Awards

NARACES gives the following awards yearly at either the NARACES or ACES conference to accomplished members of the region.

Marijane Fall/NARACES  Counselor Educator of the Year

History of the Award.  This award is given in memory of an outstanding counselor educator who touched many lives with her special way of connecting with people, truly accepting them for who they were, and making them feel good about themselves.  Marijane Fall attended Colby College, Nasson College, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Southern Maine.  She attained her doctorate in Counselor Education from the University of Maine and taught at both the University of Iowa and the University of Southern Maine, retiring from the latter as full professor and Professor Emeritus in 2007. Marijane Fall’s style of valuing people was contagious, her strong inner spirit and essence resonated outward to help others, and the world is a much richer place for her presence and enduring spirit.

Marijane Fall was a prolific researcher and author and a national expert in play therapy. She was the founder of the Maine Association for Play Therapy (MeAPT), President of NARACES, and an active member and leader in organizations such as ASCA, ACA, ACES, MeSCA, and APT.  School counseling, clinical supervision, and play therapy were the topics she lived, taught, and wrote about as a counselor education professional.  Her creativity was manifested both in development of play therapy theory and practice as well as in a number of therapeutic tools, including “Green Greg,” her well known companion puppet.  In keeping with Marijane Fall’s extraordinary accomplishments in counselor education, her personal and professional grace, her avid celebration of life and all of its creatures, her joy in being present in the lives around her, and her commitment to finding the child within us all, this award recognizes a creative, generous, charitable counselor educator who has reached out to others in spirit, scholarship, and deed and thereby made a profound difference in the lives of those so touched.

Nominee Attributes.  In keeping with Marijane Fall’s extraordinary accomplishments in counselor education, her personal and professional grace, her avid celebration of life and all of its creatures, her joy in being present in the lives around her, and her commitment to finding the child within us all, this award recognizes a creative, generous, charitable counselor educator who:

• Has made a contribution in one or more specialty areas (i.e., school counseling, play therapy, clinical supervision, or other specialty)
• Has shown leadership in state, regional, or national counseling organizations
• Someone who consistently finds the good in others through kindness, empathy and warmth
• Has reached out to others in spirit, scholarship, and deed and – made a profound difference in the lives of those so touched

Outstanding Graduate Student Award

**Two award recipients: Master’s student and Doctorate student (please indicate this in your nomination of the student).  This award recognizes a graduate student who has excelled throughout his/her program in a variety of areas and who:

• Has a current GPA of 3.5 or above
• Is in the last year of graduate study
• Is involved in state, regional or national organization activities that have had or are having a significant impact within these systems
• Demonstrates evidence of leadership in a counseling or counselor educator organizations
• Is engaged in research activities
• Has made a scholarly contribution to the field of counseling, counselor education, and/or supervision (accepted presentations at state, regional, or national counseling conferences, manuscripts under review or published, book chapters, grants, etc.)

Janine M. Bernard  Outstanding Supervisor Award.  This award recognizes a site supervisor or counselor educator who:

• Has a minimum of 3 years experience as a supervisor of counseling students
• Is licensed or certified as a counselor
• Models professional involvement, leadership, professional development and/or advocacy
• Has shown exceptional mentorship through consistent service as a supervisor
• Actively encourages student involvement in professional activities
• Facilitates students’ introduction and involvement in the counseling profession
• Demonstrates evidence of professional involvement and leadership that have contributed to outstanding performance accomplishments by students under his/her supervision
• Is involved in activities in state, regional, national or international organizations that have had or are having a significant impact within these systems

NARACES Social Justice Award.  This award recognizes a counselor educator or student who has made significant contributions to the research and literature on social justice and/or multicultural issues while:

• Utilizing the scientist-practitioner-advocate training model in their practice
• Providing service that enhanced equity in social justice and/or multicultural issues
• Engaged in community-based social justice and advocacy issues
• Infusing diversity and social action into counseling, counselor education and supervision in any of the following areas:
  • Supervision
  • Systemic change
  • Innovative practice
  • Educational programming
  • Curriculum development
  • Community outreach
  • Client advocacy
  • Teaching and/or training

NARACES  New Professional Award.  This award recognizes a pre-tenured or new professional counselor educator in the NARACES region who has demonstrated promise in all areas of an academic position: teaching, scholarship and service, including:

• A commitment to excellence in teaching, demonstrated through recognition by both students and colleagues.
• A productive track record of research, publications, presentations, and other scholarly activities, including a clear research agenda that promises to develop our knowledge of counseling.
• Active involvement in service to the counseling profession, preferably with leadership positions.

The Journal of Counselor Preparation & Supervision Outstanding Journal Article Award.  The purpose of this award is to bestow recognition on a colleague or colleagues for a specific publication deemed as making a substantial contribution to the literature and/or practice of Counselor Education and Supervision. A substantial contribution is defined as scholarship that revises, updates, or focuses our knowledge and understanding of a particular problem in the study of Counselor Education and Supervision. This award will honor an outstanding recent journal article from one of the areas covered within the scope of the Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision (JCPS). JCPS provides manuscripts that enhance the practice of counselor education, counseling and supervision. There are six general categories that help focus the content of the journal.

Research. These articles focus on research (qualitative, quantitative, mixed) in counselor preparation, professional development, supervision, and professional practice.

Techniques. These articles focus on professional models for teaching empirically grounded techniques used by professional counselors, as well as teaching and supervision techniques used in professional preparation programs.

Counselor Development. These articles include insightful commentary on means by which professional counselors can continue to develop professionally. Effective teaching strategies for counseling students as well as continuing education for experienced counselors will be highlighted.

Supervision. These articles specifically target ideas, research, and practice related to counselor supervision. These articles should investigate and discuss supervisory issues from a perspective applicable to site supervisors, counselor educators and/or clinical supervisors (e.g., supervising professionals working toward a professional counseling license).

Issues, Concerns, and Potential Solutions. These articles identify and discuss significant issues facing the field of professional counseling with particular focus on issues in counselor preparation, professional development, and supervision. Exploration of these topics should include elaboration of the concerns as well as an examination of potential remedies or effective responses to the issues.

Clinical Supervisors Stories. These articles describe current issues in counselor preparation and supervision from the perspective of site supervisors. The emphasis on these articles should focus on the story of the issue, potential solutions and the uniqueness of the message. Authors are encouraged to forgo significant literature review and attend directly to the intended message to the field.

Criteria for Submission

1. Published within the past 2 years in an issue of JCPS
2. Either single or a multiple authored paper
3. Has contributed in one or more of the following ways:
4. Making a significant scholarly impact in understanding critical issues facing Counselor Education and Supervision
5. Taking a novel approach towards data collection and/or analysis
6. Speaking in a unique or uniquely effective way to practitioners
7. Providing innovative teaching or supervision ideas, theories, or methods that advance counselor pedagogy, clinical supervision, and professional counseling.

Deadline for nominations: Late Spring/Early Summer each year