A series of personal and professional experiences led Kevin McClure down a path he didn’t initially envision for himself. Working as a professional counselor and being a father to multiple children with mental health and behavioral problems has turned McClure, a member of the American Counseling Association, into an advocate
Tag: Couples
Before they understand the various diagnoses and treatment options available, many clients present to counseling because of trouble navigating the same human phenomenon: heartbreak. Under this label fall countless events such as a painful breakup, the death of a loved one or the failure to attain a major life goal.
The American Counseling Association has extended its support to an initiative that, if passed by Congress, would amend the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include bereavement and allow employees who have experienced the death of a child to take time off for the healing process.
For some counselors, meeting clients where they’re at is more than a figure of speech. Counselors who specialize in home-based therapy work with clients in their living rooms and at their kitchen tables, giving much-needed assistance to families and individuals who otherwise might not be able to access mental health
Working with couples and families requires a different stance from working with individuals. I like that I can experience the relationship dynamics directly by being in the same room with the couple. It’s so different seeing the dynamics in action as opposed to having one individual describe it to you
For some counselors, helping their clients through a divorce may feel like accepting failure. After all, shouldn’t “good counseling” help couples avoid an unhappy end to marriage? But the reality, according to research released in March by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is that half of all first
A Binghamton University study on government-funded programs aimed at promoting happy, healthy marriages among poor couples and couples of color found that most of these efforts are unsuccessful, possibly because many of the programs are based on research data gathered from White and middle-class marriages. “Initially, the rationale for these programs came
Working directly with parents can be either terribly frustrating or exceptionally gratifying. Many counselors initially feel both fear and frustration at the prospect of counseling parents. That was certainly the case for me. I not only felt intimidated, but I also held several negative beliefs about parents that adversely affected
Counselors are good at relationships, or so they say. As folklore would have it, counselors are the “knowers” of all things relational and, therefore, can and should be “masters” when it comes to their own personal relationships. But is this really the case? As a counselor, I thought I was
In an ideal world, “work life” would remain at work, “home life” would remain at home, and neither would affect the other. There would never be a late night at the office and a missed meal with the family due to a deadline nor a late arrival to work because of