In April, the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill, which the state’s governor then signed into law, allowing counselors to refuse to see any client if counseling that client involves “goals, outcomes or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselor or therapist.” The law, which is in
Category: Counseling Today
The strongest protection against disillusionment is resilience. If you are in the position to help a survivor or someone affected, challenge yourself to be a point of resilience for that person for as long as you can.
Counselors around the world have more in common than you might think. Angela Coker, an associate professor at the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL), found herself talking about some very familiar issues with international colleagues recently at a conference in Bangalore, India. Challenges that American counselors face –
Like the dandelion, we can learn to persevere in the most unlikely of circumstances.
I often think about the pursuit of potential and try to imagine what “reaching potential” would look like exactly. I think about how it could be helpful to assist my clients in identifying their beliefs about personal potential and then developing a navigational tool to assist them in moving toward
Of all the state legislation I have seen passed in my 30 years with the American Counseling Association, the new Tennessee law based on Senate Bill 1556/House Bill 1840 is by far the worst. This law directly targets the counseling profession, would deny services to those most in need and
Greetings, fellow counselors! How time flies when you’re having fun. I can hardly believe that I am writing my final column as ACA president. I write it with the deepest appreciation and optimism for our profession’s future. My time as president has been nothing short of incredible, made more so
Microaggressions — those subtle messages that demean, insult and invalidate a person — are routine occurrences for many diverse groups. Harvard University psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce coined the term microaggression in his 1970s study of racism in the media. Derald Wing Sue and David Sue extended the definition, adding brief,
In his book The Gift of Therapy, Irvin Yalom explains the vital role of learning about a client’s “leisure-time activities,” “hobbies” and “recreation habits,” yet he never defines what leisure is and how it is connected to mental health or mental health counseling. Many other well-known mental health theorists have
School counselors are well-positioned to address bullying at school by providing intervention strategies and support for students. However, all counselors can play an important role in addressing the problem.