I have been a counselor educator for 38 years. I have seen and used a number of orientation to the counseling profession books in my preparation of counselors at several leading universities. These books have always served a useful purpose in helping give students an overview of the profession as they prepare for their counseling careers. When introducing beginning students to the profession of counseling, I ask myself the following: What is it that I want them to know? How do I begin the socialization process that will ultimately result in knowledgeable professional counselors? The answers to these questions usually focus on ensuring that students get an understanding of the foundations of the profession, an overview of the specialties that make up the profession, and an examination of current issues that impact the personal and professional development of a counselor. Over the years I have observed that an understanding of these three areas provides a solid professional foundation in the training and development of counseling students.

This book, edited by Sylvia C. Nassar and Spencer G. Niles, colleagues of long standing whose careers I have watched grow in stature over the years, hits the mark in all three of these areas. For me, this book represents the next generation in the introduction to the counseling profession text genre. With Orientation to Professional Counseling: Past, Present, and Future Trends, the editors have enlisted an impressive collection of individuals to introduce readers to the foundations of counseling, the specialties that enrich the profession, and current issues that impact counselors both professionally and personally. I know and have worked closely with many of the contributors to this book over the years and can attest to the fact that they are scholarly leaders in the counseling profession and provide keen insight into their respective subject areas.

The contents of this book also reflect issues that professional counselors will confront in the highly technical, culturally diverse, globally interconnected world of the second decade of the 21st century. The chapters in each of the three sections of the book reflect the realities of this contemporary world as they relate to the profession of counseling.

Section I explores the foundational elements of professional counseling, including ethics, multicultural competency, individual and group counseling, and assessment and research in counseling. Any individual beginning a career as a professional counselor must be anchored in these elements, and the chapters in this section provide this foundational framework.

Section II looks at a number of the counseling specialties that form crucial pieces of the broad quilt that can be considered the counseling profession. Although each chapter makes a cogent case for the significance of the specialty, the overarching theme throughout this section of the book is that counseling is in reality a unified profession.

Section III places the book in its place in time—the end of the second decade of the 21st century. The chapter contributors in this section do this by examining current issues that impact the evolution of the profession and the ongoing development of counselors.

As I reflect on the excellent work that Nassar, Niles, and the contributors to this book have done, I am struck by the myriad issues and trends that swirl around the profession of counseling, for example, multiculturalism and social justice, licensure and certification, accreditation, health care legislation, counselor advocacy, best practice, just to name a few. These issues and trends present those of us who prepare counselors with the challenge of orienting our students to the profession within the context of the questions I posed earlier. I am pleased that the American Counseling Association took up this challenge by publishing this book and entrusting its completion to two preeminent leaders in the field.

We acknowledge the wealth of information we have gained from each of the professional counselors who have crossed our paths daily over the past three decades and dedicate this book to all of the future counselors who aspire to join our profession. Furthermore, we thank the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs for its visionary leadership and the professional standards it promulgates for and on behalf of the counseling profession and thus for providing the basis for the current text. We also thank the American Counseling Association, Chi Sigma Iota, the National Board for Certified Counselors, and the myriad other counseling organizations that promote the professionalization of counseling. Last but in no way least, we give our unending thanks to Aisha Al-Qimlass, who served tirelessly as the editorial project manager for this text, and to the American Counseling Association editorial staff for its gentle patience and support throughout the project.

Sylvia C. Nasser, PhD, is currently a professor and doctoral program coordinator of counselor education at North Carolina State University. She earned her doctorate in counseling and counselor education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1994 and her master's degree in guidance and counseling in 1984. She has served in a variety of clinical mental health, school, and college settings over the past 30 years, and her initiatives have included promoting the professionalism of counseling and counselor education. Her scholarship spans multicultural, gender, and career development issues, with a special focus on Arab American acculturation and ethnic identity development. She has published nearly 90 books, refereed articles, and other instructional materials and delivered more than 100 conference presentations. Dr. Nassar recently served on the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development's Multicultural Counseling Competencies Revision Committee and on the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs 2016 Standards Revision Committee. She has served as board member for the Census Information Center Advisory Board to the Arab American Institute, the National Board for Certified Counselors, and the North Carolina Board of Licensed Professional Counselors. She is past associate editor for multicultural issues for the Journal of Counseling & Development, for which she currently serves as senior associate editor. Her recent National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space Administration–funded projects have examined career stereotyping and evaluated curriculum tools. Dr. Nassar's undergirding areas of scholarship and consulting include acculturation, advocacy, career development and underrepresentation issues, program evaluation, clinical supervision, and internationalization. She has provided training and consultation on such issues to international colleagues at institutional and governmental levels in Canada, Finland, Germany, Lebanon, Mexico, and Qatar. She received the Extended Research Award from the American Counseling Association in 2013 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision in 2016. She was named the Michael G. Morris Endowed Chair in Eastern Michigan University's College of Education for 2014–2015 and Research Triangle Institute International University Scholar for 2016–2017.

Spencer G. Niles, PhD, serves as dean of and professor in the School of Education at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Previously he served as distinguished professor and department head for the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at The Pennsylvania State University and professor and assistant dean in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Dr. Niles is the recipient of the National Career Development Association's (NCDA) Eminent Career Award; an NCDA Fellow; a Fellow of the American Counseling Association (ACA); a recipient of ACA's Thomas J. Sweeney Award for Visionary Leadership and Advocacy, President's Award, David K. Brooks, Jr., Distinguished Mentor Award, and Extended Research Award; and a recipient of the University of British Columbia Noted Scholar Award. He has served as president of NCDA (2003–2004), president-elect of NCDA (2017–2018), and president of Chi Sigma Iota (2016–2017); is a board member of the International Centre for Career Development and Public Policy; was a two-term editor of The Career Development Quarterly and the Journal of Counseling & Development; and currently serves on numerous journal editorial boards. He has authored or coauthored approximately 130 publications and delivered more than 150 presentations on career development theory and practice.

Dr. Niles is an honorary member of the Japanese Career Development Association, an honorary member of the Italian Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, and a lifetime honorary member of the Ohio Career Development Association. He has conducted career counseling training in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. His current research addresses creating and sustaining hope in career and life planning among marginalized populations.

Carla Adkison-Johnson, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University. She has published extensively in the areas of counselor preparation, clinical mental health counseling, and child-rearing practices in African American families. Her research has garnered attention in the legal, child welfare, and counselor education literature.

Aisha Al-Qimlass, MS, LPCA, CRC, LCASA, is a doctoral candidate in counseling and counselor education at North Carolina State University. Her primary areas of clinical and research interest include chemical dependency, co-occurring disorders, Islamic feminism, and career development.

Richard S. Balkin, PhD, LPC, NCC, is a professor at the University of Mississippi. He is editor of the Journal of Counseling & Development, a Fellow of the American Counseling Association, and past president of the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling. His primary areas of interest include client-centered outcomes, assessment, research methods and statistics, and religious diversity.

Shanita Brown, PhD, LPCA, NCC, ACS, is a visiting assistant professor of counselor education at Wake Forest University. She has more than 15 years of clinical mental health experience in various work settings. Her research and service focuses on emerging contexts of intimate partner violence, multicultural counseling, social justice advocacy, and adolescence.

Rick Bruhn, EdD, LPC-S, LMT, is a professor and doctoral program director in the Department of Counselor Education at Sam Houston State University.

Craig S. Cashwell, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS, is a professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and maintains a part-time private practice specializing in addiction and couples counseling. He has served as chair of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs board; president of Chi Sigma Iota International; president of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling; and Association for Counselor Education and Supervision representative to the American Counseling Association Governing Council.

Annemarie Connor, PhD, is an assistant professor of rehabilitation sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. She has a doctorate in rehabilitation counselor education from Michigan State University and nearly 15 years of clinical experience as a licensed occupational therapist. Her research and scholarly interests include the working alliance, psychological wellness, social participation, and vocational rehabilitation.

Darcie Davis-Gage, PhD, is an associate professor and mental health clinical counseling coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa. Her current research interests include the effectiveness of career construction groups, creative interventions in counseling and supervision, and counselor wellness and self-care.

Thelma Duffey, PhD, is a professor in and chair of the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio and immediate past president of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Dr. Duffey was the founding president of the Association for Creativity in Counseling, a division within the ACA, and is editor of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. Dr. Duffey served as guest coeditor of the Journal of Counseling & Development special issue on counseling men and the Journal of Counseling & Development special section on relational-cultural theory. Dr. Duffey, an ACA Fellow, has received numerous leadership and research awards from professional organizations, such as the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision; the ACA; the Texas Counseling Association; the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision; the Association for Creativity in Counseling; the Texas Association for Counselor Education and Supervision; and the Association for Assessment, Research, and Counseling. She has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and three edited and coedited books: Creative Interventions in Grief and Loss Therapy: When the Music Stops, a Dream Dies; A Counselor's Guide to Working With Men; and Child and Adolescent Counseling Case Studies: Developmental, Relational, Multicultural, and Systemic Perspectives.