Dr. Conley wins Distinguished Professional Service Award
The award honors outstanding service by an American Counseling Association member that addresses issues of the counseling profession and promotes its well-being.
Abigail H. Conley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education, received the Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award from the American Counseling Association (ACA) at its 2022 conference in Atlanta earlier this month.
The award honors outstanding service by an ACA member at the local, state, or national level in addressing the issues of the counseling profession and in stimulating future service to promote the well-being of the counseling profession. For this award, service is defined as work done or duties performed primarily with the intent of benefiting or giving assistance to the profession without need for personal gain.
The recipient must:
- Be of a nature that promotes the profession.
- Have widespread and general effects, rather than being limited in scope.
- Be concerned primarily with the counseling profession.
- Relate to the areas of interest of one or more ACA division or organizational affiliate.
Conley is the master’s program coordinator and track coordinator for the College Counseling and Student Affairs M.Ed. program in the School of Education, and a research scientist in the IPV/SV workgroup with VCU’s Institute for Women’s Health. She serves as editor-in-chief for Counseling and Values, the official journal of the Association of Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC), a division of ACA. She is also co-author of the book, Wellness Counseling: A Holistic Approach to Prevention and Intervention.
ACA is a not-for-profit, professional and educational organization that is dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the counseling profession. Founded in 1952, it is the world's largest association exclusively representing professional counselors in various practice settings.