Iowa Takes the National Stage in Philly!

Hold onto your Liberty Bells, folks — Iowa made it to the City of Brotherly Love!

We’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Allison Levine, IMHCA’s Legislative and Public Policy Chair, and Dr. Erin Lane, Legislative Chair for the Iowa School Counseling Association proudly represented Iowa at the 2025 ACES Conference in Philadelphia — and did so with flying colors!

Their presentation, titled “The Impact of Policy and Place on Counselors in Iowa,” tackled a topic as essential as a Philly cheesesteak: how policy and rural identity shape the lives and careers of Iowa’s mental health counselors.

Using original, mixed-methods research, Allison and Erin dove into the complexities of:

• Career decision-making in rural contexts
• Telehealth accessibility
• Policy perception
• Rural counselor identity
• And mental health needs across Iowa

And they didn’t stop there — they tied it all together using the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCCs) to explore the implications for counselor education.

Amid a national conversation on mental health counselor identity (the theme of today’s keynote!), our Iowa delegation stood tall — Rocky-style — showcasing what it means to train, support, and retain passionate, policy-aware counselors in the heartland. Courtney Ackerson, President of the American Mental Health Counselors Association was also present to represent Iowa.

Their message was clear: Place matters. Policy matters. People matter. And Iowa is leading the way in understanding the intersection of all three.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Levine and Dr. Lane for raising Iowa’s voice on the national stage and making us proud.

#IMHCA #ACES2025 #RuralMentalHealth #CounselorIdentity