International Association for Counselling

International Association for Counselling started in 1949 with a newly formed committee within the National Vocational Guidance Association, which developed a set of guidelines to maintain the quality of vocational counselling agencies. The American Personnel and Guidance Association (now known as the American Counselling Association - ACA) was created in 1952 and this organization took over the responsibilities of the committee to evaluate new applying canters and review previously approved agencies. The committee started producing directories of approved entities every two years. In 1957, the Committee was renamed the "American Board on Professional Practices. Just like before, through the years, the function of the Board changed and evaluation functions expanded and included more than just vocational counselling. The Board devoted a year of study to developing standards for the counselling professional and their name changed to the American Board on Counselling Services in 1961. The American Board produced a directory of approved counselling services every two years from 1964-1970. There was a set criteria for professional practice and the organization would go and evaluate different types of practices to determine credibility. Eventually the criteria grew and three different sectors with their own set of guidelines were designed for this purpose. The International Association of Counselling Services (IACS) was established in March 1971 to be a separate structure to administer accreditation programs, but still remained an affiliate of ACA until 1993 when IACS became an independent organization. The basic purposes of IACS are to encourage and aid these services throughout the United States and internationally to meet high professional standards, and to provide the profession and the public with information about those services. IACS is committed to furthering the visibility of counselling services on university and college campuses and improving their quality. To that end, IACS has evolved standards that define professional excellence and has established criteria for accreditation which reflect these standards. As demands for accountability increase, professional peer review is vital.

The following is the list of scholars from International Association for Counselling who contributed and/or serves as editors for one or more OMICS International journals and conferences

• Najiha Syeda
• Sahida Tabassum Mohammad
• Shaheda Tabasum
• Tiziana Ramaci