Recently, the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) decided to launch a new academic journal. But not your average, run-of-the-mill journal—our goal was to create an exciting online resource for the counseling profession that would appeal to the more than 44,000 National Certified Counselors (NCCs) around the world and also speak to counselor educators, practitioners, graduate students, researchers, supervisors, and the general public.

Knowing that this new twist on the traditional journal was an ambitious undertaking and would require some out-of-the-box thinking, we formed a journal team. After many lively discussions, we had a raft of creative ideas for making this journal innovative and distinct, as well as informative, relevant and user-friendly.

As part of the process, we asked ourselves basic questions. What was our purpose for creating this journal? To promote the practice of professional counseling. How can we do this? By publishing original, peer-reviewed manuscripts covering a wide range of empirical, theoretical and innovative counseling topics, and delivering this journal in an efficient and timely manner.

When the role of publisher came up—and my name with it—I needed to figure out what a publisher does. A little Internet research revealed that a publisher connects writers to readers. That sounded easy enough.

Then I discovered that a publisher also plays an active role in the creative process. Having a keen eye for talent, I asked Dr. Linda Foster, NBCC’s Vice President for Professional Practice, to assume this responsibility and serve as assistant publisher.

For the very specific and important job of editor, the journal team selected Dr. J. Scott Hinkle, Clinical Training Coordinator for NBCC. His professional knowledge and insight will serve him well in this demanding role.

And now, with our core journal staff in place, we are very pleased to welcome you to The Professional Counselor: Research and Practice (TPC). We are excited to be able to contribute this resource to the counseling profession and look forward to watching it grow and change to meet your needs.

Dr. Thomas W. Clawson
Publisher, TPC
President & CEO, NBCC