Welcome!

Jake J. Protivnak, Ph.D., PCC-S, LSC
President, OCA 2009-2010

Welcome to the Ohio Counseling Association. OCA is the umbrella organization that represents over 3000 members and affiliates in Ohio with professional counselors active in our seven regional chapters and eight state divisions (e.g., mental health, school, counselor education, etc.).

OCA will continue to promote and advance the profession of counseling across multiple systems of influence (e.g., individual, employer, funding source, statewide levels). OCA is committed to advancing the professional privileges, recognition and employment of all licensed professional counselors working in Ohio. For counselors to be successful, we must continue to support the work of the legislative consultants to advance issues important to licensed counselors (e.g., Medicare coverage of counselors, mental health hold legislation, appropriate classification titles, etc.).

2009 is the 25th anniversary of the counselor licensure being signed into law in Ohio. OCA members have worked tirelessly over the years to establish our licensure law, protect counselor’s right to engage in psychological testing, develop standards for counselor education, open school counseling profession to individuals from diverse educational backgrounds, etc. While we celebrate these accomplishments, it will be important for current counselors to step forward and take opportunities to become actively involved in the continued work of advancing and protecting of our counseling profession in Ohio during the next 25 years.

Consider how you can be involved in OCA to enable future counselors to have the opportunity to use their counseling license to make a positive impact in the lives of their clients and students. I encourage you to e-mail myself at jjprotivnak@ysu.edu and/or any of the leaders listed on the OCA Executive Council web page https://www.ohiocounseling.org/execboard.htm to become involved. Feel free to ask any questions or provide suggestion for how OCA can better meet the needs of professional counselors in Ohio.

Sincerely,
Jake J. Protivnak, Ph.D., PCC-S, LSC
Ohio Counseling Association - President

Biography
Dr. Jake J. Protivnak is the Counseling Program Coordinator / Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH. He has provided counseling services in clinical mental health, school, and college settings. Most recently, he worked as a counselor for Coleman Professional Services, a nationally recognized not-for-profit provider of behavioral health in Northeast Ohio. He is a licensed professional clinical counselor (PCC-S), a licensed school counselor (LSC), and a nationally certified counselor (NCC). Dr. Protivnak completed his Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Ohio University. He has served as an adjunct counselor educator for the University of Dayton, Methodist Theological School in Ohio and Ohio University. In 2009, he received the Distinguished Professorship Award for Teaching from Youngstown State University. His teaching/research interests include counselor professional identity and ethics, school counseling, and career development.