EuropeanBcc.eu
European Board for Certified Counselors (EBCC) is an European established non-profit organization, that serves as the regional hub for National Board for Certified Counselors International (NBCC International) activities in Europe.
This office helps coordinate and foster counseling certification, training and professional development in the region. It exists as a clearing house for any inquires of a regional nature related to certification, education, training and professional standards in counseling.
EBCC encourages the national offices in Europe to work together for creating valuable educational programs in areas of specialization such as Career Counseling, School Counseling, Mental Health Counseling and others that are most useful to countries specific needs. The office also support the national offices to work together in European and international projects, to create relationships with public and private institutions (ministries, universities, counseling associations, businesses and any other institution interested in developing counseling programs and services).
Currently, the countries that have a NBCC national office are (in order of the creation): Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, and Romania. The EBCC headquarters are in Lisbon, Portugal. Besides those offices, EBCC has formal agreements with other countries that have not created a NBCC office yet, still try to promote the counseling activities through other means: educational events and programs, networking at the national and international level. Cyprus, Macedonia, Portugal, Turkey are among such countries. The ultimate goal of EBCC is to support the European countries in their efforts to create a strong counseling profession – from the creation of the standards of practice and procedures to the creation of a national credentialing scheme, mentor the national leaders and advocate for the profession.
NBCC-I and the European Board for Certified Counselors (EBCC) collaborate in a number of ways with leaders in diverse countries and are consistently open to proposals that expand the profession. The majority of collaborations tend to center on three distinct credentials: the National Certified Counselor – Country, the Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF), the Mental Health Facilitator (MHF), and forming NBCC national offices.
For developing GCDF programs, CCE works closely with NBCC-I and EBCC and interested universities and organizations worldwide to partner in adapting the curriculum and administrating the certification. The GCDF program has assisted in introducing the concept of career guidance and counseling in a number of countries, and current leaders in this area, especially in Europe and Asia, count the GCDF as a credential. Currently, partnerships exist in Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Taiwan, and Turkey.
