Association for Humanistic Counseling: The Heart and Conscience of the Counseling Profession

The history of the Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC) can be traced back to 1931. Organization members documented the early development of the division and progress until the early 1980s in previous publications. In this article, AHC's dynamic history since the mid-1980s is illustrated. The humanistic perspective of the division as well as its creed, leadership history, membership, publications, governance structure, and future directions are discussed. ********** The Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC) originated as a collaborative effort to respond to the needs of society (e.g., supporting the women's movement, civil rights, and social justice platform, which are discussed further in the Activism section). A long history of division involvement and metamorphoses has since transpired as the division evolved in relation to social changes (A. S. McGowan, personal communication, September 1, 2008). AHC members documented much of the division's progress from 1931 to the early 1980s (Sheeley, 1975; E. S. Wilson & Robinson, 1985). However, advancements made since the mid-1980s have gone unrecognized. The purpose of this article is to document the division's forward movement since the 1980s, including the timeline of leadership changes, membership trends, contributions to the professional literature, and future directions. AHC began in 1931 with the organization named the Teachers College Personnel Association (TCPA; Sheeley, 1975). In 1946, the organization's name changed to the Personnel Section of the American Association of Teachers Colleges. A few years later, in 1951, the name was updated to the Student Personnel Association for Teacher Education (SPATE; Allen, 1962). A year later, in 1952, SPATE collaborated with three other organizations to establish the American Personnel and Guidance Association, which was later renamed the American Association for Counseling and Development (AACD), and then renamed the American Counseling Association (ACA; Kaplan, 2002). SPATE remained one of the four founding divisions of ACA. While a division of ACA, the organization changed names three additional times. The first change occurred in 1974, to become the Association for Humanistic Education and Development (AHEAD); the second change occurred in 1998, to become the Counseling Association for Humanistic Education and Development (C-AHEAD); and the third change occurred in 2010, to become the Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC). AHC FOUNDATIONS: HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE, COUNSELING, CREED, AND PURPOSES AHC considers itself the heart and conscience of the counseling profession (C-AHEAD, 2008b). Division leaders strive to stay on the forefront of critical issues affecting human beings, in general, and clients served, in particular (A. S. McGowan, personal communication, September 1, 2008). AHC members call attention to important issues in society and the counseling profession. As a division, members work to act as a buffer and defense against social injustices, and members hold fast to the belief that all persons are entitled to intrinsic respect. The division's stance on important issues has been a catalyst for change within society and the profession. AHC's humanistic perspective, counseling focus, creed, and purposes demarcate the division's path. The liberal and progressive perspective of humanism has remained a constant core of the division since its original creation (A. S. McGowan, personal communication, September 1, 2008). Humanism is the central aspect that inspired the creed and purposes and focuses the activism of the division. Humanism Humanism, as a philosophy guiding counseling and education practices, may be understood as having many diverse elements (Hansen, 2006; J. T. Hansen, personal communication, May 4, 2009). The principle uniting these diverse elements is the idea that humans are irreducible to other phenomena (Davidson, 2000). …