When clients come to counseling for "relationship issues" it could be a mistake to leave addiction to certain behaviors — such as a client’s compulsive gambling or use of online pornography — out of the treatment plan.
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Robyn Chauvin was happily married in the early 1990s. Having spent time in counseling, she had given up drugs and alcohol, was studying to be a music therapist and was working with patients in a psychiatric hospital. But she knew there was one more change she needed to make. “I got very clear that I was not going to pretend to be male anymore,” Chauvin says.
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Women in “midlife,” defined for our purposes as age 45 and beyond, may face career issues, changes in their primary coupling, challenges parenting adult children and becoming caregivers to their own parents — all at a time of life when Hollywood tells us they should either be enjoying complete success or be thoroughly ignored as popular culture trains its spotlight on ever younger role models.
Read MoreThe true challenge of counseling today’s college students may be handling the sheer variety
Read MorePregnancy may be the ultimate self-disclosure to our clients. How your counselor handles this information can impact the therapeutic alliance.
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One of the common reasons people start counseling is because they want to know themselves better. The time required to achieve this self-understanding varies, but some counselors make helping clients get a clearer picture of their personalities the first order of business.
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Finances just might be the great equalizer in the counseling room. From young clients struggling to live within a budget, to high-powered, high-income couples wrestling with disparate spending habits and long-term financial questions, money matters may be one of thte most complicated topics counselors will face. Just as childhood trauma informs clients’ approaches to uncertain situations as adults, childhood experiences with money exert influence on adult clients’ day-to-day financial functionality.
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Although the episode took place many years ago, R. Jane Williams still gets a lump in her throat when she thinks about the nine months she spent counseling a young mother dying of breast cancer. The client’s wrenching story of her husband’s initial denial of her illness would have pained any counselor, as would the grief she expressed concerning the thought of leaving two young children behind. But Williams was particularly affected by the story because she, too, had faced breast cancer and experienced the fear of leaving her child motherless.
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Solution-focused brief therapy builds on client strengths and aims for positive outcomes rather than trying to arrive at a complete understanding of the client's past.
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Just like those in any other field, counselors face struggles when approaching retirement.
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Do diet and nutrition have an impact on mental health?
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Before they understand the various diagnoses and treatment options available, many clients present to counseling because of trouble navigating the same human phenomenon: heartbreak.
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Counselors use narrative techniques to co-author connections, draw out client strengths and ‘rewrite’ personal histories
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CT asked counselors which contemporary and emerging theories, models, techniques and approaches are gaining influence in how they work with clients
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D-I-V-O-R-C-E doesn’t always spell the end of counseling
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Most common losses aren’t automatically recognized as being ‘grief-worthy,’ but clients often need help adjusting to a new reality just the same
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Counselors help sexual addiction clients face the behavior, name its impact and examine the underlying causes
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Counselor moms and dads seek support to navigate the challenges of balancing family life and work life
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By understanding how sensory processing disorders present in adults, counselors can help these clients find more comfortable ways of living.
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A lucrative and often fulfilling opportunity leads some counselors to apply their knowledge in the courtroom
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