Dear Counseling Colleagues, I’d like to share some thoughts on how counselors, counselor educators and counseling students can plan and act in a strategic manner to accomplish many goals. I see the process of planning as strategic because it leads to the future along a path of accomplishment that is
Category: Counseling Today
Last month, I asked readers to think about the upcoming elections in the United States, not just for federal offices, but at the local and state levels as well. I didn’t suggest who to vote for, but rather reminded all of you about the important advocacy and services that you
Many counseling clinicians are working in nonprofit programs with very limited budgets. Some of us are working in programs that utilize a “catch as catch can” approach to funding, meaning there is no working budget. Things are paid based on urgent need and the ability to pay them. Whatever your
When I turned 39, I had a midlife crisis. I wasn’t home on my 39th birthday. I was on another continent, sitting in a hotel lobby at stupid early o’clock, jet-lagged and writing because I couldn’t sleep. I looked up, saw the date and realized my birthday had occurred while
The rate of veteran deaths by suicide increased 32 percent between 2001 and 2014, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The alarm was relentless, even with several taps on the snooze button. I finally surrendered to the morning and rolled out of bed, practically tumbling over my 65-pound goldendoodle, Max, who was snoring below my feet. With one eye open, I made my way to the shower and blasted the
It can take anywhere from four to seven years for a stepfamily to successfully blend, according to Joshua M. Gold in his book Stepping In, Stepping Out: Creating Stepfamily Rhythm. The formation of a stepfamily is “uncharted water for everyone,” he says. Not only do parents and children each carry
Our work as counselors can be isolating at times. It is important for our professional growth, our work with our clients and our own mental health to seek peer consultation. The internet has significantly broadened the potential pool of peers with whom we can consult. Counselors are flocking to mailing
Dear Counseling Colleagues, One of the privileges of serving as American Counseling Association president is the opportunity to create initiatives based on our passions for outreach to the counseling profession and those we serve. I want to take this opportunity to introduce two of my presidential initiatives, or targeted task
C are. Compassion. Civility. These three words are among those I use to describe the work of professional counselors and, specifically, members of the American Counseling Association. For nearly three decades, I have witnessed with great humility the strides that many of you have made not just in developing the