Suppose you’re counseling a young girl and she mentions that her father kicks her dog when he’s mad. It was not made as an isolated statement, but more as a part of the discussion of life in her house. As a counselor, what comes to mind? Do you address it? Let it go? If we [...]

Karin Jordan is an ACA member working in Haiti. This is a letter she sent today to David Kaplan, ACA’s Chief Professional Officer. Hi David, Time seemes to pass quickly as I work with the displaced people in the many camps all over the place. I have spent time with children, adolescents and adults, seeing [...]

Perhaps you are old enough to remember when the goal for most of us was to graduate and get a “real job”. You know, the whole enchilada: secure (and decent) salary; health, disability, and life insurance; holidays and sick days; and a retirement package that included benefits for life. Wow… are those days long gone! [...]

How to help in Haiti? This is on the mind of many counselors and Americans. I think we all fantasize going directly to Haiti and kneeling down to talk to a child or parent, offering a steady presence that is comforting and problem solving, or applying our knowledge of trauma and disaster work directly. In [...]

Some brief therapy techniques have helped my practice to become much more efficient. The one I use the most is the “Miracle” list that I create with my clients in the first or second session. This is how I introduce the concept: “I’d like you to envision a miracle. And the miracle is that suddenly [...]

The DSM-5 Task Force recently posted the proposed draft revisions for the DSM disorders and criteria. From now until April 20th, the general public (including consumers and clinicians) are welcome to review the revisions and make comments and suggestions (http://www.dsm5.org ). The concepts of “pathology” and “diagnosis” generate quite a stir whenever they are the [...]

Snowed in. Blizzards. Cancelled school and work. As a counselor in private practice these words translate to one thing for me: lost income. (And yes I realize I am committing a counseling sin to focus on money for a moment- but really – doesn’t it go through your head how much money you are losing [...]

Last time I left you with a quick sketch of Adlerian counseling and suggested using the theory in career counseling. In this blog I will outline an example to better communicate these ideas. Now, on to Alan! Alan, is not a real client, but represents an amalgamation of a few clients that I worked with [...]