The Professional Counselor as Administrator

Book excerpt: A largely undiscussed problem exists in the counseling community. Each year many excellent professional counselors with little or no administrative preparation or leadership experience are asked to assume administrative roles in schools, colleges and universities, state and federal government offices, community agencies, and foundations. The purpose of this book is to lighten their challenge by providing them with knowledge of the basic tasks and tools needed by a professional administrator and, equally important, how to adapt those tasks and tools to various professional settings. Key features of this outstanding new book include the following: *General Skills -- Chapters 1 and 2 address the meanings of the terms leadership, management and administration, examine the tasks associated with each term, and provide the concepts and skills (e.g., strategic planning, budgeting, recruitment and development of staff, use of technology, etc.) needed by any counseling administrator in any setting. *Applications -- Chapters 3-9 examine the similarities and differences in counseling leadership and management in different settings. The point is made that counseling services are rarely stand-alone structures; typically they are part of larger institutions to which they must demonstrate their contribution. No other book examines how counseling services are adapted to different settings. *Expertise -- Written by three professional counselors who collectively have more than 90 years of administrative experience, this book supplements existing research and scholarship with a wealth of personal experience -- especially on those topics where the published literature is thin. This book is appropriate for the following audiences: 1) graduate students in counselor education or counseling psychology who aspire to leadership positions; 2) practicing counselors entering (or those new to) administrative positions; 3) practicing counselors seeking to understand the institutional settings in which they practice; and 4) counseling administrators seeking an easy-to-use reference volume.