Counseling Resource Collection Expands Counselor Education

The NBCC Foundation’s Counseling Resource Collection provides counselor education materials to communities around the world.

Textbooks and counseling journals are sent to countries where high-quality counseling materials are difficult to access. Since the program was launched in 2003, the NBCC Foundation has sent resources to Bhutan, Cambodia, Kenya, Malawi, Romania, Uganda, and Zambia. 

This program has established resource libraries in government buildings and universities, where students or practicing counselors can borrow books. For example, all of the public Colleges of Education in Zambia have counseling resources from the program.

Foster Kayungwa, the Principal Education Officer of Zambia’s Ministry of Education, says the resources are strengthening the capacity of practicing counselors and counselors-in-training.

“They have enhanced counselors and lecturers’ ability to deliver structured and evidence-based guidance and counseling lessons and sessions and improved students’ access to counseling resources,” Kayungwa says.

Wendi Schweiger-Moore, PhD, NCC, LCMHC, is the director of NBCC's Global Capacity Building (GCB) Department. She says the Counseling Resource Collection helps counselors leave a tangible impact on the profession. 

“This is one of the longest running programs we have in the Global Capacity Building Department and one of my favorites because it's so concrete. You can see and touch a textbook or a journal and then that resource gets shipped off where it’s needed and will be helpful to a student or counselor,” she says.

The generosity of the counseling community connects other professionals to counselor education resources, which in turn supports their clients.

The Counseling Resource Collection is collecting textbooks and journals published after 2006. Newer resources and items with an emphasis on school counseling and working with children and youth are specifically needed. The NBCC Foundation is not able to reimburse shipping costs of donated items but covers the cost of shipping items from the NBCC Foundation offices to the beneficiaries. Counselors who send items will receive a letter from the NBCC Foundation acknowledging the donation.

Counseling professionals who would like to donate materials can send them to:

NBCC Global Capacity Building Department
3 Terrace Way
Greensboro, NC 27403

The NBCC Foundation and NBCC are thankful to all counselors who have participated in this program.

“NCCs and other counselors are extremely generous, and we really appreciate it,” Dr. Schweiger-Moore says. “It doesn't take a long time to put a book or journal in somebody's hand the way it does to develop a credential or some of the other long-term collaborations that we are a part of. It's a really effective program.”

Foster Kayungwa is the Principal Education Officer of Guidance and Counselling in the School Guidance Services Unit under the Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialised Services for the Ministry of Education in Zambia.

**Opinions and thoughts expressed in NBCC Visions Newsletter articles belong to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of NBCC and Affiliates.