" and then click on "Join ACES."  If you are not already a member of ACA, go to www.counseling.org. Click on "Not a member yet?  Join ACA."

4. Are there benefits to graduate students in joining ACES?

Yes! Almost a third of the ACES national membership is made up of students. They receive the ACES journal and newsletter; they become eligible for ACES research grants; they have reduced registration rates at ACES and ACA conventions; they can participate in ACES conferences at the state, regional, and national levels; they have access to the Members Only section of our ACES website. Networking and mentoring are important aspects of ACES membership. Opportunities for leadership and professional growth are always available. If you want more information, contact the ACES Graduate Committee Chair, Darryl Plunkett at darryl.plunkett@wmich.edu

5.   How do I check to see if my ACES membership is current?

      Call ACA headquarters (1-800-347-6647 x 222) or e-mail  

      membership@counseling.org.

6.   I am looking for the ACES Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors. Where can I get a copy of this?

The ACES Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors (1993) can be found in two section of the website. First, you may go to "About Us" and you will see the Ethical Guidelines on the left side of the page. The Guidelines are also available as a more easily printable document in the members' only section of the ACES website under "documents. FYI, the 2005 ACA Code of Ethics is available via the ACA website (www.counseling.org). If you look at both documents, I think you will see that the majority of the standards in the ACES Ethical Guidelines are now in the 2005 ACA Code (worded differently but covering the same content. It may also be helpful to know that we are currently in the process of developing a "Best Practices" or "Standards of Care" document for counseling supervision and hope to have this completed within the next year.

7.   How do I know what ACES region my state is in?

You do not need to be a member to access this information. Whether directly on the ACES home page or in the Members' only section of the website, click on the "Regions" button on the top of the ACES homepage. The website for your ACES region will provide you with a listing of officers and other important information for members.

8.   How do I contact my State ACES President?

There is a document, "ACES State Presidents" in the Members' only section of the website. This provides a list of state presidents for July 2006-June 2007. This information was compiled in April 2006 and we are in the process of updating it. If you find any information that is inaccurate, please notify Carlotta Willis, ACES Secretary, at cwillis@antiochne.edu.

      If there is no listing for the state you want, please contact your regional President or Secretary (click on the "Regions" button at the top of the ACES homepage and go to the region's website). When you move your cursor over each region, a list of states will come up on the right side of the page. You can then go to the region's website. If there is no listing of state ACES presidents, please contact your regional President or Secretary. An alternate route to find your state ACES president is to go to www.counseling.org (ACA's website) and click on www.counseling.org (ACA's website), then click on "Divisions/Regions/Branches" and find your state ACA branch. You may then contact the President or Secretary of your state branch. If you find out that there is a state ACES chapter, please forward this information to Patricia Kerstner.

9.   How do I subscribe to the ACES journal, Counselor Education and

     Supervision (CES)?