Contemplating Consolidation: Acting on a Decades Old Call to Survey Professionals in the Discipline

Abstract

Most professions are represented by one unified association, but not rehabilitation counseling. From its earliest years of professionalization, rehabilitation counseling has been represented by multiple associations. Initially, representing the discipline through multiple associations was deemed necessary to capture nuanced differences within the field. However, the existence of multiple associations has come under increasing scrutiny in the face of declining membership and a changing professional and political landscape. The lively debates of the 1970s and 1980s have more recently devolved into what seems to be an apathy induced stalemate on this issue of consolidation. The primary aim of this article is to revitalize a conversation about the future of rehabilitation counseling associations by assessing professionals’ perspectives on consolidation. Data from 2,608 rehabilitation counseling professionals indicated that the majority of participants either favored consolidating into a single association or were unsure of their choice. Fewer than 7% of respondents opposed consolidation. We conclude the article with a brief discussion of actions that are supported by the research.

Addressing the Sticky Issue of How to Consolidate Rehabilitation Counseling Professional Associations

“…The data for this article was generated through the same survey used by Phillips et al (2022) and other articles in this special issue, and as a result, much of the methods for data collection, instrumentation, and procedures for this study are identical. We refer the reader of this article to Phillips et al for a more complete description of these methods.…”

“…Data previously described in this special issue clearly outlines the perspectives of rehabilitation counseling professionals regarding the issue of consolidation. Only 181 (6.9%) of 2,608 respondents were opposed to consolidating ARCA, NRCA, and the Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Association (RCEA), and the other 2,426 were either in favor (n = 1,217; 46.7%) or unsure (n = 1,210;46.4%;Phillips et al, 2022). Phillips et al (2022) also showed that increased familiarity with these associations and with the issues surrounding consolidation correlated with an increased desire to consolidate.…”

“…Only 181 (6.9%) of 2,608 respondents were opposed to consolidating ARCA, NRCA, and the Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Association (RCEA), and the other 2,426 were either in favor (n = 1,217; 46.7%) or unsure (n = 1,210;46.4%;Phillips et al, 2022). Phillips et al (2022) also showed that increased familiarity with these associations and with the issues surrounding consolidation correlated with an increased desire to consolidate. Delving further into the qualitative data, suggested that professionals perceive many potential benefits resulting from a consolidated rehabilita-tion counseling professional association (Nerlich, Levine, et al, 2022).…”

Prologue: The Future of Rehabilitation Counseling Professional Associations

“…In this special issue, we present data and discussion fueled primarily by the perspectives of 2,608 professionals connected to the discipline of rehabilitation counseling. In the first article, Phillips, Walker et al (2022) share quantitative results addressing the primary question of whether members of the discipline favor or oppose consolidating rehabilitation counseling professional associations. Results showed that 46.6% favored consolidation while only 7.0% were opposed.…”

The Pros and Cons of Consolidating Rehabilitation Counseling Associations: A Qualitative Analysis of Views From the Field

“…The potential for unification of rehabilitation counseling professional associations has been a conceptual debate for the past several decades. In a previous article of this special issue, Phillips et al (2022) provided quantitative data to capture the opinions of professionals on the issue of consolidation. The present study builds on those findings by providing a qualitative analysis of the rationale provided for each response from not only professional association members, but the broader rehabilitation counseling community.…”