My junior high school teacher once told me to reach for the stars in life and said I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. Now, I really do believe this!” — Courtney Vinson’s story from Think College, a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University
Month: April 2014
A psychiatrist’s wife once questioned him about why he was so faithful in going to see Zen master Shunryu Suzuki for mentoring and guidance. His response was simple: “Where he is, is where I want to be … in that place of sanity.” One of the greatest gifts we can share with
“Instead of thinking about bullying, we should think about belonging,” says Stan Davis, a researcher on peer mistreatment and school dynamics. The most effective way to combat school bullying is to work toward having students accepted by their peers, asserts Davis, a retired school counselor and child and family therapist
I have many T-shirts, some purchased at stores, others collected at counseling events I have attended over the years. One of my favorites says, “I’m More Than a Counselor, I’m a Change Agent.” I like it because it goes beyond simply announcing one’s profession — it gets to the heart of
Three key frontiers await us in counseling that will catapult us into a new age of functionality. First, the recent incident at Fort Hood reminds us that those returning home from active-duty military deployments are in need of our expertise. Second, we need to advance our understanding and operationalization of
This vignette and those to follow in the coming months are actual situations that have occurred in my diversity workshops. They will include my thoughts/rationale and the interventions I used, as well as questions for the facilitator, group/dyad exercises and a summary that helps to place the event in a
Not all therapeutic alliances are deeply challenged by the counselor’s pregnancy, but most will experience some impact, if for no other reason than it necessitates a break in the counseling process. Preparation, awareness and collegial support are indispensible tools during this time.
Advocacy is a concept that can evoke visions of protesters and picket lines, phone banks and information booths, and maybe even knocking on doors and accosting strangers on the street. But at its most basic level, advocacy means to help or assist, and isn’t that the essence of counseling? “I feel
The Boston Marathon’s 26.2 mile course can be a metaphor for what the city has been through over the past year: a long, winding stretch of ups and downs, heartbreak and triumph. Today, April 21, thousands of runners return to finish the race that was halted unexpectedly and tragically one
As a school counselor in Florida, Kristina Knight helps students decide which classes to sign up for and organizes programs on goal setting, drug abuse and bullying. Nothing unusual there. But something sets Knight apart from the large majority of her school counseling colleagues: She is never in the same