TPC-Journal-V1-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \ Volume 1, Issue 1 9 Other counseling training programs will be developed according to the official training program. Institutions may develop their own specific program, but must include the official requirements. A last concern is professional counselor certification, supervision, and continuing education. FAVO has worked on these matters since 2004 in collaboration with the NBCC International. FAVO is developing Venezuela’s first National Counselor Certification System as well as conceptualizing a national supervision model and continuing education. FAVO granted the first group of national certified counselors in 2010 and is planning for the first group of trained and certified counselor supervisors in 2011. Final Thoughts After years of counselor education evolution and counseling services growth, the professionalization of counseling in Venezuela is now happening, but it depends on Venezuelan counseling leaders to develop a strong advocacy movement. Accordingly, Venezuela’s current political climate has the extraordinary opportunity to pass the Venezuela Counseling Law Proposal in the National Assembly. This may be possible if FAVO has successes in the implementation of the Venezuela National Counseling Certification System because this can help in the task of alerting Venezuela’s professional counselors. Accordingly, counselors’ sense of professionalism might spark the enthusiasm needed for involvement in a strong advocacy movement. Finally, according to experiences in different parts of the world, it can be concluded that not only in Venezuela, but worldwide, the profession of counseling is an emerging phenomenon; therefore, international counseling institutions and organizations need to begin acting on how to face the worldwide challenges for professional counselors. References Benavent, J. (1996). La orientación psicopedagógica en España. Desde sus orígenes hasta 1939 . Valencia, VZ: Promolibro. Calogne, S. (1988). Tendencias de la Orientación en Venezuela. Cuadernos de Educación 135 . Caracas, VZ: Cooperativa Laboratorio Educativo. Moreno, A. (2009). La orientación como problema. Centro de investigaciones populares . Caracas, Venezuela: Colección Convevium. Vera, G. D. (2009). La profesión de orientación en Venezuela. Evolución y desafíos contemporáneos. Revista de Pedagogia, Universidad Central de Venezuela.