Counselors must determine how to select and implement evidence-based practices when working with child and adolescent clients via telemental health during times of crisis.
Category: Online Exclusives
“… avoiding burnout is not enough. We need to set the bar higher to competently render care. Make no mistake, this is an ethical issue.”
Managing your mental health while freeing yourself from tobacco is possible — and professional counselors are well-equipped to support you on the climb.
Counselors are re-thinking self-care — both for themselves and their clients — as routines have been offset by quarantining measures from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a general rule, I tell my students to plan on five years post-bachelor’s degree before they really start making a decent living and can focus on their preferred areas of practice. That is a long time and, even then, annual incomes vary tremendously.”
“We can do more as counselors by providing these clients with behavioral support as they work to change. We must give the clients real, behavioral techniques that they can use in the moment.”
Supporting clients’ mental health takes on a new dimension when a job loss or income reduction is added to everything else they are managing during COVID-19.
Research demonstrates that people can remedy stress if they laugh more (casual leisure), find a hobby (serious leisure) and engage in meaning-making activities such as volunteering in their communities or toward social causes (project-based leisure).
“Once we got used to the Brady Bunch-looking setup of the virtual platform, we didn’t skip a beat in this regard. The synergy we had developed over time carried over to make the virtual group setting still feel organic and comforting.”
The experience of the coronavirus does not have to become a traumatic and overwhelming experience that marks us for life. On the contrary, it can be an excellent opportunity to exercise our resilience — that is, to grow in the face of adversity.