Foundation Connections

The Mental Health Connections global virtual conference is a celebration of the counseling profession. The National Board for Certified Counselors and the NBCC Foundation collaborated to host the conference on Dec. 3–5, 2025, bringing together counselors to learn about the state of counseling and mental health in communities worldwide.

Conference attendees had the opportunity to earn up to 35 continuing education hours for presentations on initiatives in education, training, practice, and research that foster mental health service development among different communities. Participants also learned about partnerships toward building mental health service capacity and workforce expansion around the world.

Special preconference sessions announced TPC Global, a new initiative by The Professional Counselor, to showcase counseling scholarship that reflects the globalization of the profession.

The keynotes included the following presentations:

• A Day in the Life of a Counselor: The Next Chapter is a continuation of the series that started during the 2022 Mental Health Connections Conference. This year’s presentation featured counselors who represented different countries and career trajectories, including those who studied counseling in their home countries and those who studied abroad, those who live and practice in their home countries, and those who live and practice away from home. Dr. Shabari Bhattacharyya from India, Ms. Deki Choden from Bhutan, Mrs. Diana Nyirenda from Malawi, Dr. Sabina Scott from Kyrgyzstan, and Dr. Mihee Woo from South Korea talked about their home countries, mental health challenges, and their professional journeys.
• Counselor Practice of Stress Management and Personal Wellness From Cross-Cultural Perspectives, by Dr. Hannah Acquaye, Dr. Zvi Bellin, and Dr. Ling Cheun Bianca Lee, 李 靈 津, featured discussion on how stress-management techniques can look different or intersect across cultures. The presenters also shared what their professional journeys taught them about stress management.   
• Healing and Ethics Across Cultures: A Comparative Exploration of Counseling Practice in the U.S. and India, by Dr. Sneha Nayar-Bhalerao, Dr. Kaneenica Ninawe, and Ms. Ankita Gandhi Kamath, reviewed cultural beliefs, ethical frameworks, and counseling practices in India and the United States. The presenters discussed how cultural values in each country influence approaches to counseling and what matters to clients. Attendees also learned how to address ethical dilemmas related to autonomy, confidentiality, client engagement, and how to take a client’s cultural background into account.

The Mental Health Connections conference highlighted the Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) program as a microfunding opportunity. This initiative is an educational framework that provides fundamental mental health training to individuals outside of the counseling profession. The MHF program expands mental health capacity through peer-to-peer mental health support. Microfunding contributions help MHF program participants travel to and from trainings, purchase food on training days, and access printed educational materials. All of the donations from the microfunding opportunity support the MHF program. Additional donations can be made here.

Information on the 2026 Mental Health Connections global virtual conference will be shared via email and social media.

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