More than 15 years ago, the American Counseling Association (ACA) published advocacy competencies to guide counselors when serving as advocates in the field (Lewis, Arnold, House, & Toporek, 2002). The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) published advocacy competencies three years later (Brown & Trusty, 2005). The ASCA competencies introduced the concept of Advocacy Dispositions, personal characteristics that contribute to advocacy knowledge and skills. Brown and Trusty (2005) note that one cannot develop advocacy knowledge and skills until they have become competent in the area of dispositions. This roundtable will focus on the means for counselor educators to develop advocacy dispositions among counselors-in-training, and discuss the general concepts behind the dispositions needed to advocate.
