The 2020 Counseling Psychology Conference and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned in Cultivating Change Through Liberation

Abstract

Simultaneous to the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, the 2020 Counseling Psychology Conference was in the final stages of preparation. It was impossible to hold the conference in the midst of university restrictions on nonessential travel and government restrictions of large gatherings. We document the 2020 Counseling Psychology Conference as originally planned for historical purposes and describe the leadership challenges associated with cancellation. Further, we describe the virtual events arising from the 2020 Counseling Psychology Conference that were held to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Counseling Psychology. Finally, we make recommendations for the field's constituent professional organizations and future leaders for planning future national conferences based on these experiences. Consistent with the theme of the conference, “Counseling Psychology at 75 Years: Reflections on Shared Identity, Cultivating Change, and Building a Counseling Psychology of Liberation,” our manuscript is framed from a liberation psychology perspective.