ACA MEMBER BLOGS

I have the honor and privilege to come alongside the lives of those that have been impacted by sexual assault. Sometimes our journey together is a few weeks, months, or even years, but no matter how short or long our time is these brave souls have impacted me for the rest of my life.

Every military instillation provides family counselors, addiction counselors, community counselors, medical counselor, roving counselors, and counselors that focus on group work that come out to the units themselves to provide counseling services as part of the work day. With all of these services being provided, free of charge, and easily accessible, the question remains, does the stigma still exist for individuals pursuing mental health counseling?

Humans have an innate desire to create and seek out anything that can make life quick, easy, and/or comfortable. The question is, is this good or bad? More importantly, why do we seek ease and comfort?

Maternal jealousy is a common issue between mothers and adult daughters today. In this blog I explain why maternal jealousy is so common. Through Sarah’s story (not her real name) I talk about how therapists, mothers, and daughters can detect maternal jealousy, especially when these feelings are hidden and unacknowledged due to the shame society attaches to them. And I provide some tips on how I help mothers and daughters heal jealous feelings.

Military culture is unique and in a sense, it is completely different from civilian culture. Someone who leaves civilian culture to become a part of the military culture must undergo some type of change, in ways similar to the experience of individuals migrating from different countries. Military culture has many rules and expectations but also several social norms that may come across as confusing to an onlooker.

Everyone gets nervous from time-to-time, perhaps when experiencing higher stress levels, deadlines or when challenged to do something outside of your comfort zone. While others can experience frequent or intense Anxiety episodes which interfere with their quality of life.

As a new professional in clinical mental health counseling, specifically at a university, it was a remarkable first year that took me from Providence, RI to a little village called Alfred in upstate NY. I also had an article published last month, and passed my licensure exam! All seemed good, right?

At this year’s ACA conference, I had the privilege of presenting an education session on how psychedelic (such as LSD and psilocybin) and psychedelic-like (MDMA) drugs have and are and have been being used as treatments for mental health and substance use disorders.

One of the greatest impacts a father can have is to be involved in the life of his child. An involved father is a strong father. Involved fathers are able to encourage and discipline with more confidence, because being involved opens doors to speak into the lives of their children.

Congratulations to all the fathers out there being celebrated this Father’s Day of 2018! Those of us who feel fortunate enough to be loved and wanted by our significant others and our children need to relish this special day.