Thomas R. Insel has served as the director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) since 2002, gaining respect as a leader who supports research that will help us understand, treat and even prevent mental disorders. During his tenure, major breakthroughs have been made in the areas of practical clinical trials,
Month: March 2015
In the mid-1960s, Joseph Weizenbaum, a pioneer in computer science working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory, developed a very simple computer program named ELIZA that was capable of having a conversation with a human being. ELIZA’s responses were programmed in a way that mimicked
The Mandala Assessment Research Instrument (MARI) is a Jungian instrument based on symbols and colors that are chosen intuitively. When displayed on the developmental template of the Great Round, these symbols and colors reveal a visual picture of one’s psyche. Joan Kellogg developed MARI as an art therapy tool in
In Washington, D.C., the cherry blossoms are about to come out and the harsh winter is fading into memory. No more backaches from shoveling snow or missing work because of weather-related closures. Watching several inches of snow fall in March, I thought about how it was going to slow down
I emphasized the importance of portability for licensed professional counselors in last month’s From the President column. This month, I want to discuss counselor identity, which is closely related to licensure portability. It is my belief that having a consensus identity is not only important for counselor licensure portability but also
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. **** It’s a frustrating scenario that happens all too often. A counselor moves to a
Positive social change is possible. It is often slow and halting, but it does happen. In the past decade, people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) have experienced some positive change regarding their human rights and societal attitudes. As of this writing, 37 states and the District
In the winter of 2014, I bedded down for a long-deserved rest. As a counselor educator, I basked in the idea that after posting final grades, the university would be closed for the holiday season. With a full private practice, often seeing 25 clients a week, I had made the
Through our traumas, we are often at risk of ingesting our perpetrators, continuing to perpetuate the same cycles of abuse and abandonment on ourselves and on others, and believing the messages of unworthiness communicated through the injuries that were inflicted. Left unchecked, these messages can be fully absorbed like toxins
Counselors Jeffrey Kottler and Richard Balkin delivered a fast-paced, information-packed keynote talk peppered with humor, visual clips and abundant insight this morning at the ACA 2015 Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida. The duo kicked off the conference’s second day with an address about the importance of relationships – both