In the United Sates, 2000-2010 was labeled the “decade of pain.” In 2011, the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care and Education stated that the prevalence of chronic pain in our country exceeded the prevalence of diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Unfortunately, this prevalence of pain
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Counseling in the trenches
Adrian Marquez, a retired Marine master sergeant and Marine Raider, woke up one morning during his time in the Marine Corps and couldn’t remember how to get dressed. He looked down at his pile of clothes and mumbled, “Pants first, then shoes?” Marquez was also experiencing physical aches throughout his
Healing attachment wounds by being cared for and caring for others
Those who work with individuals who have been traumatized have noted the need for these clients to reestablish connection to their own internal worlds. In these cases, clients often become frozen or, depending on the depth of trauma and the immediate response to that trauma, have an outwardly focused, hypervigilant,
How (not) to isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has steeply curtailed social gatherings, travel plans and in-person events for most of 2020. And that has raised something of a perplexing scenario for counselors and other mental health professionals: When almost everyone is isolating themselves physically to some extent — and will be for the foreseeable
Addiction: Paving the way to recovery
When the outside world looked at Julie Bates-Maves’ client “James,” it saw a 60-something “junkie” who had wasted 20 years of his life shooting up heroin. But in James’ community of people who used heroin, he was a respected man — an authority figure who could be trusted. Throughout his
Voice of Experience: The hurting counselor (an update)
In 2018, I published a Member Insights article in Counseling Today titled “The hurting counselor.” I received more feedback on that article than anything else I’ve ever written, and it went on to become the most-viewed article posted to CT Online at any point in 2018. Nearly all the responses
ACA online event encourages conversation about counselor stressors
“How can I to continue to hold hope for my clients while I feel like I’m drowning?” “How can I confront colleagues who commit microaggressions in client sessions?” “What advice do you have for students whose professors and textbooks do not address multiculturalism?” These were among the many challenging —
The costs of COVID-19: Parental anxiety syndrome
As counselors in the age of COVID-19, we have seen a lot. We have been on the front lines of treating a new wave of counseling crises, from broad-reaching trauma symptoms to an increase in panic attacks. One such example is related to parental anxiety. This is a term that
Revisiting 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling
In the world of ophthalmology, having 20/20 vision means that a person can see the letters on an eye chart clearly and sharply while standing 20 feet away. It is estimated that just 35% of adults have 20/20 vision without the help of glasses or other corrective aids. Fifteen years
Primum cura te ipsum: First, heal thyself
During this bizarre and painful epoch beset by pandemic, racial trauma and social injustice, there is a growing emphasis on clinician well-being and self-care, and rightfully so. Countless articles and blogs have been written about self-care for counselor clinicians, and here is one more. Why write another one? Because as