Parental alienation can be hard to notice much less treat, but the long-term effects can be devastating for the children and targeted parent.

In February, President Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address, calling for bipartisan unity and emphasizing the need for Congress to work together on legislation to move America forward

Counselors understand the importance of empathy, but they sometimes find it challenging to fully integrate into practice.

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, but issues around regulation and ethical use of it remain unclear. 

Election Day 2024 is less than a year away, so now is the time to learn about and act on issues that matter to you and the counseling profession.

ACA partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to support the White Ribbon VA campaign, an initiative that calls for the end of sexual harassment, sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

As technology continues to change the way people grieve, counselors need to be prepared to help clients navigate how they express their grief online in safe and healthy ways.

Depression is a common mental health disorder and affects people from every walk of life, regardless of their age, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background. According to

ACA President Edil Torres Rivera provides an update on ACA leadership and the recent decision to reorganize the Governing Council.

In an ever-increasing digital world, counselors can help families develop healthy guidelines on internet use that consider each child’s developmental needs.

Stigma, fear and a lack of training cause many counselors to feel unprepared and vulnerable when faced with sexualized transference.

Religious and spiritual experiences are not always positive; sometimes, they cause emotional harm that affects a client’s identity, belief and sense of safety.

Counselors have a stake in the policies and decisions that affect their profession, clients and communities.

People with chronic health conditions often face uncertainty and psychological distress, which is why validation and emotional regulation are crucial in helping clients learn to cope and live productive lives.

The co-authors of the second edition of Interactive Group Work discuss the benefits and challenges of group work and what it takes to be an effective group leader.

Professional counselors ... seek to empower individuals and communities to challenge and transform the systems and structures perpetuating violence and inequality.

We still don’t know the long-term effects of living with long COVID, but counselors can help people learn to manage the emotional toll that comes with living with this chronic condition.

There’s still time to register for on-demand content from the 2023 ACAPPS, which covered pressing issues such as artificial intelligence, counselor identity and practice, and clinical supervision. 

For five years, Gregory Moffatt has shared his clinical experiences with our readers, and in this farewell column, he reflects on his own career experiences and how he has always welcomed and embraced new opportunities.  

Starting a new career in counseling later in life taught one new counseling professional a few important lessons.

Because sexuality is a central part of the human experience, counselors need to be trained and prepared to broach the topic in session.

The third edition of A Contemporary Approach to Substance Use Disorders and Addiction Counseling includes new sections on harm reduction strategies, medication-assisted therapy and the use of telebehavioral health therapy in treatment.

Two clinical supervisors share their advice on how to create successful consultation groups, which reduce isolation, provide clinical support, foster professional growth and improve client outcomes.

Loneliness is a growing public health concern, but counselors can help clients examine the underlying cause of this feeling and learn to rebuild their connections to others.

Networked coalitions offer a pathway to transcend divisions, promote inclusivity and contribute positively to the well-being of individuals and communities.

A trauma-informed approach benefits both counselors and clients, yet more work needs to be done to ensure these principles are adopted across health care systems.

The decoloniality process will allow counselors to reshape their professional identity and become more effective in their areas of specialty.

Fear and stigma can often cause people to incorrectly perceive individuals with a mental health disorder as a threat, which can have serious consequences.

A recent article in a special issue of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development explores why racial bias often prevents Black boys from being placed in advanced learning programs.

By working on basic developmental social skills, clients with insecure attachment and trauma histories can learn to build healthy, meaningful relationships.

The executive director of Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance shares 10 tips for successful advocacy.

One counselor shares his painful story of losing a supervisee to suicide and offers advice on how to cope after traumatic loss.

Without the awareness and willingness to acknowledge how they have benefited from cultural racism, white counselors risk creating fractured alliances and distrust in the therapeutic process.

The recent rise in suicide rates among marginalized communities highlights the need for counselors to use culturally responsive practices when assessing suicide risk.

To decrease the stigma around mental health in society, we must confront stigmatizing and biased thinking in the clinical world.

The ACA president emphasizes the need to build mutually beneficial relationships with other organizations that promote mental health, and he provides an update on the Governing Council meeting happening this month.

When working with people with disorders that are associated with more dangerous behaviors, counselors must be prepared to assess the client’s risk of violence to themselves and others.

Danica G. Hays, author of Assessment in Counseling, discusses what’s new in the recently published seventh edition and how proper assessment of clients can help strengthen the therapeutic alliance.

A desire for change can sometimes cause counselors and clients to overlook the importance of building a sense of safety first.

By creating an inclusive and trauma-informed environment, schools can serve as a source of support and safety for LGBTQ+ students. 

Using a mental health program designed for law enforcement may help remove barriers that often prevent officers from getting the mental health care they need.

ACA's aims to empower its members by equipping them with the tools needed to successfully advocate on the federal, state and local levels and let their voices be heard.

Counselors can decrease their risk for sexual boundary violations, but first they have to talk about it.

With childhood anxiety increasing at an alarming rate, early assessment and treatment can help children struggling with anxiety live a healthy life.

School counselors’ efforts on the front lines of managing mental health crises are often overlooked and misunderstood. 

The ACA President discusses how counselors can foster more open, honest dialogue with their clients and themselves.

Supportive friendships can improve people’s professional and personal lives and remind them that life is more than just work.

People often don’t expect to feel sad, agitated or depressed during the summer, but if they do, then they may be suffering from summer seasonal affective disorder.

Focusing on a challenging activity may have mental health benefits, especially for clients experiencing anxiety, depression or trauma.

The Counseling Today staff won five awards in APEX 2023, the 35th annual awards program recognizing excellence in publishing.

Treating stress that stems from racial discrimination and oppression can help address the mental health inequities Black clients face.

Edil Torres Rivera, ACA’s 72nd president, shares how his Puerto Rican heritage and the women in his life have made him the counselor and scholar he is today.

Counselors are tailoring how they approach cognitive behavior therapy to better fit the changing needs of their clients.

Learn six tips that can help you or your organization effectively advocate for the mental health profession.

The toll of racism is implicated in health and mental health disparities that can be addressed only through knowledge, awareness and a commitment to culturally responsive care.

The 72nd president of the American Counseling Association introduces himself to members and outlines his initiatives for the year.

ACA’s 2023 Virtual Hill Day provided counselors with tips on how to effectively advocate with members of Congress.

With more anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being introduced every day, counselors can take steps to advocate on behalf of their clients.

With the right clinical framework, counselors can help clients identify and process the complex experiences of intergenerational trauma.

Jude and Julius Austin seek to demystify the counseling process in their new book Doing Counseling: Developing Your Clinical Skills and Style.  

A common misconception about people who are neurodivergent is that they cannot or do not want to form friendships.

Thus far in 2023, nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ legislative bills have been introduced at the state level. This includes a bill introduced in South Carolina that would force teachers to report any child who is trans and “out” students to their parents. 

It’s easy for counselors to become isolated unless they are intentional about joining professional organizations that meet their needs.

We have arrived at the time of year when most state sessions have ended. And what a year it has been! We have many hard-fought successes to celebrate, and we have somber news coming from legislatures as well.

Since the first edition of Counselor Self-Care came out in 2018, we have experienced many new stressors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, social injustice and political polarization.

Intimate partner violence among LGBTQ+ individuals often goes unacknowledged and untreated, despite occurring at rates equal to or greater than those experienced by heterosexual couples.

Adult bullying is a social and mental health issue. Regardless of the reasons why a person is targeted by a bully, research shows that its impact can be disastrous to a person’s health and well-being.

Approaching diagnosis through a lens that considers systemic, cultural and ecological factors leads to better treatment outcomes for clients.

Everyone can remember being bullied. Maybe someone teased you relentlessly about your name because it “sounded funny” or they made fun of your physical appearance.

Solutions to the nationwide mental health provider shortage are often as complex as the reasons behind it.

The Government Affairs and Public Policy team advocates for American Counseling Association members and the counseling profession to increase the credibility and recognition of professional counselors among policymakers and regulators

Exploring the potential positive and protective aspects of anger can help clients accept their feelings and learn to regain control in safe, healthy ways.

In February, President Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address, calling for bipartisan unity and emphasizing the need for Congress to work together on legislation to move America forward.

Stigma and misunderstanding about clients with severe mental illnesses can prevent some counselors from taking the necessary steps to build a strong therapeutic relationship.

Emotional eating may be one of the most disguised forms of escapism clients turn to when dealing with stress or trauma.

Counselors have a responsibility to take care of their own mental health before they can help others with their well-being.

Using mental health apps as a supplement to counseling may help clients to foster their own healing.

As telebehavioral health continues to reshape the profession, counselors are adapting the clinical skills they use for in-person therapy to better fit an online environment.

Chase Chick, co-founder of Pursuit of Happiness in Dallas, spoke with Counseling Today about Medicaid’s deficiencies in serving counseling agencies that work with youth in foster care and the steps his practice is taking to reform

We are three months into the calendar year 2023, and counselors are beginning to realize how much power they hold in their state legislature and the federal government.

Grief is an experience that everyone navigates at different points in their lives. For the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted peoples’ lives in myriad ways and left many experiencing significant grief.

Mindfulness is often seen as a cure-all approach, but as with other clinical approaches, counselors should carefully consider when and how they integrate this practice into sessions.

Because Black women in the United States face an alarmingly higher rate of maternal mortality and mental health conditions, counselors should be prepared to help clients manage their mental health while also advocating for quality care from health pr

Black individuals are more likely to experience mental health problems but are less likely to seek treatment for a variety of reasons.

By remaining clinically objective, do counselors inadvertently sacrifice the client’s humanity?

Youth who are aging out of the foster care system frequently wrestle with feelings of grief and abandonment.

The rise of telebehavioral health led one therapist to rediscover the value of in-person therapy and multisensory experiences.

Therapy dogs can be more than our best friends; they can also help reduce clients’ stress and provide the emotional safety needed to process traumatic and painful life events.

Psychological abuse is a complex and prevalent issue that can go unnoticed unless clinicians learn to recognize the signs and use appropriate interventions to support clients.

Rachel Jacoby, a licensed professional clinical counselor supervisor, once worked at a community mental health agency providing counseling services to youth in foster care.

The term “quiet quitting” has gained popularity since COVID-19 began, but what does this really say about our work boundaries and mental health?

Here are four personality characteristics that make a person more vulnerable to psychological abuse.

Counselors who understand the complexities of generational trauma can help clients acknowledge the role it plays in their lives, find healing and ultimately break the cycle.

In my final year of graduate school, I interned at a nonprofit agency where I was fortunate to have a great supervisor and experienced colleagues. They asked me whether I would feel comfortable working with Steve (pseudonym) ...

Trauma and resiliency are not individualistic experiences, so approaching traumatic loss through a cultural resilience framework helps strengthen clients’ healing process and prevent severe mental health outcomes.

As increasing numbers of youth turn to self-injury, counselors can offer empathy while guiding young clients to better tolerate their emotions and find healthier ways to cope.

Caregiving can take many forms. A woman in her 50s takes care of her husband who has a life-limiting disease. An adult child cares for an aging parent. Grandparents raise their grandchildren because their adult child is struggling with substance misuse.

Self-care is always easier said than done, but with these four steps, counselors can ensure they are taking time to care for and invest in themselves.

Having an adult child who is in an unhealthy relationship can leave parents feeling helpless, but with the support of a counselor, parents can learn to navigate this situation while still maintaining their own well-being.

Counselors must help clients recognize and reject weight stigma before they can begin to heal and reconnect to themselves.

Because alexithymia can be a risk factor for a range of mental health problems, counselors need to know how to identify and treat the symptoms of this condition.

Counselors can build rapport with clients who belong to fandoms by creating a safe environment, incorporating fandom in session and acknowledging the important role it can play in their lives.

As technology continues to shape the world we live in, counselors must not only adapt to but also prepare for the change.

Weight stigma can show in counseling, so clinicians need to work to dismantle it both in themselves and in their clients.

Faith can play an important role in a client’s healing process, but a lack of knowledge and training often makes counselors hesitant to incorporate it into the therapeutic session.

Throughout American history, the United States government, despite well-documented treaties, has unjustly treated Native Americans. Treaties ratified in 1851 and 1868 were violated during the COVID-19 pandemic national emergency...

Counselors must strike a balance between maintaining young clients’ confidentiality and accommodating parents who want to be kept in the loop about their child’s progress in therapy.

Friction between parents and teenage children is an inevitable part of adolescent development, but often the parents need as much — if not more — work in counseling as the teen to build the skills needed to navigate conflict.

Rules are often a point of contention for parents and teenagers, but counselors have the skills to help both parents and teens put the situation into context and find common ground.

The stigma attached to borderline personality disorder can make both clients and counselors resistant to treatment, but by working together, they can sort through these misconceptions and help clients rediscover themselves.

Find answers to common questions counselors have about the new edition of the DSM.

Viewing anger as a messenger rather than an adversary can help clients decouple it from shame, unpack its origins, explore related feelings and gain self-awareness.

Counseling can help people who have sexually abused children learn to address their distorted thinking and take responsibility for their actions, but clinicians have to be careful not to burnout in the process.

As veteran suicide rates continue to rise, counselors can incorporate creative clinical approaches to better serve those who serve us.

Color therapy offers a nonintrusive and engaging way to help clients gain a greater understanding of themselves and others.

Solution-focused brief therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy are effective — yet underutilized — clinical approaches counselors can use to help clients with depressive symptoms.

The childhood sexual abuse of Black men remains a taboo subject, but counselors can help clients break the silence and reclaim their own power.

Romantic breakups often come with a lot of painful feelings and loss, but when processed in counseling, they can also be an opportunity to connect with oneself and make meaning from the experience.

When anxiety leads the way and controls our behavior, it becomes problematic.

Counseling can provide third-culture kids with a space to grieve their losses and celebrate the beauty and possibility within their unique experiences.

Counselors can use their position and power to better serve transgender and gender-expansive youth whose mental health and well-being are threatened by oppressive policies.

A youth mental health crisis is rising to a crescendo in American schools, so now more than ever, school-based counselors need support and buy-in from school staff, parents and outside mental health professionals.

Digital mental health has been touted as a solution to filling the mental health access gap, but do these platforms really provide access for all?

Empowering individuals with psychoeducation surrounding the functions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the use of a trigger kit can assist clients who might benefit from regulating from the bottom-up.

Stigma surrounding mental illness may linger as the elephant in the room and negatively affect client outcomes if counselors don’t recognize and address it in session.

The lack of evidence-based research supporting somatic therapy raises skepticism among many clinicians, but for those who do use it with clients, the benefits are clear.

The fact that counselors are, by nature, helpers and are often willing to give freely of their time does not mean that they should be treated unfairly as a labor force.

Rather than labeling hesitant clients as “resistant,” counselors should check their assumptions, work to better understand the underlying reasons and barriers these clients face, and double down on unconditional positive regard.

Masculinity is not a monolith - there are many ways to embody and express manhood.

Many people spend their working lives dreaming of retirement, only to be blindsided by the social and emotional issues that may be awaiting them once they leave the job behind.

Individuals who discover a partner’s infidelity and deception must undertake a challenging journey to find healing for the mind, heart and soul.

When you are in the present moment, you are not waiting for the next moment to be fulfilling or happy.

"If you’re a counselor-in-training, licensed clinician or healer looking for an article to share when you’re too tired to explain to a loved one what’s going on for you, here’s that link."

Counselors must increase their own comfort and knowledge around sexuality before they can help clients navigate theirs.

Given the complex variables at play in group settings, it is critical that counselors seek client feedback directly rather than relying on their own clinical judgments regarding treatment efficacy.

Counseling can make a big difference in the lives of people who have experienced a brain injury — as long as the practitioner understands the challenges they live with and nuances of their needs.

Superwoman, #metoo, COVID-19 and so much in between: Refocusing on the complex, intersectional, and cultural needs of girls and women in counseling.

Counselors will inevitably be confronted by countertransference, but by learning to recognize and manage it, an experience that has sometimes been stigmatized can become a tool for professional and personal growth.

Improving self-esteem involves exploring and dismantling unhealthy self-talk, values and beliefs that clients have internalized, often without realizing it.

Three counselors share lessons learned so that other clinicians can enter private practice with eyes wide open — both to the challenges and the opportunities.

This piece is the first in a series of three monthly articles for CT Online. It is the result of the work of ACA President S. Kent Butler’s Gender Equity Task Force.

Because suicide attempt survivors are at higher risk for both fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts, disclosure of past attempts is an important aspect of their mental health treatment.

With more states legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use, counselors are being forced to consider the potential pros and cons in their work with clients.

Thanks to the popularity of social media postings about mental health and the ease of searching for symptoms online, more people are being tempted to self-diagnose, but is that necessarily a troubling trend for counselors?

More people are turning to social media for mental health advice, so how can counselors use the platforms to educate others while still maintaining their own boundaries?

Three research studies suggest that counselors did not burn out at a higher-than-normal rate during the first year of COVID-19, but the experience of pandemic fatigue remains an ongoing challenge.

When clinicians shy away from engaging in therapy themselves, they are limiting their ability to be effective counselors.

Turning toward the critical feedback that these social movements have for the mental health professions can aid counselors in repairing ruptures and strengthening the therapeutic work.

People often view stress, anxiety and burnout as three interchangeable conditions, but understanding what differentiates them can help in addressing what lies at the heart of each.

A three-step method can help counselor supervisors use their limited time more efficiently while building strong competency in supervisees.

Uncertainty and stress have left Generation Z feeling anxious, depressed and isolated and in desperate need of skills that counseling can provide.

This 3 step mental health plan serves as a valuable resource for emotional protection as we face both the physical and emotional change of seasons, and it can help us turn these experiences into opportunities for growth and rediscovering hope

Advocates argue that for the profession to evolve and better serve the needs of diverse clients, it must embrace counseling theories that address lingering gaps in more traditional approaches.

The experience of grief and loss is universal; the circumstances surrounding it and the way people understand and process it are anything but.

Counselors must understand that relationship boundaries considered ‘healthy’ by the dominant culture in the U.S. don’t automatically apply to immigrant and bicultural clients.

It is imperative that all counselors, regardless of setting, are able to recognize and respond appropriately to behavioral addictions.

EMDR can be a powerful therapy for clients, but first counselors must learn how — and when — to use it effectively.

Competently assessing client needs and determining an accurate treatment plan are skills that counselors need to continually develop and improve throughout their career.

Amid talks of how African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, the Tuskegee experiment has been cited as a kind of landmark explanation of why African Americans are reluctant to seek treatment.

‘Developing balance therapy’ helps provide clients with the necessary skills to stabilize or self-regulate so that they can proceed on to deeper trauma work.

They say laughter is the best medicine, and improv does make clients and counselors laugh, but in the process, it also teaches life skills that can improve mental and emotional well-being.

Using games as a coping strategy for other underlying issues can lead to an addiction, as real life is replaced with a virtual and more favorable one.

The United States withdrew the last of its military troops from Afghanistan. News outlets documented this historic moment with a grainy, green-tinged, night-vision photo of a lone soldier boarding a cargo plane at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

A counselor turns to Worden’s tasks of mourning as he tries to navigate the nonlinear and sometimes unpredictable course of his own personal grief.

Crisis counseling demands that practitioners become comfortable with the uncomfortable, ensuring safety while creating a nonjudgmental space for clients to share their most distressing thoughts and emotions.

Counselors can encourage clients on a journey to transform their pain and fear into a guiding wisdom that leads them toward self-awareness and emotional growth.

By embracing a holistic, strengths-based and wellness orientation in their work with clients who may be suicidal, counselors can improve on traditional approaches to suicide assessment and treatment.

People in distress send messages to the Crisis Text Line 24/7 looking for help and support. The organization has responded to nearly six million chat conversations since the nonprofit was established in 2013.

Counselors can use a CBT approach to help clients of spiritual and religious faith when their expectations of God don’t match their experiences.

Experiencing a sudden and unexpected loss can send people into a steep decline as they wrestle, often unknowingly, with elements of both trauma and grief.

Immigrants to the United States have one goal in common: to attain the American dream. For many, this dream means leading a life with fewer struggles than they experienced in their countries of origin.

In being aware of the vulnerability to addiction for those affected by adverse childhood experiences, professional counselors can play a pivotal role in prevention and early intervention.

Counseling clients for a reduced fee or for free – pro bono – in a private practice setting comes with some ethical caveats.

Successful therapeutic relationships are built on trust and understanding, so counselors can ill afford to have words and phrases become “lost in translation.” Cultural competency on the part of counselors is also crucial...

Clients still need to process the death of a person with whom they had a rocky, toxic or strained relationship, even if they don’t express feelings of sadness or recognize the death as a true loss.

In 2012, as the American Counseling Association was celebrating its 60th year as an organization, Counseling Today published an article titled “What the future holds for the counseling profession.”

This holiday season, use those skills to ignite the flame of hope and love. To quote author Hamilton Wright Mabie, “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”

Novice and experienced counselors alike too often ignore this process for understanding and explaining a client’s presenting issues and guiding the counseling process.

A potentially dangerous drug found in most over-the-counter cough medicines is more popular than opioids among teenagers, largely because it is legal, inexpensive and easy to obtain.

Welsh psychologist created a formula combining factors such as weather, holiday debt, the amount of time elapsed since Christmas & the likelihood of already-abandoned New Year’s resolutions to determine the most depressing day of the year: “Blue Monday.”

Adrian Marquez, a retired Marine master sergeant and  Marine Raider, woke up one morning during his time in the Marine Corps and couldn’t remember how to get dressed. He looked down at his pile of clothes and mumbled, “Pants first, then shoes?”

When working with individuals who have experienced either “small t” or “large T” trauma, it is essential to engage them in action-based responses that provide a healing alternative to the fight, flight or freeze reaction.

The U.S. national elections are set to serve as a proxy for the country’s stance on climate change, universal health care, racism, police brutality and democracy. The maelstrom of events that is 2020 has brought everything to the forefront in Technicolor.

Counselors in the quiet university town of Charlottesville, Virginia, noticed that some of their clients were anxious about their safety. In spring 2017, demonstrations & counter protests at local Civil War monuments had become heated and confrontational.

Clinicians often tell Taqueena Quintana, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Washington, D.C, that they find it difficult to start working with the military population as a civilian counselor.

Veteran counseling professionals tackle a dozen of the most frequently voiced questions from novice counselors pertaining to navigating career options.

Existential-humanistic psychotherapy can be a helpful method for counselors to guide clients through the many stages of their COVID-19 journey.

Some of the most rapid increases in temperature are being experienced in the Circumpolar North. Overall, the average global temperature has increased by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1880. 

Counselors can help clients heal from racial trauma and take steps to intervene in the racist systems that negatively affect the mental health of Black Americans.

We must know and promote our worth and recognize that if we are not strong and healthy as a profession, we cannot help others. Therefore, professional advocacy must be a top priority for all counselors.

By using practical, attachment-informed approaches, counselors can build effective therapeutic alliances with youth frequently dismissed as being ‘resistant.’

Focusing primarily on the race of the provider and the client, while valid, is an approach that does not consider the system itself, the functions of the diagnosis...

Through education, outreach and advocacy, counselors can encourage the communities in which they live and work to develop trauma-informed programs and early intervention efforts.

Professional counselors play an important role in helping couples and individuals process and heal from the emotionally charged experience of confronting a betrayal in their relationship.

After clients have gone through the emotional journey of divorce, they need to start rebuilding their lives and hoping for a better future.

Nothing in my training prepared me for the shock of trying to carry on an intense, personal counseling session with a person in chains.

Resilience is one of the characteristics hallmarking the experience of North America’s indigenous tribes. These tribes predate the European exploration and colonization that led to the renaming of these inhabited lands to the United States of America.

Hormones and personality differences are often blamed for tensions in the mother-daughter relationship, but a therapy model argues that societal expectations routinely set mothers and daughters up for conflict.

When we clearly identify and deconstruct the hidden forces that have been driving our lives, it transforms the way we think about and treat anxiety and opens a path to enduring fulfillment.

Providing counseling services to immigrant populations can sometimes feel like working in a hospital emergency room. “We’re just trying to stop the bleeding for a minute, and sometimes we don’t have time to look at some of the other concerns”...

Because immigrants often feel like they are straddling two worlds — their origin country and their new one — identity development is complex and critical for this population.

Growing up Jewish and queer in a conservative part of Birmingham, Alabama, I faced some pretty severe bullying as a child and teenager. It was a common occurrence for me to be called anti-Semitic slurs and mocked for looking and acting different.

Although the holiday season is a time full of parties and family gatherings, for many people it is also a time of self-evaluation, loneliness, reflection on past “failures,” and anxiety about an uncertain future.

Counselors share the lessons they’ve learned along the way in their efforts to translate the ideal of multicultural competence into practical action.

Procrastination is a common issue — one that people often equate with simply being “lazy” or having poor time-management skills. But there is often more to the story.

The end of the counseling relationship can be emotional for clients and counselors alike, but when done well, the process can serve as a tool to empower clients and prepare them for continued personal growth.

Every suicide is a tragedy affecting families, friends and whole communities, but when everyone works together to help those in need, suicide becomes preventable. All have a role to play in preventing service member, veteran, and military family suicide.

Often, when talking about mental health in the military-affiliated population, the first thing that comes to many people’s minds is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is true of mental health professionals as well.

Although infertility is fairly common, the losses associated with it are less likely to be recognized, acknowledged, validated and supported, which often leaves women and couples to navigate the experience on their own.

By sensitively — yet straightforwardly — addressing the topic of suicide, counselors can encourage clients to open up about an issue that too often remains shrouded in shame and stigma.

Impulse-control disorders can exert a firm grip on children and adults alike, and if left unaddressed, they can end up wreaking havoc, not just for the individuals who have them but for everyone else in their orbit.

Professional counselors possess the skills to mold groups that offer caregivers a safe place to voice their strong feelings and stressful experiences while receiving authentic empathic understanding in return.

Service members, veterans & their families face some unique challenges both during and after military service. There’s the stuff that is widely known- deployments, constant moving, a regimented lifestyle- & then there’s the stuff that isn’t so well-known.

Professional clinical counselors are charged with learning how to spot red flags and then carefully respond to a complicated and emotionally charged issue that is present in an uncomfortably large percentage of intimate relationships.

Rather than feeling lucky to be alive, those left behind after large-scale traumatic events or the unexpected death of a loved one are often burdened with questions about what they could have done differently or why they survived while others perishe

Finding and helping people suffering from survivor guilt, PTSD and complicated grief can be challenging after large-scale catastrophic events, which are becoming more common.

It is one thing for us to challenge one another, hold each other accountable, and even heartily debate. It is another thing entirely to expect that any group of people should change their entire belief system or else not be included in the field.

Philosopher Martin Buber detailed the qualities that characterize a real “encounter,” or I–Thou meeting, between two people. His ideas remain as relevant today as when they helped to shape the humanistic movement in psychology and counseling.

With their emphasis on human development, prevention, ecosystems and wellness, counselors are well-positioned to address the unique service needs of the pediatric population.

Counselors who dream of the freedom and autonomy they would gain by being their own bosses should also be aware of the many challenges that accompany the rewards.

The little girl sitting next to me was no more than 5. Her bony little body was draped in clothes that appeared to have been worn for several days. Unmistakably Apache, she looked up at me and smiled from her seat on the school bus in which we were riding

Self-disclosure can establish trust and strengthen the bond between counselor and client, but the trick is knowing when it is (and isn’t) an appropriate tool to use.

For much of human history, the idea of adolescence being a distinct life stage was nonexistent.

As a counselor, I have a front-row seat for watching anxiety develop in new relationships. It is truly fascinating to observe how quickly two people can become emotionally stuck together.

Ashley Wroton, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), says parents of her young clients have told her that pediatricians sometimes make comments suggesting that they try “real” therapy with their child rather than play therapy.

For many counseling professionals, the exploration of forgiveness, self-compassion or resilience can seem daunting, particularly when determining ways to apply these concepts to people with disabilities and their specific needs. Where do I start?

Unexpected exchange underscores the human desire to reconnect with nature, yet urbanization and technology often distance people from the natural world.

One particularly damaging result of incest is trauma bonding, in which survivors incorporate the aberrant views of their abusers about the incestuous relationship.

The stories of the aftereffects of human-made disaster have become all too familiar: a refugee forced to make a dangerous journey to find a new home; the soldier deployed thousands of miles from home for months at a time...

There is a need to develop effective mental health models in schools because of the mental health challenges that affect students academically, socially & emotionally. Students will continue to be faced with these challenges but it is important to address

What can we do as clinicians to help reduce the stigma and minimize the fear that going to counseling has for many law enforcement officers? The first step is to help officers understand their rights to privacy.

Counselors can help prepare for the pressures during the holiday season, from a barrage of parties, social events, to the temptation to compare themselves with the happy, near-perfect holiday scenes in movies, advertisements or friends’ social media posts

As with any traumatic experience, I seek meaning, attempting to make some sense out of these tragedies. I dive into my counseling toolbox for guidance and I DO something.

Post-9/11, the practice of disaster mental health has been shifting and evolving as practitioners have continued to gain a better understanding of how people recover from traumatic events.

Climate change may be the most crucial issue confronting the inhabitants of our world today.

The phrase undocumented immigrant, or its less charitable counterpart, illegal alien, tends to cause a stir in the media. The focus is on the paperwork, the lack of permission or legal status to be in the United States.

NatureRx is the brainchild of Justin Bogardus, a filmmaker and licensed professional counselor candidate in Boulder, Colorado. Everything seems to have a marketing campaign in this modern age, he says, so why not nature?

If this fall’s presidential debates have left you feeling angry or dejected and the thought of finding out election results state by state on the evening of Nov. 8 makes you break out in a cold sweat, you are not alone.

For many children (and their excited parents), the end of summer signifies a return to school, studies and schedules. It is a time when we bid farewell to the lackadaisical whimsy of carefree days.

Samantha Haviland was a junior and a peer counselor at Columbine High School in April 1999 when two of her fellow students brought weapons to school, killing 12 students and one teacher before dying by suicide.

When caregivers observe or learn about their child’s play involving private parts and respond with alarm, sternness, isolation of the child or avoidance of the topic, the caregiver may inadvertently be shaming the child.

During the past three decades, counseling scholars and practitioners have argued that multicultural competence is a central concern to working effectively with diverse clients and to providing culturally responsive counseling environments.

If clients want to return to counseling, or to transition from a therapeutic relationship to a friendship, the right and responsibility to renew or reinvent the relationship should be theirs alone.

The day I failed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) was the best day of my life.

They come by air, land and sea. In airplanes, on overcrowded boats, aboard shipping vessels, by train or even on foot. They are immigrants and refugees looking for the same things as previous generations of people who willingly came to the United States

I compiled a list of the top 10 things I wish I had learned in graduate school that would have ensured I had a wildly fun, rewarding and successful first year.

The continuum of self theory attempts to identify and quantify complex human relational behavior, offering possible insights into why people remain in bad relationships despite feeling lonely, frustrated and resentful.

The responsibility of providing documentation that would allow individuals to have an emotional support animal live with them should not be taken lightly.

As a counselor, which of the following elements are absolutely essential for you to do your job well?

What is the connection between ADHD and these other deficits?

The holidays are supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year,” right? For many people though, the holidays invite the opposite: dread, deep sadness or a resurgence of anxiety, grief or other mental health issues.

When young children, ages 2 to 9, are experiencing emotional and behavioral problems, the usefulness of talk therapy is limited because they often cannot communicate effectively using words.

This excerpt from Courtney Vinson’s story describes her pathway to college and the workplace despite being diagnosed with an intellectual disability (ID) and told by educators that she had limited future options.

Working with individuals with sex offense convictions is a specialized area of counseling. There are also “specialties within the specialty” when factoring in the different venues for treatment.

Counselors-in-training are often encouraged to be aware of and discuss issues that they think would be difficult for them to address with clients in counseling.

Disasters are on the rise, including both human-made and natural disasters. To clarify, human-made disasters include terrorist acts, mass shootings, industrial errors and epidemics, whereas natural disasters involve events such as hurricanes...

“New word” is the empathic statement I find myself frequently using with my ninth-grade refugee group. As I attempt to explain what emotions are and as I ask each student how they are feeling today, I teach them a new word.

The idea of countertransference — the counselor’s unconscious feelings that emerge as a result of working with the client — is most often attributed to Sigmund Freud

The lives and worldviews of more than 100 Nebraskan youths and counseling students have been enriched thanks to Bruce Dickinson, who uses his passion for Native American culture to connect with members of the Lakota tribe.

An integration of cognitive, existential, psychodynamic and systemic perspectives, Adlerian counseling theory is a holistic, phenomenological, socially oriented and teleological (goal-directed) approach to understanding and working with people.

We normally think of empathy in counseling as a benevolent act in which the insightful counselor deeply understands the grateful client.

No matter where they are in their professional journeys, counselors can still benefit by learning from their colleagues’ experiences and reflections.

The school counselor’s external office delivers more service to students, more accessible, establishes a rapport with staff and conveys a sense of care and concern to students.

When Chad Betters wants his students to grasp what it means to have a disability, he shares the story of a former client. The woman had been a nurse for 19 years but developed an allergy to latex as a result of her work.