I love Motivational Interviewing (MI). What once seemed a passing fad has stood the passage of time. MI is like Rogerian client-centered counseling meets Adlerian Reality therapy. The goal of MI is to express unconditional positive regard and empathy so that we can understand why clients want to address their problem(s) . It involves capitalizing [...]

A client was recently referred to me because he was often angry and bitter. He frequently spoke to employees in a gruff manner. Apparently, his subordinates put up with his rudeness. I asked one such employee why he was so courteous and gracious when this leader insisted on insulting him. He claimed that he refused [...]

Recently a client of mine was struggling to forgive his administrative assistant for late, sloppy reports she submitted in his name. But, then we tested the reality of this story. After some discussion, he realized that he really had to forgive himself for not having the reports ready for her in time for her to [...]

Here’s an oldie but goodie. Do you remember Stephen Covey’s First Things First? If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out on a real gem. I recently brushed off the dust from my copy and dug into it full force.

Usually my blog posts are focused on providing you with practical suggestions on various topics such as clinical supervision, work-life balance, stress/time management, leadership development, and self-care for people in the helping professions. Today, however, I am asking the ACA blogging community (both readers and writers) for their most valuable insights regarding presenting a paper [...]

Do you struggle with organizing time, details, and paperwork? When people expect you to do things in a linear (successive, direct, straight) fashion, do you have trouble? What works for me is to keep all related project papers in piles stacked in left-to-right (or right-to-left) tiers, overlapping 50% so you can see half of the [...]

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of all the stigma surrounding Attention Deficit Disorder. After all, we all experience a little distractibility, impulsivity, memory lapse, and disorganization every now and then.  I propose that we consider ADD a diversity issue rather than a deficiency.

Well, ACA blog readers…you would not believe what happened to me last week. On Friday afternoon, I received a call from a very panicked administrative director. I’d just begun working as a Clinical Supervisor at this agency. So, you can imagine my surprise. Apparently, she had just discovered that one of the counselors had not [...]