ACA MEMBER BLOGS

As a Counselor Educator, I encounter many of my master’s level students struggling with understanding the importance of professional identity within our field. Students often do not understand why counseling professional identity is emphasized in introductory courses. But with some guidance, I hope that you can begin to understand the importance of a counseling professional identity.

The first time I unexpectedly saw dolphins playing wildly in the sea, I cried. I am no stranger to slowing down and appreciating “the little things,” though I have never considered it a professional skill until recently.

I’ve been watching Away, a new Netflix series starring Hilary Swank as Commander Emma Green who leaves her teenage daughter and husband for a three-year mission to Mars. The series highlights many themes, but the one I’d like to explore is: Are mothers as free as fathers to prioritize their career goals?

I see you good folks working in crisis centers, hospitals, and mental health clinics, serving those who suffer most acutely the stress of isolation.

Passing qualifying exams or comprehensive exams is a significant step in a student’s doctoral experience and often is a requirement for candidacy. The pressures of balancing the duties and responsibilities during a Ph.D. program can be overwhelming at times. Navigating a Ph.D. program during a national pandemic is an even more tasking process.

Although the virus is more of a public health crisis than a political one, Americans have found a way to use its rampage to deepen the chasm that has already been widening for several years between the left and right. As counselors and future counselors, though, I believe we have a social responsibility to use our perspectives to bridge the divide, whether in our circles or on public platforms.

Counseling is a collaborative process which involves the development of a confidential, unique, therapeutic, helping relationship. This relationship is unlike any other as mental health therapists act as facilitators to help clients better understand themselves, the world around them, their feelings, and their behaviors.

We all know that conflict between a husband and wife affects the entire family, and that children of all ages are deeply impacted when their parents fight. What isn’t widely known is how parental conflict can cause conflict between a mother and daughter.

The Practicum and Internship experience is one of the most significant milestones in a counseling student’s graduate school experience. This is the point of your program where the “rubber meets the road” and you will begin practicing all of the knowledge and skills you have been learning.

Mister Rogers did not shy away from discussing challenging topics on his program, and he helped children understand ways for dealing with sadness and death. Let’s explore three tools he provided his television neighbors for this necessary struggle.