Everything Members Need to Know About ACA Practice Briefs 

Counselors working in mental health, private practice, and community agency settings are certain to want to know of the Practice Briefs that ACA provides for members. Michelle Wade, ACA's Ethics Specialist, took a few minutes to respond to questions posed by ACAeNews Editor Frank Burtnett.

1. Describe the Practice Brief series and why ACA believes these informational tools will help members in their day-to-day counseling work?
   
   Practice Briefs are mini-peer reviewed articles on a wide range of topics, such as Reactive Attachment Disorder to Intimate Partner Violence to Clinical Depression. They provide information regarding the topic, intervention strategies, and assessment strategies. These can serve as quick go-to-guides for the clinician needing to brush up on an old idea or gather new information for a client with a problem never dealt with before.
   
   
2. How did the idea for posting and publishing Practice Briefs emerge?
   
   In 2013, ACA created the Center for Counseling Practice, Policy, and Research. A major goal of the Center was to provide a bridge between education and practice. From that goal began a discussion about how to help clinicians obtain relevant and current information in a timely manner.
   
   
3. Who can create a Practice Brief and how will ACA determine if it is suitable for posting and publication?
   
   If you are an expert in your field or with a certain type of clientele, we encourage you to reach out to Gerta Bardhoshi the Executive Editor at gerta-bardhoshi@uiowa.edu to propose a topic. The submitted Practice Brief is reviewed by two editors and then posted to the ACA website.
   
   
4. How many Practice Briefs have been created and how often are they expected?
   
   Currently, there are 50 published Practice Briefs. The goal is to have a new Practice Brief every quarter.
   
   
5. What links will offer members the most information?
   
   Members can access and learn more about the Practice Briefs here. They can also go to the counseling.org homepage and click on the PB of the Month in the Spotlight section, or click on the link within the Member Toolkit that is sent out monthly to all members.
   
   Further, each edition of Counseling Today will highlight a specific PB. And finally, if a member follows ACA on Facebook or Twitter, the new Practice Briefs will be highlighted as they are posted.