Picture a female client facing a bleak employment market, stressing out about finding a new living space and struggling to find a boyfriend who wants the same things she does. She also suffers from low self-esteem and has been dabbling in some disordered eating. Based on that description, perhaps you

My wife Linda Bowen Wasicsko began this article before her death, and I have finally finished it. It is based on a series of workshops we developed and delivered together on caregiving and care receiving. It details her personal journey to become what she called a “therapeutic care receiver.” I

Recently, a colleague shared the news that her adult daughter had been diagnosed with cancer. Her first reaction? “This cannot be true! There must be some mistake! How can this be?” — especially when her daughter had live such a healthy lifestyle. From her first reaction of total disbelief, the

What sets counseling apart from the other mental health professions? In many cases, the lines between the different helping professions can be blurry, causing even counselors themselves to debate the correct answers to that question. But one truly distinguishing feature of the counseling profession is its roots in career development,

According to the International Coach Federation (ICF), “Coaching is an ongoing relationship which focuses on clients taking action toward the realization of their vision, goals or desires. Coaching uses a process of inquiry and personal discovery to build the client’s level of awareness and responsibility and provides the client with

Write what you know. This classic adage from creative writing class has launched many a novel. According to those who practice narrative therapy, it also can launch a counseling client into a transformative and healing process of self-reflection. Narrative therapy refers to the work most often attributed to Michael White

I presented a workshop at the 2011 American Counseling Association Annual Conference in New Orleans at which I demonstrated some of the main theoretically based techniques that Adlerian counselors use with clients. Adlerian psychology, or individual psychology as it is also known, refers to the theory that Alfred Adler developed at