At the tender age of 9, Marcheta Evans was already a budding counselor. Evans, whose family was living in Washington, D.C., at the time, would occasionally accompany her mother, a psychiatric nurse, to her job at a local hospital. During those visits, she played cards and made friends with some
Category: Features
If you were really lucky … you had a grandmother like mine. She was your best friend,” Helen Hudson writes in Kissing Tomatoes, a book about the years she spent caring for her grandmother. “The wall above my desk is filled with photographs of my Granny Jo, taken during the
It was 25 years ago when Bette Stewart’s husband was diagnosed with a mental illness. “I felt angry and alone, like my life was coming apart at the seams,” she recalls. “I asked the psychiatrist for help. I know now that if (my husband) was an alcoholic, I would have
Fans of TV sitcoms may fondly recall Cheers as the friendly neighborhood bar in Boston “where everybody knows your name.” The regular denizens of Cheers descended the stairs to be enveloped by an unwavering sense of camaraderie. Of equal appeal to these characters, however, was the fact that the bar
It should come as no surprise to school counselors that collaborating with teachers and other school personnel is key to effective results with students. Patricia Nailor, president of the American School Counselor Association and retired director of school counseling for Providence, R.I., schools, says the importance of collaboration can’t be
You can’t change anyone else; you can only change yourself. Many counselors have used this common bit of wisdom to help clients overcome problems, but it’s crucial that counselors internalize that idea themselves, says Clifton Mitchell, a professor and coordinator of the community agency concentration in the counseling program at
Sometimes, cohesion is an open therapy group’s biggest challenge. Although the open-door approach provides ongoing support as people find themselves in need, building connection may feel nearly impossible as members trickle in and out each week. “Our open groups never close. I may have 13 women one week and three
Sandy Sheller understands that, sometimes, the best counseling session might take place just waiting for the bus. Sheller, the coordinator of mental health training for the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia, vividly remembers a client who was having trouble making it to a drug rehabilitation program. A caseworker informed Sheller
What can athlete’s foot teach health professionals about the effective and efficient provision of counseling services? Plenty, according to Russ Curtis. Most people who contract athlete’s foot don’t hesitate to pick up a topical medication from their local grocery store or at Walmart, tossing the spray or cream into their
On Oct. 11, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 788 into law, making California the 50th and final state to license professional counselors. “This is a momentous occasion,” said American Counseling Association President Lynn Linde. “Now all 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have licensure.