There has been some controversy developing in our field, and I wonder if any one else has been seeing it. It involves the recent change in the Federal guidelines about the enforcement of marijuana laws that differ from state laws. For those of you who don’t know, the current Administration has directed the Justice Department [...]

The virtues, then, come neither by nature nor against nature, but nature gives the capacity for acquiring them, and this is developed by training. Aristotle, in Nicomachean Ethics As our profession continues to solidify, California recently became the 50th state to grant licensure to professional counselors. I echo the claim of many, in that we [...]

It is with great sadness to hear Richard Cohen continually misrepresent what we KNOW about sexual orientation–that is, it is a trait we are born with not something we can change or “repair”– and that his blatantly false propaganda is now being used to fuel something as heinous as the “Kill the Gays” bill in [...]

Research indicates that children develop ideas about career much earlier than was previously thought (Hartung, Profeli, & Vondracek, 2005). According to Gottfredson (2002), children become aware of power in relationships and occupations at age 3 to 5 years. At 6 to 8 years old, children begin to identify gender with occupations and begin to associate [...]

Last week, a former client whom I hadn’t seen in over a year called me and asked for a session to debrief a depressive episode that had occurred over her Thanksgiving holiday. I was able to schedule her for the requested two-hour session, which allowed us the time and space we needed to not only [...]

I like to scan news sites on my lunch hour to see how the world is doing. One headline that caught my eye this week dealt with loneliness being contagious. This article cited a new study recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. This ten year longitudinal study, which included 5000 people, [...]

Sometimes I don’t think much about my personal safety. I mean I feel pretty safe everyday. I probably live like most people cautious but overall safety matters don’t dawn on me. In the last few months I have had to deal with a client who is beginning to invade my personal comfort and safety zone. [...]

In working with people from different employment backgrounds, the topic of meaninglessness in work inevitably enters into the discussion. I have heard clients utter statements concerning meaninglessness numerous times in counseling sessions and have even uttered this myself on occasion. However, this is not to say that such statements should be taken lightly or without [...]