“I don’t have to talk with you, and you can’t force me to talk with you.” Not the ideal way for a counseling session to begin, but John Sommers-Flanagan didn’t let his young client’s rebuff stop him. Instead of fighting back with a clever retort, however, he simply told the
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Strength in numbers
“Your father’s a jerk.” In many elementary schools, such a comment might be rewarded with a swift trip to the principal’s office. But in Janice DeLucia-Waack’s group for children of divorced parents, the statement stood as nothing short of a breakthrough. DeLucia-Waack, associate professor and program director of school counseling
Breaking the cycle of addiction and crime
Bob Houston, 52, has a job in the mental health field. He has four children, a marriage of five years, an active role in his church, a GED — obtained more than 30 years after dropping out of high school — and plans to become a minister. Houston had something
Men Welcome Here
If you think barbershops are all about haircuts and shaves, take a closer look. For African-American men in particular, barbershops often serve as epicenters of culture, community and camaraderie. Debra Johnson is hard at work adding counseling to that list as well. Her approach works in part because, for
No easy answers
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
Getting inside the gang mentality
In a suburban high school cafeteria, a kid with an oversized white T-shirt and an easy smile is getting a lot of attention. It’s readily apparent that the other students at the lunch table defer to him. As the school counselor, you ask around and find out this student is
A voyage of self-discovery
It’s often said that when you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like a job. That sentiment might be a little idealistic, but all too often, career counselors say, people miss out by not following their hobbies and passions into a career. Cyndi Doyle met one client in that
Reconnecting the head with the body
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
Counseling beyond U.S. borders
Deborah Pinkston moved to Venezuela in 1985 after her husband was stationed there with a church organization. She went as a missionary to work with orphanages and at-risk children but realized she needed additional training in counseling. So, during their furloughs back to the United States, Pinkston earned her master’s
Counseling and neuroscience: The cutting edge of the coming decade
“Experiences, thoughts, actions and emotions actually change the structure of our brains. … Indeed, once we understand how the brain develops, we can train our brains for health, vibrancy and longevity.” — John J. Ratey, A User’s Guide to the Brain Counseling builds new brain networks. Research in neuroscience and