Messiah assistant professor of counseling elected PCA president

Messiah assistant professor of counseling elected PCA president

Dr. Stephen Kuniak, assistant professor in Messiah College’s Graduate Program in Counseling, has been elected president of the PCA (Pennsylvania Counseling Association). The PCA is a branch of the American Counseling Association and serves and represents the state’s professional counselors by providing leadership and professional development.

Kuniak, who has been a member of the organization since 2011, has several goals for the three-year appointment that draw on his experiences in clinical and academic settings. “There's a lot of value in participation by academics,” he said, “but day-to-day counselors don't tend to see consistent opportunity in getting involved.” In addition to adding value to membership for practicing counselors, he plans to increase member interaction by introducing new social platforms and programming and expand the annual conference to create more opportunities for learning, scholarship and advocacy.

Kuniak is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania and a National Certified Counselor. He has a Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision and a master’s degree in marriage, couple and family counseling from Duquesne University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a specialized certificate as an addiction specialist from Saint Vincent College.

Kuniak will begin his term as president-elect in July of 2019.