There has been growing discussion within our profession about the need for competent counselors to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex (LGBTQQI) clients in an affirming manner. Largely, the discussion has focused on the inadequate training many counselors receive related to counseling these populations. The purpose
Category: Features
Picture this: You’re a college student cramming for finals in a campus lab late one Sunday night when you see a lanky, 6-foot-2-inch, long-haired man striding toward you wearing a red polka-dotted hat and carrying a tower of pizza boxes. You could be excused for thinking you’ve ingested one too
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
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
A summons calling a counselor to court brings with it enumerable questions and anxieties. What should you say to the judge? How should you present your credentials? Is it ethical to answer the opposing attorney’s questions? These concerns are enough to make some counselors avoid the court system altogether. But
Have you ever been driving along in your car, listening to the radio, and heard a song that completely took you back in time? All of a sudden, you remember what you were doing, how you were feeling and who you were with. That seems to be a common experience
Picture a fifth-grade classroom. One little boy will not sit still. He constantly interrupts the teacher and gets out of his chair during the lesson. Meanwhile, a little girl sits in the back row and gazes out the window. Ensnared in a daydream, she also has missed the lesson. Eventually,
How long does it take for you to return a phone call? Do you have a waiting list? Would you ever slide your fee? Do you keep up with clinical literature? Do you have leather furniture in your office? These are just a few questions that, when answered honestly, could
A school counselor’s introduction to advising a student at risk for suicide can be a trial by fire. After all, a young person’s life is possibly hanging in the balance of carefully chosen questions, inflections and body language. A computer-simulation game developed at Purdue University offers virtual training for such