[2] Its stated mission is to "enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity".

[7] They are listed here with their founding date: The ACA also has multi-state regional bodies, and branches for various US states and territories.

[16] The organization's flagship magazine, Counseling Today,[17] is published once a month and sent to all ACA members via U.S. mail.

In 2016, ACA moved its 2017 San Francisco Conference & Expo from Nashville, Tennessee to San Francisco, California after Tennessee's legislature passed a bill, HB 1840/SB 1556, targeting members of the LGBTQ community and others.

The bill allowed counselors in Tennessee to turn clients away based on "strongly held principles".