ACA Blog

If you read my last blog, you know that I was preparing myself for a long wait in getting my temporary LPC license. Well, good news! It only took EIGHT days from the day I mailed it until the day I was granted my LPC-I number with the state of Texas! I think that must be a new record or something, right? It actually happened so fast that I didn’t know until days later. I want to share some tips with you so hopefully your license will get to you quickly as well.

Mondays may not always be my favorite day of the week, but I am certainly looking forward to next Monday. It will be a big day for me, my family and my practice. Why? Because a darling palomino gelding will be joining our herd.

In October of 2012, Counseling Today published a column I wrote on the topic of avoiding the “nightmare employee.” My clinical team read the article, and quipped, “Oh sure, bash on the employees! What about the counseling practices?”

Interesting ride in the elevator this morning. As the doors closed, I went to push the UP button, but the four year-old next to me beat me to it, hitting the DOWN one instead. We headed down. “DADDY!” she shrieked, “Why aren’t we going UP???” “Because you pushed the DOWN button,” he said with a grimace of embarrassment.

Recently as I sat on a bus headed out of Shanghai and into the Chinese countryside, I found myself contemplating the effect that our surroundings have on our state of mind. Slowly large buildings gave way to smaller buildings and then finally to fields, houses and the occasional factory. I can't say it's as idyllic as it may sound - anyone who's been just outside a Chinese city can attest that it's not all green grass and flowers.

I swim ½ mile everyday at the local pool. In the roped off area, there is usually an elderly water aerobics class going on next to me. You know, white-haired, wrinklies flopping about on noodles or lifting Styrofoam dumb bells. Most are women and most spend the entire class talking, not exercising. But that doesn’t matter. These are the last legion of the upward and still mobile and I admire their perseverance.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and in recent years, it has become more than just a saying. results from numerous empirical studies have found laughter to help alleviate depression, reduce stress, increase immunity, and even fight cancer.

I was watching television today, flipping mindlessly through the channels, when I happened upon an old favorite. Remember Mr. Ed and that famous theme song?

I don’t plan to mince words with you as I begin my first blog for the ACA. Time is just too short, even if you’re young. Speaking of which, if you are around age 25, grab a camera right now and take a shot of yourself. Don’t worry how you look. Forget the makeup or what you’re wearing. Truth is, you are not really going to age much beyond today for the rest of your life, at least in your mind’s eye that is.

When I began my internship for my graduate program, almost two years ago, with a company working within assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, I was excited to immerse myself in counseling older adults. My experiences throughout my internship working with older adults afforded me invaluable opportunities to learn and cultivate my passion for older adults. A great deal of my focus in my own research and writing revolved around the older adult population, and this blog has been driven by my experiences with my older adult clients