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
Category: Member Insights
Articles written by members of the American Counseling Association
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
Local law enforcement, code enforcement and animal control experts have known about the problems of animal hoarding and object hoarding for a long time. But excepting the sporadic attention given to the issue here and there in the professional literature, the mental health community is relatively new on the scene.
Current education reform initiatives and reports are fueling new debates among national and state education leaders and policymakers about the viability of U.S. schools and solutions to pervasive education problems. Initiatives such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top program and President Obama’s Blueprint for Reform of
Dan sat motionless, riveted to his chair as he recalled his recurrent nightmare. “Every night …” He trailed off and faded back. “It’s the eyes. I see his eyes! Staring at me.” Dan was recalling a soldier, frozen to death and still at his post. The memory, too, was frozen
One of the long-standing debates in the counseling profession is whether the counseling process should be conceptualized scientifically or according to the assumptions of the humanities. At this point in history, most counselors would probably agree that both scientific and humanistic ideologies should inform the practice of counseling. These scientific
I believe sitting in the client’s chair weekly – experiencing exactly what it is like to be the client – would greatly increase beginner counselors’ empathy.
Ten years ago, I was in my office at school when a student came in, threw herself in the chair and stated emphatically, “Life really sucks, and I hate all my teachers.” She then burst into tears with such force that she began to hiccup uncontrollably. I immediately sat across
“Experiences, thoughts, actions and emotions actually change the structure of our brains. … Indeed, once we understand how the brain develops, we can train our brains for health, vibrancy and longevity.” — John J. Ratey, A User’s Guide to the Brain Counseling builds new brain networks. Research in neuroscience and