Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, Virginia Tech, Newtown, Superstorm Sandy, Pulse nightclub … It is only a partial list, but this roll call of places and events seared into public memory makes it obvious: The 21st century has provided counselors with many unfortunate opportunities to exercise disaster mental health counseling skills. Post-9/11, the practice of disaster…continue reading
In the United States, 1 in 6 adults has a prescription for a psychiatric drug. That ratio only increases among individuals who walk into counselors’ offices, leaving many counselors feeling that they must perform a special type of tightrope act to talk about medications with their clients. Given that licensed professional counselors don’t possess prescription…continue reading
Counselors and counselor educators who have worked with Gerard Lawson describe him as an insightful, genuine and approachable leader who has a gift for listening to others and seeing to the heart of problems to find solutions. At the same time, Lawson, an associate professor of counselor education at Virginia Tech who became the American…continue reading
The American Counseling Association Governing Council has endorsed a plan that would allow counselor practitioners who are licensed and in good standing in one state to become seamlessly licensed in other states should they move. The lack of licensure portability — being able to transfer a professional counseling license when a practitioner moves to a…continue reading
“My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever-changing view.” ~ Carole King Summertime often brings opportunities to gather with family and friends. Over grilled goodies and cold beverages, we wallow away the hours, reminiscing of old and fabricating new visions and ventures. It was during one…continue reading
In a postmodern world, supporting clients through career ups and downs demands consideration of the person’s cultural context and background. “Career counseling becomes not so much a procedure but a philosophical framework for guiding the work of counselor and client,” explain Louis A. Busacca and Mark C. Rehfuss in their book Postmodern Career Counseling: A…continue reading
For the past several years, I have provided and supervised counseling services for transgender persons and their family members and conducted workshops for mental health professionals, school counselors and educators on optimal ways for responding to the needs of transgender youth and adults. The purpose of this article is to share information for understanding transgender…continue reading
The amazing feature about kaleidoscopes is the endless, ever-changing scenes and complex patterns they reveal to anyone who takes the time to look. The gentlest of rotations invites a new and oftentimes completely different perspective on the same set of colorful shapes. Working with children, adults and families involved in the child welfare system is…continue reading
A supervisee committed to a multicultural counseling practice approached me feeling distressed and self-critical. In my capacity as a doctoral candidate in counselor education and supervision, I had worked with this supervisee for several months and had also worked with him the year prior. At this point, he expressed uncertainty about his most recent session,…continue reading
Despite several decades of counseling research focusing on culturally diverse populations, limited knowledge still exists about such issues as parenting, achievement, resilience, the intersectionality of identity and the psychological impact of systemic oppression on clients who are members of culturally marginalized groups. Most of the efforts within the counseling profession have focused on developing multicultural…continue reading