A few years ago, American Counseling Association member Lisa Bennett took a trip to Southeast Asia. While there, she thought it would be fun to visit an elephant sanctuary where sick and injured animals had been sent to heal. What she saw fascinated her. The elephants engaged in attachment behavior.
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Stepping into recovery
After many years of working as an accountant, I decided to enter counseling as a profession in my “retirement” years. After four years in graduate school, including two years of clinical work at an addictions recovery center, I began my new professional career this past January. Here is how it
Guiding lights
Counselor supervision is a rite of passage for professional counselors. Although supervision requirements vary from state to state, the crux of the experience — learning that is based in a relationship between a beginning counselor and an experienced practitioner — is universal. As is the case for any relationship to
Integrated interventions
W hen people think about integrated care, they may imagine a mental health care professional (or two) working in the same building with a physician or other medical professional and following a mutual agreement to refer cases to one another as needed. Others might picture a specialized setting, such as a
Past trauma in counselors-in-training: Help or hindrance?
Counselors are not immune to trauma — in fact, far from it. Many practitioners say that personal or familial experience with trauma or mental illness actually spurred them to become professional counselors. The connection between personal experience and the pull to become a counselor is something that is hard to
Applying the MCC in a divisive sociopolitical climate
We are living through a historic era that many people describe as divisive, polarizing and disheartening. The world of social media never sleeps, and we are bombarded with images of pain and strife. The visible presence of neo-Nazi groups marching, the increase in arrests and deportations of immigrants from sanctuary
Canine companions
Having kids and young adults train rescue dogs isn’t technically animal assisted therapy, but for the kids—and dogs—involved in the Teacher’s Pet program, the result has definitely been therapeutic. The youth —with the help of professional animal trainers— use positive reward-based training to increase local rescue dogs’ chances of being
Using nature as a therapeutic partner
In 2013, officials in Melbourne, Australia, assigned the city’s trees ID numbers and email addresses to make it easier for citizens to report problems such as fallen limbs and unwieldy branches. However, Melburnians used the email-a-tree-service for another purpose: to talk directly to the trees. They sent emails to the
Finding balance with bipolar disorder
Licensed professional counselor (LPC) John Duggan didn’t plan on bipolar disorder becoming one of his specialties, but providing emergency room support gave him a close-up view of the consequences when the disease was left uncontrolled. Duggan, who is also a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC), noticed the escalation in manic
Behind the Book: Counselor Self-Care
There is no perfect plan when it comes to self-care. The important thing is to have a plan and make self-care a career-long focus. Not only will the methods that counselors find effective vary from practitioner to practitioner, but a self-care routine will also need to evolve to meet changing