RADFORD – Radford University counselor education professor Donald Anderson has received recognition for an article in which he presents the first multicultural treatment planning model for group counseling work. The article, “Multicultural Group Work: A Force for Developing and Healing,” appeared in the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, the professional journal of the Association for Specialists in Group Work. The publication’s 25-member editorial board named Anderson’s contribution the Best Article of 2007.

In the article, Anderson (right) proposes that multicultural group work represents a powerful counseling tool for helping and healing in the context of human diversity. He defines multicultural group work and describes a model for multicultural counseling assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning. The model includes intentional, stage-specific treatment strategies and counselor interventions to promote human development and healing in the context of human diversity.

Anderson joined Radford University’s Department of Counselor Education in 1988. He served as department chair for a decade, from 1996 through 2006. During his tenure, the department was the largest RU graduate program and achieved national distinction with a near-perfect (99.6) re-accreditation peer review and accreditation of three counseling programs at three sites in Southwest Virginia.

“Dr. Anderson has been actively working and engaged in the areas of group counseling and multicultural group work for many years,” said current RU counselor education department chair Alan Forrest. “It is good to see him receive the recognition for his contributions and years of service to the counseling profession.”

Anderson will receive the award at an ASGW meeting to be held in conjunction with the March 2008 conference of the American Counseling Association in Honolulu.