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
Category: Cover Stories
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
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
Anyone who has flown on an airplane and listened to the flight attendant before takeoff has been cautioned what to do in the event the oxygen masks fall from the ceiling: Put on your own mask first before trying to help someone else. Counselor wellness experts say that idea has
No ethical counselor enters the profession and anticipates skipping over or ignoring a group in need of help. But in reality, some client populations aren’t easily reached or don’t readily avail themselves of counseling services. And others are simply overlooked, for one reason or another. To shed light on a
Pedra Ane clearly recalls the battle that played out in her office several years ago. It was orchestrated by a 7-year-old client who deftly maneuvered several plastic Army figures even as he worked through some of his toughest, most deep-seated issues. Ane, a counselor and registered play therapist who runs
“I don’t have to talk with you, and you can’t force me to talk with you.” Not the ideal way for a counseling session to begin, but John Sommers-Flanagan didn’t let his young client’s rebuff stop him. Instead of fighting back with a clever retort, however, he simply told the
“Your father’s a jerk.” In many elementary schools, such a comment might be rewarded with a swift trip to the principal’s office. But in Janice DeLucia-Waack’s group for children of divorced parents, the statement stood as nothing short of a breakthrough. DeLucia-Waack, associate professor and program director of school counseling
If you think barbershops are all about haircuts and shaves, take a closer look. For African-American men in particular, barbershops often serve as epicenters of culture, community and camaraderie. Debra Johnson is hard at work adding counseling to that list as well. Her approach works in part because, for
At age 16, Kim Johancen-Walt became a suicide survivor after her brother, Kevin, took his own life through carbon monoxide poisoning in 1988. Johancen-Walt, who grew up in a suburb of Denver, recalls being both deeply saddened and incredibly angry with her brother for ending his life. “I remember [a