The Arkansas Counseling Association is proud to present

the 81st Annual Fall Conference

Mixtape Sessions: Counseling the Underserved Through Hardship and Harmony

November 11-13, 2026

Wyndham Riverfront, North Little Rock

Featured Keynote Speaker

 

Dr. Michael Jones, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC, BC-TMH

Beyond the Stereotype: Counseling Black Men as Whole People

Counselors tend to grant complexity to some clients by default. Ambivalence, tenderness, fear, ordinariness: these are read as human in most people and as symptoms, or as absence, in Black men. This keynote treats that gap as an ethical problem and follows it through the tools we use every day: the intake, the diagnosis, the treatment plan, and the note. Drawing on current research on clinical judgment, diagnostic disparity, and stigmatizing documentation, the session asks what it costs a man to be flattened by the person who was supposed to see him, and what a counselor in Arkansas can do differently on Monday morning.

Conference Registration and Information

Conference Vendor Registration and Information

Conference Sponsor Registration and Information

Conference attendees are eligible to receive a special discounted rate at our conference hotel, the Wyndham Riverfront in North Little Rock. This discounted rate can be accessed by clicking here and reserving your room. This special rate expires prior to conference, so don't delay!