Trinity Creates ICA Chapter
Trinity Christian College is proud to announce its new membership as an official chapter of the Illinois Counseling Association (ICA). Trinity joins many other Illinois universities in offering students, alumni, and faculty the opportunity to develop, collaborate, and serve in the counseling field through membership to the Trinity chapter of the ICA.
“We are so excited in the counseling program here at Trinity to join the ICA in their good work in helping others,” said Dr. Deb Majewski, assistant professor of psychology and clinical placement coordinator for the Graduate Program. “Our chapter will provide training and other opportunities to help deepen community member’s awareness and understanding of mental health issues.”
Currently, the Trinity chapter has 30 members, most of whom are current students in our Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program. To become an official chapter, Trinity needed a minimum of 15 members with five of those being individual ICA members. Trinity then declared they wanted to become a chapter, created by-laws, elected officers, and were approved by the governing board of the ICA.
As a philanthropic organization, the members of the Trinity chapter have decided to utilize their skills as counselors to provide mental health training and in services to local teachers, police officers, and other organizations who might benefit from the information. They will also conduct an annual one-day retreat with a wellness aspect that would be available to the community and professionals. A topic for the retreat will be chosen, and the members would then design an event that includes activities such as lectures, workshops, discussions, reflections, and journaling.
The chapter has four scheduled meetings per year, with additional meetings periodically when needed. The chapter will also attend and collaborate with other institution chapters at the upcoming 70th Annual ICA Conference in November. The ICA was formed in 1948 with the mission “to enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity.”