The American Counseling Association recognizes that the work counselors do, while very important and rewarding, can also be stressful. Self-care is an essential tool that can help in dealing with stress. The following ACA resources focus on self-care for counselors.
Books
Counselor Self-Care
Gerald Corey, Michelle Muratori, Jude T. Austin II, and Julius A. Austin
Self-care is critical for an effective and ethical counseling practice and this inspirational book offers diverse, realistic perspectives on how to achieve work-life balance and personal wellness from graduate school through retirement. In addition to the authors' unique perspectives as professionals at different stages of their careers, guest contributors, ranging from graduate students, to new professionals, to seasoned counselors, share their experiences and thoughts about self-care, including what challenges them most. Both personal and conversational in tone, this book will help you to create your own practical self-care action plan through reflection on important issues, such as managing stress, establishing personal and professional boundaries, enhancing relationships, and finding meaning in life.
Disaster Mental Health Counseling: A Guide to Preparing and Responding, Fourth Edition
edited by Jane M. Webber and J. Barry Mascari
This timely book provides current research and skill-building information on Disaster Mental Health Counseling for counselors, educators, students, and mental health responders in agencies, schools, universities, and private practice. Recognized experts in the field detail effective clinical interventions with survivors in the immediate, intermediate, and long-term aftermath of traumatic events.
This extensively revised edition, which meets 2016 CACREP Standards for disaster and trauma competencies, is divided into three sections: Disaster Mental Health Counseling Foundations, Disaster and Trauma Response in the Community, and Disasters and Mass Violence at Schools and Universities. Real-world responses to violence and tragedies among diverse populations in a variety of settings are presented, and responders share their personal stories and vital lessons learned through an "In Our Own Words" feature. Each chapter contains discussion questions and case studies are interwoven throughout the text.
In Chapter 5, "Compassion Fatigue: Our Achilles' Heel," contributors J. Eric Gentry, Jane M. Webber, and Anna B. Baranowsky, examine the emotional and somatic impact of disaster and trauma work on counselors, the type of traumatic stress that second responders experience, and effective interventions to reduce compassion fatigue and the potential for PTSD.
Relationships in Counseling and the Counselor´s Life
Jeffrey A. Kottler and Richard S. Balkin
In this engaging book, Jeffrey Kottler and Richard Balkin address common misconceptions about what works in counseling and offer suggestions for building constructive counseling relationships and facilitating positive counseling outcomes. Key aspects of the client-counselor relationship are supported by interesting examples and stories integrated with clinically useful research on counseling results.
Part 1 reviews basic assumptions about the nature of helping relationships and examines how and why they can empower client change efforts. Part 2 describes practical approaches to encourage client trust and growth, including chapters on the cultural and environmental context of relationships; the ways in which counseling is used to treat trauma; how exchanging stories solidifies and fortifies counseling relationships; and using creative and innovative techniques to enhance relationships. Part 3 discusses the influence of relationships on counselors' personal lives and explores how counselors are affected by their work, process disappointments and failures, and deal with personal conflicts.
The Secrets of Exceptional Counselors
Jeffrey A. Kottler
Every profession has trade secrets that are passed on from one generation to the next and counseling is no exception. These cherished lessons based on wide-ranging experiences and passion for the craft are shared by masters with students and colleagues and include fresh ideas, noteworthy interventions, and even little tricks learned over time that increase both professional effectiveness and personal satisfaction.
These unique practices are captured in this entertaining book that collects the wisdom of some of the most accomplished practitioners in the field, those who have been most influential in developing theoretical approaches, clinical innovations, and standards of practice. These master clinicians disclose ingenious methods and practical tips to better serve clients. Discussing techniques that have been mostly kept private until now, they talk about their creative breakthroughs, spiritual transcendences, monumental successes, and their own developmental adjustments over time. They also reveal some of their most unusual cases, disappointing failures, and disturbing deceptions, and share stories about the clients who have changed them.
New practitioners and veterans alike will find innovative ways to remain fresh and engaged with clients. Because of its focus on practical knowledge and useful strategies, this book can be used as a supplemental text in a variety of introductory and advanced courses, or as an inspirational guide for experienced counselors.