PACERS Held Annual Counselling Convention

Practitioners, academicians and students of Counseling Psychology and other related disciplines were present during the Philippine Association of Counselor Education, Research and Supervision (PACERS) 33^rd Annual Convention – Workshop held last February 18 – 20,2009 at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Malate, Manila.

With the theme, “Strengthening the Professional Identity of Counselors Through Responsive Training and Practice”, the convention aims to focus on the quality of the counselors education and training, discuss the process of counseling supervision to establish a continuing process for the care of not only the professional expertise but also of the counselor emotional being, and to elaborate on how the participants can become scientifically-minded counselors.

Different panel discussions highlighted the first two days of the three-day event.

Topic	Speaker
Accreditation of Counselor Education Programs	Dr. Barbara Wong-Fernandez, Dean, Institute of Education of the Far Eastern University - Manila Dr. Conchita V. Umali, Consultant for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
"Counseling Supervision"	Dr. Jose Alberto Reyes, Associate Professor, Counselling and Educational Psychology Department (CEPD) - De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila Dr. Julian R. Montano, Executive Director of Psychological Advantage
Scientifically-Minded Practice	Dr. Rosemarie Salazar-Clemena, Full Professor, CEPD - DLSU Dr. Becky Brannock, Visiting Professor, CEPD - DLSU

PACERS organized three workshops sessions for the attendees during the last day.

• School Counseling Program" workshop by Dr. Carmelita Pabiton, part-time professor in CEPD
• "Supervised Counseling Practice" workshop by Dr. Jose Alberto Reyes, associate professor in CEPD.
• Mixed Methods Research Design workshop by Dr. Madalene Sta. Maria, Director of the CHED Zonal Center for Research University Research Coordination Office of DLSU, and
  
• Solution Focused Therapy workshop by Ms. Maria Angela Virata, Counselor and Consultant of In Touch Community Services