I was extremely happy to be able to be a part of the leadership team that announced the news, at the 2022 conference of the American Counseling Association, that the International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling (IARTC) officially had been designated as ACA’s newest Division! I have been equally incredibly delighted and honored to serve as the third president of IARTC. As Professor Emeritus, at Duquesne University—where I also served as the Endowed Chair in African Studies from 2012-2017—I was so ready to move into the next phase of helping to define the profession that I love. Fifteen years in community mental health and rehabilitation services informed my work as a counselor educator for the next 35 years. I began working with trauma survivors 50 years ago, before PTSD was even listed in the DSM, and I continue this work today.
My international experience started in 1976, as a delegate at the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women, in Brussels. I have been providing trauma-related services in African countries since 1993, including work in post genocide Rwanda. I have worked with colleagues throughout the southern region of Africa in establishing trauma informed programming for children who were orphaned during the HIV and AIDS pandemic; this activity punctuated my research agenda during my Fulbright year in Botswana (2003-2004). Working with a team of professionals in Russia, we created a community-based system of care for institutionalized orphaned children and initiated the first fostercare program in that country. Academically, I created trauma-informed coursework at four universities, which led to my  textbooks on trauma counseling [Levers, L. L (2022/2012). Trauma counseling: Theories and interventions for managing trauma, stress, crisis, and disaster (2 nd ed.). Springer.]. I actively have engaged in Trauma-Informed Community Development, designed by IARTC President-Elect Dr. Matt Walsh, in my city and beyond. I have greatly enjoyed serving the International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling as a highly relevant global Division of ACA. This truly has been a labor of love, and as the founding President of IARTC, Dr. Carol Smith, has been fond of saying, we really have been “building the airplane while we’re flying it!” Along with contributing to the nuts and bolts of building an organization from the ground up, I have pursued the agenda of my presidency year, that trauma, both individually and collectively, is a global health issue. Many have joined me, both in building our organization and in pursuing resilience and trauma counseling as a public health issue. Together, we have promoted resilience building and have advocated for trauma competent counseling worldwide, all in an effort to deliver the quality of services that our clients deserve. We have been building capacity to provide professional counselors and counselor educators with robust trauma and resilience resources, as well as ongoing training, wherever they liv —as evidenced here, by our new website format. So, for all members who have been working hard to help build this airplane, a heartfelt “Thank You!” And for any member (or emerging member) who would like to get involved—or more involve —please contact us. I believe that the world needs IARTC right now, and IARTC needs you!