Summer 2019 update: The American Counseling Association has created a state-by-state guide with updated information on licensure requirements across the country. Go to counseling.org/knowledge-center/licensure-requirements for information on licensure in your state or U.S. territory. **** As an existentially oriented counselor, I am well versed in the absurd, but I
Category: Member Insights
Articles written by members of the American Counseling Association
Life guarantees us two things: change and loss. Together they compose the unpredictable rhythm of life. They also exert tremendous pressure on the soul. If we don’t stop long enough to notice, we’ll wake up one day and wonder why the light has gone out of our eyes and why passion
He had made his Decision. My family and I were halfway to London when our train made one of its usual stops at a station. Normally, the doors would close again in about 30 seconds, and we would be on our way. But this time, we waited for five minutes. It
A normal day for a professional counselor too often entails focusing on remedial concerns. So many clients suffer from the aftermath of trauma and violence, while severe mental health concerns such as anxiety, co-occurring disorders and chemical dependency — among other mental health disorders — also necessitate in-depth therapeutic treatment. That reality
A Columbus, Ohio, mother and her two children are stabbed to death. A mother and grandmother is beaten and shot to death in Newark, Ohio. A Logan, Ohio, mother with three children under the age of 6 is kidnapped and strangled; her body is dumped in a sewer. The commonalities? Each of
On Jan. 24, I was sitting in the break room of my office in a human rights organization in Cairo, Egypt, where I work as a counselor for African refugees. As the oldest person in the office, I argued that the demonstrations scheduled for the next day would probably be like
Robotic counselors. Virtual solutions. Personality uploading. These are not science fiction fantasies but real possibilities that lie just beyond the horizon for the field of counseling. According to some futurists, a trend of great historical magnitude is unfolding: the exponential growth of technological development leading to an event referred to as
I remember sitting in Ms. Smith’s sixth-grade class, in full daydream mode, as she droned on and on in the background. Suddenly, Ms. Smith declared, “Now that I have explained this assignment, I want you all to get right to work on it.” My classmates immediately started working diligently at
It is a common belief that clients seek counseling to begin or continue change. In the case of recent immigrants, change is a significant, ongoing process. Deciding to leave one’s home country to make a new life somewhere else requires considerable bravery and faith that the future will be as
I spent five days training counselors in Rwanda in 2008. During each break and after each class, two young men asked me many questions about the pragmatics of counseling in the United States. They seemed especially interested in the length of counseling sessions as we practice them in the United