Dr. Janine Bernard receives national award for contributions to counseling profession | Press Releases

Dr. Janine M. Bernard of Stratford, chair of the Counselor Education program in Fairfield University's Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, has been honored with the Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award. The national award was presented at the American Counseling Association's Annual Conference 2000 in Washington, D.C., last week and recognized Dr. Bernard's outstanding service to the counseling profession at the local, state and national level.

Dr. Bernard is credited with changing how the profession of counseling views clinical supervision with her 1979 article, "Supervisor Training: A Discrimination Model," published in the journal, Counselor Education and Supervision. The article has been referenced thousands of times over the past 20 years in publications throughout the world.

She is also the author of a textbook, Fundamentals of Clinical Supervision, that has been used extensively, and has worked with the National Board of Certified Counselors to encourage the concept of accreditation for supervisors through the Approved Clinical Supervisor credential.

In Connecticut, Dr. Bernard was instrumental in obtaining licensure for professional counselors. John Thorson, who nominated Dr. Bernard for the national award and serves as president of the Connecticut Counseling Association, said, "Because of her expertise, familiarity with national issues and her manner of presentation, the legislators respected her testimony and professional counselors gained a level of credibility that was immeasurable." He added, "licensure in Connecticut would not have become a reality at this time" without her efforts.

Dr. Bernard joined Fairfield University in 1985 and, by 1989, had spearheaded an initiative that gained accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) for the two counseling programs in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions, making Fairfield one of only 60 schools nationwide to receive such accreditation.

The author of numerous articles and books, Dr. Bernard is also a member of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and the Connecticut Counseling Association.