CREATIVITY IN COUNSELING
Samuel T. Gladding will present the 2007 SDCA Conference Keynote. Gladding is internationally known for his work in the field of counseling. His positive and energizing presentations make him a sought after speaker. He will present the opening keynote for the conference on Friday, April 13 on the topic of Creativity in Counseling.
Counseling is a creative process. In successful counseling experiences, counselors are both sensitive and innovative when attending to the needs of their clients. Likewise, when counseling goes well clients learn to be thoughtful and resourceful in making choices and changes that improve their lives.
Gladding's workshop will focus on the variables that feed into helping counselors become creative or more creative in their work settings. Specifically, it will explore ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that lead to creativity. It will also highlight the SCAMPER model of implementing creativity and will give participants concrete examples to illustrate this pragmatic mnemonic process of: Substitution, Combination, Adaptation, Modification, Put to Other Uses, Elimination, and/or Reverse/Rearrange.
Samuel T. Gladding is a professor and chair of the Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has been a practicing counselor in both public and private community agencies. His leadership in the field of counseling includes service as president of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), and Chi Sigma Iota (international counseling honor society). He is also the former editor of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work.
In 1999, he was cited as being in the top 1% of contributors to the Journal of Counseling and Development for the 15-year period, 1978-1993. Some of Sam's most recent books are: Counseling as an Art: The Creative Arts in Counseling (3rd ed.) (2005), Counseling Theories: Essential Concepts and Applications (2005), Counseling: A Comprehensive Profession (5th ed.) (2004), and The Counseling Dictionary (2nd ed.) (2006).
Gladding is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC), and a Licensed Professional Counselor in North Carolina. He is married to the former Claire Tillson and the father of three children – Ben, Nate, and Tim. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming, writing poetry, and reading humor.