About two years ago, Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, began offering counseling courses online. Even as this trend has gained traction in colleges and universities across the country, professors, many of whom grew up taking classes in an actual classroom rather than on a laptop, haven’t always welcomed online learning
Category: Features
It’s a startling fact: Two out of every three adults in the United States are overweight or obese. That statistic, among others, is revealed in “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009,” a report released in July by the Trust for America’s Health and the
When attendees of the American Counseling Association Annual Conference & Exposition head to Pittsburgh next March, they’ll be in for a treat. Whether in town just for the conference or an extended stay, they’ll find themselves in the middle of the most livable city in the United States, an honor
When pitcher Zack Greinke left the Kansas City Royals during spring training in 2006, it wasn’t because of a sprain, a break or a torn muscle. Something less visible was threatening his promising baseball career: clinical depression and social anxiety disorder. With the help of counseling, Greinke was able to
Editor’s note: This is the second article in a two-part series examining how counselors can work more effectively with clients who hold strong religious beliefs. The first article, which appeared in the July issue, addressed the historical tension between religion and the mental health professions, reasons counselors avoid bringing up
At the age of 75, Jenny was dealing with more than her fair share of grief. She had recently lost both her son and her husband of 50 years to cancer. She was also terminally ill with cancer herself. “Jenny was dealing with complicated grief — the loss of her
Lonnie Rowell knows all about the benefits of evidence-based counseling practice, a subject that has consumed much of his life for the past 10 years. Not everyone, however, is quite so enthusiastic. “I was told by a counselor educator yesterday that she didn’t want anybody to look too closely at
School counselors and school counseling educators typically agree on three things when it comes to solution-focused counseling. A) The approach makes perfect sense because it works with a student’s strengths and successes. B) It is often more effective in getting challenging students to change than other approaches typically used in
Several years ago, American Counseling Association members expressed their desire to interact over specific issues of mutual interest but without going through the involved process of establishing a formal division. ACA recognized the need, and in 2002, five interest networks opened their virtual doors. Since that time, seven more have
Sharon cares. The 26-year-old counselor cares for the clients she leads in two groups composed of individuals with substance abuse and mental health problems. She cares for the few individuals she has time to see when her groups aren’t meeting three times per week, three hours per session. She even