The cover story for this issue focuses on ethics issues in counseling. Contemplating this topic and my development as a professional counselor, I must admit that my thoughts on ethical behavior have evolved over time. That is not to say that I was unethical before, but rather that I once
Category: Counseling Today
When I was young and my mother was making dinner, at some point I would hear her say, “Dinner is almost ready. Would you please set the table?” Many of you reading this probably heard something similar in your homes when you were growing up. Years later, when my son
Patrice Hinton Oswalt was flattered upon opening her e-mail and finding an Evite to a client’s long-awaited graduation. Choosing whether to accept or decline the invitation was no simple decision, however. Oswalt was keenly aware that engaging in contact with a client outside of the counseling office could have ethical
Susan* can’t remember not being sensitive to tactile stimuli. Ever since she was a child, she has had aversions to many things, including light touch, the feeling of rain on her skin, being breathed on, tight clothing, and jewelry or hair brushing the back of her neck. “I was never
It was a question Randy Astramovich heard over and over: Why doesn’t the American Counseling Association have a division for counselors working with children and adolescents in a multitude of settings? This past spring, Astramovich decided it was time to take action so these counselors could have a true organizational
Local law enforcement, code enforcement and animal control experts have known about the problems of animal hoarding and object hoarding for a long time. But excepting the sporadic attention given to the issue here and there in the professional literature, the mental health community is relatively new on the scene.
For Margie Williams, the goal was always to be her own boss. “In grad school, I knew that I’d have to learn to be a therapist by actually doing it, and that meant putting in the time at the best training site I could talk my way into. The years
A simple e-mail makes all the hard work worthwhile for Susan Branco Alvarado. “I may not show it all the time,” an adopted teenage client wrote to Alvarado, “but I really appreciate everything you have done for me. Thanks to you, my relationship with my mom has gotten a thousand
Picture this: Somewhere, a counselor sits with a client who is struggling to make progress. Traditional talk therapy isn’t moving the client forward. The counselor thinks, “I wish I were more of an artist because I’d love to try out a painting exercise with this client.” Substitute photography, dance, music
Current education reform initiatives and reports are fueling new debates among national and state education leaders and policymakers about the viability of U.S. schools and solutions to pervasive education problems. Initiatives such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top program and President Obama’s Blueprint for Reform of