Guide to Professional Counseling Conferences (2024)
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Conferences have the potential to benefit professionals on multiple planes. Conferences introduce counseling professionals to new strategies, techniques, or knowledge to deepen their capacity to serve their clients. They also can connect counselors to their peers, providing a network for support, business partnership, and more. They allow professionals to connect with businesses providing services, technology, or products that can be useful to them or their clients. Some even hold space to honor counselors doing groundbreaking or superlative work through awards ceremonies.
Despite the impact of Covid-19, many organizations are still working to provide all the boons of the conference experience to those within the professional counseling community. Many events that took place in early 2021 were offered as virtual experiences, while those scheduled for later in the year did so based on the hope of being able to gather in person in large numbers.
The benefit of virtual conferences can be seen in CE opportunities. Most virtual meetings are keeping proceedings available on-demand well after the conference concludes, giving counselors the ability to earn as much CE as possible from their registration fee.
The impact of Covid-19 also means that some counseling conferences are being held in a hybrid (virtual and/or in-person) format, allowing those who aren’t geographically close still can access the conference without the cost of travel or lodging. The hybrid format also allows those attending in-person to access any compelling sessions they missed.
The following guide to professional counseling conferences in 2024 offers information regarding specific conference offerings, registration price ranges, number of CEUs being offered, and conference format.
Conferences for Professional Counselors of All Disciplines
American Counseling Association 2024 Conference & Expo
This conference experience will be hosted by the American Counseling Association, a professional not-for-profit educational organization that is dedicated to the enhancement and growth of the counseling profession. Founded in 1952, the American Counseling Association is the world’s largest organization representing professional counselors in several practice settings.
The conference will offer continuing education credits, networking, and professional development for licensed counselors at this in-person flagship educational event. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with fellow mental health students and professionals and get the latest information, resources, and tools to support their work, and earn continuing education (CE) credits.
- Date: April 11-13, 2024
- Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
- Cost: ACA member ($199); ACA non member ($249); Student member ($149); student non member ($179)
- CE Opportunities: 100s of contact hours
Multi-Disciplinary Conferences Offered By State-Based Counseling Associations
North Carolina Counseling Association (NCCA) has been approved by NBCC as an approved continuing education provider. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, NCCA was forced to offer this conference online. This year, it returns to its in-person format, while also maintaining caution for large gatherings. In 2024, NCCA will be hosted in Greensboro.
The conferences will be held at the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in Greensboro, Appalachian State University in Boone, and East Carolina University in Greenville.
The topics available to those attending include navigating outness in counseling, supervision, and counselor education roles; integrating art therapy and brainspotting to treat trauma with dissociative amnesia; counseling during pandemics; addressing grief and loss in cancer survivors; and effectively providing trauma-informed care to meet the unique needs of international youth counseling theory and practice.
- Date: February 15-17, 2024
- Location: North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University; Appalachian State University; and East Carolina University
- Cost: Prices range from $55 to $500 depending on attendance and membership status
- CE Opportunities: 13 NBCC Hours will be offered at each location
The South Carolina Counseling Association’s 60th annual conference is a hybrid offering, with the option to attend sessions in person or virtually. The keynote speaker for this conference is S. Kent Butler who is a professor of counselor education at the University of Central Florida, the ACA president-elect, and has demonstrated leadership in the arena of diversity and inclusion.
In addition to education sessions, an awards ceremony, and keynotes, there are free pre-conference offerings. Topics for these sessions include ethical dilemmas in counseling and supervision; systemic strategies for working with at-risk African American youth; the ethics of self-care; racial bias in counseling; using the stage of change to counseling victims of intimate partner violence; and mindfulness in nature.
- Date: February 21-23, 2024
- Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Cost: $100 to $180 depending on attendance and membership status
- CE Opportunities: 22.5 contact-hours
The Kansas Counseling Association and Kansas School Counselor Association 2024 counseling conference will be held at Hilton Garden Inn in Topeka, KS. This year’s theme will be “Start. Network. Grow.”, as many people are still struggling to find their passion in a tough year. The conference will include keynote speakers, breakout sessions (which will be 50-55 minutes in length), awards ceremonies, and a president’s reception.
The Keynote speakers for this annual conference include Olivia Carter, school counselor at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, and Dr. Rebeca Chow, a bilingual licensed clinical professional counselor in Missouri/Kansas and a registered play therapist supervisor.
- Date: March 8-10, 2023
- Location: Hilton Garden Inn, Manhattan, KS
- Cost: $110 to $265 depending on attendance and membership status
- CE Opportunities: TBD
The South Dakota Counseling Association, a state branch of the American Counseling Association, has been approved by NBCC as an approved continuing education provider. The 2024 conference will be held at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center in Aberdeen, SD. The theme of this year’s conference has yet to be announced as of November 2023.
The 2021 SDCA conference was held online covering sessions on topics such as relational cultural theory; best practices in working with interpreters in mental health; disaster-related crisis counseling for schools and communities; sexuality across the lifespan: a developmental perspective; opioid public health crisis; and telehealth in the publicly funded behavioral health system.
- Date: April 25-27, 2024
- Location: TBD
- Cost: Student, early ($40); non-member, regular ($180)
- CE Opportunities: 44 contact hours
Conferences for Addiction and Substance Abuse Counselors
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, will hold its 2024 conference in person in Washington DC. The conference will include pre-conference training sessions on October 18 and post-conference sessions on October 23.
NAADAC is currently seeking 2024 workshop proposals in the following areas: practice management, administration/operation; technology; co-occurring disorders; psychopharmacology, medication-assisted treatment, pharmacotherapy, or advanced sud-specific treatment; clinical skills; cultural humility & demographic-specific treatment issues; process addictions; recovery support; education/INCASE; and peer recovery (non-clinical).
A virtual conference in 2021, NAADAC’s annual conference provided attendees with a mixture of keynote sessions, breakout sessions, exhibit hall breaks, town halls, mutual support meetings, and leadership Q&As. attendees were provided with up to 70 CEs.
- Date: October 18-23, 2023
- Location: J.W. Marriott, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Cost: NAADAC member (early – $299; standard – $400; on-site – $450); non-member (early – $400; standard – $450; on-site – $500); NAADAC student member (early – $249; standard – $350; on-site – $400)
- CE Opportunities: Up to 70 contact hours
UWSP 19th Annual Mental Health And Substance Use Recovery Training Conference
The theme for the 19th annual mental health and substance use recovery training conference was held by the University of Wisconsin at Wisconsin Dells. The 2024 conference details have not yet been announced as of November 2023.
Breakout sessions in the 2021 conference included language challenges in mental health and substance use; best practices in clinical supervision; narratives of recovery, trauma healing, and hope from refugees and communities of color; how to thrive in a generational historical pandemic; and therapy that empowers intimate partner abuse survivors.
- Date: October 19-20, 2023
- Location: Kalahari Resort and Convention Center, Wisconsin Dells, WI
- Cost: TBD
- CE Opportunities: 11 contact hours
Conferences for Grief Counselors
UWL International Death, Grief, and Bereavement Conference
Through its international death, grief, and bereavement conference, the University of Wisconsin La Crosse Center for Death Education and Bioethics is offering professional counselors the ability to learn more about how to help people navigate ambiguous loss (i.e., loss without closure or loss without understanding that the loss has occurred).
Conference topics for the 2024 International Death, Grief & Bereavement Conference that may pique counselor interest include mental health and spirituality of the dying and grieving; best practices and contemporary therapies for grief; children’s grief; conflict management and communication during grief; managing caregiver stress; and social justice and grief.
The conference is open for palliative care providers, hospital chaplains, hospice providers, program directors, funeral service directors, counselors, case managers, social workers, nurses, educators, pharmacists, individuals dealing with personal loss, and the general public.
- Date: Pre-conference (June 2, 2024) Conference (June 3–5, 2023)
- Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Cost: Attendees (pre-conference – $269; actual conference: early registration – $549, regular registration – $649); students (pre-conference – $99; actual conference – $225)
- CE Opportunities: TBD
Conferences for Marriage and Family Counselors
“The Challenge of Change: Advancing Systemic Practice” was the theme for the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy’s annual conference. Taking place in person, the crux of the conference was to address how do we as MFTs work together to enlarge our impact on the relationships, families, individuals, and couples we serve?; and how do we balance our efforts with our own needs for healing and recovering from our complex challenges?. This conference aimed to help attendees in exploring how their systemic approach can equip them and empower their communities for meeting the challenges of these extraordinary times.
TAMFT’s 2023 conference featured exhibitor roundtables, workshops, poster presentations, yoga, summits, and two keynote speakers. Keynote sessions include disaster response: a call for relational responsiveness; and better results: using deliberate practice to improve effectiveness.
- Date: March 2-4, 2023
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
- Cost: $275 to $560 depending on attendance and membership
- CE Opportunities: 15+ contact hours
Conferences for Mental Health Counselors
The American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) has been approved by NBCC as an approved continuing education provider. It is a growing community of thousands of mental health counselors whose members are committed to furthering the education of licensed mental health counselors.
In addition to chapter leadership summits, keynote/plenary sessions, lunch and learns, and educational sessions, the 2024 has pre-conference training offerings as well. Most attendees will be able to accumulate their continuing education hours during the core conference days; however, they can earn additional continuing education hours by attending pre-conference workshops.
The 2021 AMHCA annual conference offered its attendees several tracks to follow throughout the conference, including ethics, diversity, trauma, addictions, substance use and co-occurring disorders, technology, neuroscience, child and adolescent, forensic evaluation, specialized clinical assessment, integrated care, supervision, couples and family, integration, gender identity, advocacy, military, and developmental and learning disabilities.
- Date: June 10-22, 2024
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Cost: Clinical or regular ($499); student, retired, ot emerging ($299); non-member ($549); non-member with one year of membership ($599); onsite rates (clinical or regular – $549; student, retired, or emerging – $349; non-member – $599; non-member with one year of membership – $649)
- CE Opportunities: 20 contact hours
Conferences for School Counselors
The 2024 ACCA Annual Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida. The conference theme is “Come Together: Advocacy and Community Through Adversity.”
Breakout sessions will be on topics such as addressing sexuality concerns of college-age men; working with masculinity in counseling college men; research and implication; lessons learned from a pandemic-era grief/loss group; the benefits of engaging with regular creative practice; college women and intimate partner violence; and reevaluating the conversation around self-care.
- Date: February 22-25, 2024
- Location: Orlando, Florida
- Cost: ACCA professional & regular members (early – $395; regular – $425); ACCA student, new professional, retired members (early – $299; regular – $319); non-member professionals (early – $465; regular – $495); non-member students, new professionals, retired non-members (early – $349; regular – $369)
- CE Opportunities: 15 contact hours for the conference and six additional contact hours for the pre-conference workshop
“Systemic Change in Action” is the theme for the American School Counselor Association’s 2023 virtual conference. ASCA’s conference offers school counselors the opportunity to network with peers from across the country, the chance to find companies offering products to help with their work, and the opportunity to earn continuing education units.
This virtual conference will include informative breakouts, inspirational keynotes, and in-depth looks at hot topics in the school counseling profession.
- Date: December, 7-8, 2024
- Location: Virtual conference
- Cost: Members: $99; non-members: $249
- CE Opportunities: TBD
Becca Brewer, MEd
WriterBecca Brewer is building a better future on a thriving earth by healing herself into wholeness, divesting from separation, and walking the path of the loving heart. Previously to her journey as an adventurer for a just, meaningful, and regenerative world, Becca was a formally trained sexuality educator with a master of education.