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
Tag: Professional Issues
Professional Issues
It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. Counselors aren’t exempt from that rule, as anyone who has made the transition from graduate student to new professional, from one job setting to another, or from practicing professional to retiree can attest. Sometimes the change is exhilarating, as
Summer 2019 update: The American Counseling Association has created a state-by-state guide with updated information on licensure requirements across the country. Go to counseling.org/knowledge-center/licensure-requirements for information on licensure in your state or U.S. territory. **** As an existentially oriented counselor, I am well versed in the absurd, but I
Robotic counselors. Virtual solutions. Personality uploading. These are not science fiction fantasies but real possibilities that lie just beyond the horizon for the field of counseling. According to some futurists, a trend of great historical magnitude is unfolding: the exponential growth of technological development leading to an event referred to as
Gregory Pollock appears calm as he begins a long, sunny walk toward Capitol Hill, but he admits the idea of lobbying elected officials in a matter of hours has got him nervous. “I’ve written letters and made phone calls to state congressmen before,” he says, “but I’ve never done something
Patrice Hinton Oswalt was flattered upon opening her e-mail and finding an Evite to a client’s long-awaited graduation. Choosing whether to accept or decline the invitation was no simple decision, however. Oswalt was keenly aware that engaging in contact with a client outside of the counseling office could have ethical
For Margie Williams, the goal was always to be her own boss. “In grad school, I knew that I’d have to learn to be a therapist by actually doing it, and that meant putting in the time at the best training site I could talk my way into. The years
Have you ever been driving along in your car, listening to the radio, and heard a song that completely took you back in time? All of a sudden, you remember what you were doing, how you were feeling and who you were with. That seems to be a common experience
“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
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