Letter from the President 

It is truly an honor to serve as your 2026–2027 President of the Arkansas Counseling Association. I have spent much of my career as a counselor, supervisor, educator, and advocate for our profession, and one thing I continue to believe more strongly every year is this: we are better when we are connected.

Counseling can sometimes feel lonely, like work we do in our own little corners of our offices, schools, agencies, universities, hospitals, and communities. But we are part of something much bigger. Across Arkansas, counselors are doing incredible work every day, often without nearly enough recognition for the impact they are making. ArCA gives us a place to come together, learn from one another, advocate for our profession, and remind ourselves that none of us has to do this work alone.

Strengthening Our Voice

One of my priorities this year is continuing to strengthen the voice of professional counselors in Arkansas. Our profession is changing quickly. We are navigating changes in licensure, reimbursement, technology, workforce needs, counselor education, and access to mental health services. These issues affect counselors in every setting and, ultimately, affect the clients and communities we serve.

We need to be part of the conversations that shape our profession. Advocacy does not belong to just a few people at the Capitol or in leadership positions. It belongs to all of us. ArCA can help counselors stay informed, understand the issues affecting our profession, and find meaningful ways to use our collective voice.

Building Connections Across Arkansas

Arkansas may be one state, but our counseling community is incredibly diverse. We work in rural communities and larger cities, schools and private practices, universities and community agencies, hospitals and treatment programs. We specialize in different areas and serve very different populations.

I want ArCA to continue finding ways to connect counselors across those differences. There is tremendous value in knowing the counselor across the state who is doing work completely different from your own or discovering that someone else is wrestling with exactly the same challenge you are. Professional relationships lead to consultation, referrals, collaboration, mentorship, and sometimes simply having someone who understands the work.

Supporting Counselors at Every Stage

Our profession needs strong counselors, but strong counselors do not develop in isolation. They need good educators, supervisors, mentors, colleagues, and professional communities around them.

I am especially passionate about supporting counselors throughout the entire lifespan of their careers from graduate students and counselors-in-training to new professionals, supervisors, educators, and those who have served this profession for decades. Each group has something to learn, and each has something valuable to contribute.

I hope ArCA continues to be a place where emerging counselors can find mentors, experienced counselors can share what they have learned, and all of us can continue growing.

Making Room for New Ideas

The counseling profession will not look exactly the same five or ten years from now as it does today and that is okay. Technology, telehealth, artificial intelligence, new research, changing client needs, and new approaches to training and service delivery will continue to challenge us to think differently.

We should be willing to ask questions, have difficult conversations, try new things, and occasionally admit that the way we have always done something may not be the way we should continue doing it.

At the same time, innovation should never cause us to lose sight of what sits at the heart of counseling: people, relationships, dignity, autonomy, and connection.

Better Together

If there is one theme I hope carries us through this year, it is better together.

I want you to see ArCA as your professional organization, not simply an organization that holds a conference once a year. Get involved. Join a division. Attend an event. Submit a presentation proposal. Mentor a student or new counselor. Reach out to another professional. Share an idea. Ask a question. Tell us what counselors in your part of Arkansas need.

Most importantly, bring your voice to the table.

We have an opportunity this year to strengthen our connections, advocate for our profession, support the next generation of counselors, and continue improving mental health care throughout Arkansas. I am excited about what we can accomplish together.

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving as your President. I look forward to connecting with many of you throughout the year and probably having a little fun along the way.

Warmly,

Kristy Burton, Ph.D., LPC-S, CAADC, MAC, SAP, NCC
President, Arkansas Counseling Association
2026–2027