Counselors can help those who are shouldering end-of-life caregiving responsibilities to navigate sensitive issues such as burnout, guilt and family dynamics.
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It is imperative to make time for silence in our noisy lives. Modern-day living is accompanied by a cacophony of external noise and internal concerns. Our bodies and minds cannot sustain the ongoing level of stimulation without disease or disorder.
Child-directed interaction and PRIDE skills can be used in the counselor’s office, in the home, in schools and elsewhere to help children produce more desired social behaviors.
To work effectively with these clients, counselors must acknowledge the institutionalized racism and race-based oppression that influence clients’ trauma experiences and trauma responses.
Art therapy is one of four hours out of the week in which these clients are let out of their cells. How then does a clinician establish boundaries and a contained, safe therapeutic environment in a context defined by walls, chains and fences? Walk beside and begin with the art.
The pervasiveness of trauma necessitates that counselors, regardless of their work settings and specialty areas, become proficient in treatments to address trauma and provide crisis intervention.
“What I remain sure of is that professional counselors are the change agents who can truly make society a more inclusive, less damaging and more welcoming world. I encourage you to continue your good work.”
The pursuit of perfection becomes problematic when people won’t grant themselves permission to make mistakes and instead cede total command to their self-critical voice.
“Knowing our defects and failings as counselors, many of us struggle to live with ourselves, just like our clients do. I suppose what I’m hoping is that you too can find a place where you are OK with the end, no matter how many years away that might be. That strength is the firm foundation we need to manage the curveballs that life throws at us, thus making us better helpers for our clients.”
As counselors dig below the surface and uncover clients’ personal histories, they often find that lingering trauma is exerting undue influence on people’s lives.