Autism, Asperger’s and “nerd” personality features (to use a concept from Temple Grandin, a prominent author and speaker on both autism and animal behavior) seem to have something of an air of mystery and intimidation for many mental health professionals. Let’s face it, clients with autism/Asperger’s have very different ways
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Counselors and mental health professionals of all stripes are coming to understand the prevalence of childhood adversity, toxic stress and trauma in our caseloads. Barely a day goes by that we do not see someone with a trauma history, whether we are aware of it or not. Some have even
The role of fatherhood has changed over the years. Hundreds of years ago, the father was the most important parent for raising the children, then he became the breadwinner, and today an expansive volume of research details a general lack of involvement by fathers in their children’s lives. Plenty of
Although 13 Reasons Why gives us pause for its poor portrayal of effective suicide intervention, we feel that the series raises awareness and, at its core, advocates a community-level response to suicide prevention. This message to “look out for each other” is aligned with more intervention-oriented gatekeeping.
I often receive questions during consultations that require fairly brief answers. Although I tend to focus on “big picture” topics in this column, I thought I’d take a break from that routine to answer some of the most popular questions I get asked related to technology in private practice. Some
F irst of all, my thanks to those of you who responded to last month’s column about pledging to help end the divisiveness in our society. Your words and commitment were inspiring, comforting and well-received. This column is about the next step we will need to take: healing. Professional counselors
M any counselors do not know Carol Bobby personally, but her work has influenced the work of almost every practicing counselor today. Carol began serving as the CEO of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP) in 1987 and has helped guide that organization, and the
Licensed professional counselor (LPC) Keri Riggs, an American Counseling Association member with a private practice in Richardson, Texas, started noticing the pattern about eight months to a year ago: clients reporting a sharp increase in anxiety. And it wasn’t only her existing clients who were expressing discomfort; new clients were
Many counselor clinicians contact me in a panic over writing a mission statement (which includes a purpose section) as part of applying for federal recognition as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation (tax-exempt). Although this can indeed be scary, it needn’t be overly confusing. The IRS page at the time of this
[EDITOR’s NOTE: This is an online-only companion article to the September cover story that appeared in the print edition of Counseling Today.] Professional counselors find their way into the profession in a multitude of ways. Some individuals know it is their calling even in their undergraduate years. Others enter the
