This month, I am writing about two amazing women whose contributions to the American Counseling Association and the counseling profession are worth noting and appreciating. As many of you know, June is the conclusion of our fiscal year at ACA. In addition to “closing the books,” we also begin the
Month: May 2014
As I prepare to step down from my role as ACA president at the end of the month, I am reflecting on my initial goals while in office. When I wrote my statement as a candidate for president, subsequently published in Counseling Today in December 2011, I asserted three priorities: a)
Despite the seemingly widespread understanding that mental illness is a disease that can be effectively treated, prejudice toward individuals with mental health issues still pervades our society. People with such conditions are often depicted as undesirable and incapable of maintaining meaningful personal relationships or holding positions of authority. Organizations such
In my work with clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, it became clear to me early on that most have experienced trauma in their lives — trauma that they must resolve to achieve and maintain a healthy recovery. These traumas are sometimes categorized as little “t” or
Maya Angelou, noted poet, author and inspiration to many counselors, passed away today at age 86. Angelou, a longtime professor at Wake Forest University, gave the 1997 keynote address at the American Counseling Association’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida. “I still remember her ACA conference keynote more than 17 years
For many counselors, attrition of clients is a common frustration and concern. For practitioners who specialize in working with certain populations such as low-income mothers, the problem of attrition may become strikingly familiar. The number of no-shows on a counselor’s calendar can negatively affect morale and even the counselor’s financial
For centuries, poets and playwrights have ascribed a kind of magic to sleep: “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep,” says Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Poet e.e. cummings wrote, “over my sleeping self float flaming symbols of hope,
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
After three years of work that included 40 conference calls, numerous face-to-face meetings, two meetings at American Counseling Association annual conferences, two town hall meetings and the evaluation of feedback received from more than 100 ACA members, the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics was approved and released at the end of
Exploring how a person’s lack of theological harmony might be perceived through different psychotherapy theories.