Because immigrants often feel that they live on two worlds – their country of origin and their new one – the development of identity for this population is complex and critical. Migrant clients often tell Sara Stanizai, a licensed marriage and family therapist and owner of Prospect Therapy in Long Beach, California, that they have a foot in every culture…
Growing up as a Jew and Queer in a conservative part of Birmingham, Alabama, I saw myself exposed to some fairly severe bullying as a child and teenager. It was a common occurrence that I was called anti-Semitic embankments and made fun of the fact that I looked and acted differently. I was excluded from almost all of my classmates…
Your voice is important. Those who have doubts about the power to advocate and work for the profession need only contact Michigan advisors. This fall, approximately 10,000 licensed professional counselors (LPCs) participated in a grassroots campaign that thwarted attempts to impair their ability to practice. On Friday, September 13 – some would consider an appropriate date to be disastrous –…
Did you know that your technical devices have the potential to break your customers' confidentiality if you are only in the consulting environment? Imagine that you have worked a full day to see a number of customers for the various problems they face. At the end of the day, snuggle up on the couch and scroll through your phone's applications.…
In view of the increasing spread of research and information on human-animal interactions, the consultants are aware of the possibilities of including animal-based interventions in the treatment of their clients. However, there is a population of clients that until recently were overlooked in this equation – veterinarians. Indeed, the mental health of these professionals is an emerging area of research…
Which advisory topics attracted the greatest attention of readers in 2019? In 2019, almost 150 articles were published on ct.counseling.org. Professional topics – including disclosure to customers, starting a private practice, fraud syndrome and the advantages and disadvantages of online therapy – came first – read articles at CT Online in 2019. Articles on client topics such as perfectionism, Parenthood,…
An experienced counselor recently admitted to me that she felt overwhelmed when both a mother and an adult daughter came to her to seek help in their never-ending quarrels. She said that she had difficulty figuring out the main reasons for her arguments, and she knew that the communication skills and limits she wanted to instill in her did not…
In graduate school, I learned that most counselors will experience three things in their careers: a client who dies from suicide, a client who overdoses, and a client who sues. I remember hoping that I would be the exception to the rule. Throughout my career, I have done everything in my power to circumvent this Graduate School prophecy. But fate…
I always found it very frustrating that our rational minds cannot convince us that most of our fears and fears are nothing to be afraid of. Many of my customers express the same frustration. As the philosopher Michel de Montaigne said: "My life was full of terrible accidents, most of which never happened." Unfortunately, this is true of many of…
F or most of her life, the woman did not allow herself to eat cake. She feared that if she started, she could never stop. The presence of cakes at every birthday party she attended was tormenting her. Her thoughts about cakes kept her so busy that she imagined eating cakes. The woman's unhealthy relationship with food eventually led her…