Dear ARCA Members and Friends of ARCA!

Hey, Chat, help me write a letter to … just kidding. Honestly, I really have been thinking about this letter for some time and can’t believe July 1 is right around the corner!

As the 2025-2026 ARCA President, I’d like to begin by thanking Dr. Paige Dunlap for her leadership this past year. I have appreciated learning from her leadership and will continue to seek her wisdom as she enters her role as Past-President. I also want to thank the ARCA Board members for their work. The Board is a group of volunteers who give their time and energy to our Division and have worked tirelessly to bring programming and services to the membership. This year they also faced the difficult decision of having to increase the dues for student members from $15 to $35 and new professionals from $50 to $65 to offset the increase in management service agreement (MSA) fees charged by ACA for their service delivery to divisions. These MSA fees, now over $25 per member, have increased significantly over the last three years. So, to ensure that ARCA is able to continue to offer free and low-cost programming to members, this difficult decision was made. Thank you all for seeing the bigger picture.

It has been quite a year! Lots of programming was available this year. I hope members took advantage of some of the wonderful presentations that were part of this year’s virtual pre-conference and the webinar series. With artificial intelligence (AI) being a major innovation in the workplace, the last few webinars this year focused on the benefits and potential applications of AI to enhance the work we do in education, research, and in fieldwork. AI is a game changer; and with anything that can bring about such a change, there can be excitement, concern, curiosity, and a variety of other feelings that go along with it. But, to move forward, we need to adapt and find innovative ways to work with the change in a way that fits our value system and function.

As I mentioned, I have been thinking about writing this letter for some time now and truly believe in the work we do and hope that my words honor all of the ARCA leaders who have come before me and the folks who are our Division’s members. So, here it goes.

In Counseling and particularly in Rehabilitation Counseling, I see such depth and richness. And so, I am writing this letter as an invitation to seize the incredible opportunity we have ahead of us. Evolution is inevitable, and much like technology moving from computers taking up entire rooms to AI on our phones, we have seen shifts and changes across the history of rehabilitation counseling too. So, I am inviting you to seize the opportunity to grow and add to the field of counseling and our communities. Under the umbrella of Rehabilitation Counseling, there is plenty of room for all—rehabilitation counselors, rehabilitation counselor educators and supervisors, rehabilitation counseling researchers, students, clinical practitioners, vocational rehabilitation counselors, vocational evaluators, specialists in consultation, life care planning, and forensics, other counselors with an interest in working with clients with disabilities, and certainly disabled folks/folks with disabilities.

I believe in the strength of the community and am inviting you to add to its value. In the Counseling and Rehabilitation program at the University of South Carolina where I am so lucky to be part of a great team, we operate from the philosophy of a learning community. Capitalizing on this idea, we (I mean all of us—ARCA members and friends and colleagues of ARCA) can learn so much from each other when we decide to work together rather than segregating our “specialties.” Under this expansive rehabilitation counseling umbrella, as I mentioned, there is plenty of room; and by leveraging the knowledge, passion, and experience of all those who are members, we can grow stronger as a community to better serve our students, clients, communities, and country. Rehabilitation counselors, those interested in working within the disability community, and folks with disabilities add such value to our society; and as Helen Keller shared so many years ago, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Imagine how services can advance, education can be enriched, research enhanced, quality of life improved. It is by working together that this is achieved. I look forward to working with you this year!

Over the past year, I’ve listened to ARCA members and non-members alike about ways to foster a learning community rooted in rehabilitation counseling and disability. In response, I’m excited to announce several upcoming initiatives.

A Virtual Jingle Run, Walk, Roll 5K will start us off this Fall/Winter. This activity will serve as a fundraiser for our student fund and to build a community amongst students across the country (and hopefully even into Puerto Rico and other neighboring countries). Years ago, Dr. Dennis Maki generously donated royalties from one of his texts to create this fund, which has since supported many students and now needs to be replenished. Look for the 5K announcement coming out soon, so you can start putting your team together for the December event. All rehabilitation counseling programs are welcome to join the fun! The team or individual who brings in the most donations, will win a trophy. To follow the festivities, we’ll post the chronicles of the event on our website—pictures of teams, the run/walk/roll, triumphant folks crossing the finish line! I want us to have more than 100 participants!

I also am planning for ARCA to host a Pre-conference Symposium prior to ACA convention in Columbus, OH. While ACA has a variety of great presentations by our members, our rehabilitation counseling colleagues, and by those across other areas of counseling, ARCA members and those who are friends and colleagues of our Division have asked for programming that encourages and supports community among folks in the rehabilitation counseling community. I am hoping to secure a venue soon and to see you in Columbus in April 2026. Look for our call for presentations coming out soon!

In addition to monthly webinars that will include topics such as life care planning, ethics and ethical decision-making, sexual wellness and disability, psychiatric rehabilitation, and much more, I am planning for ARCA to host a Virtual Learning Institute focusing on two tracks—disability and research. These are two areas folks have continued to want to see in our programming. While this type of event can showcase the expertise of rehabilitation professionals (e.g., educators, researchers, students, practitioners, etc.) the subjects may also appeal to others who work in these areas across the counseling field. Afterall, sharing knowledge is a powerful form of advocacy and a path to greater disability awareness.

Finally, part of ARCA’s mission is advocacy. Therefore, it is my hope that ARCA can work on advocacy efforts with organizations and other divisions to raise awareness about issues impacting rehabilitation counselors (e.g., licensing) and the disability community.

Once again, this letter is an open invitation. You are invited to join us in moving rehabilitation counseling forward. Just as AI is revolutionizing technology, we have the power to evolve our field and improve lives.

If you are interested in serving on committees to support any of these initiatives, please reach out to me (those of you who have already reached out, expect an email from me soon!). I look forward to serving as your President this year and working alongside you—all of you—rehabilitation counselors, rehabilitation counselor educators and supervisors, students, researchers, clinical practitioners, vocational rehabilitation counselors, folks with disabilities, and others who contribute to this vast, vibrant, and rich community!

SAVE THE DATES:

• Virtual Jingle Run, Walk, Roll 5K – Call for Teams and Individual Participants – November (Registration); 5K December 13, 2025-January 3, 2026.
• Call for Awards – October 2025
• Pre-Conference Symposium – April 8, 2026
• Virtual Learning Conference – May 2026

Christine

Christine Sacco-Bene, PhD, 2025-2026 ARCA President