CS Features – Expert Interviews, Guides, Professional Advocacy & Research in Counseling

When clients show up for therapy, they often have exhausted all other resources, such as Internet searches, self-help videos, books, and other people’s advice. They may feel drained and unsure if therapy can help them.

Building rapport creates increased communication, trust, and motivation in the counselor-client relationship. Developing a positive emotional connection leads to client satisfaction and greater therapeutic outcomes.

An important part of the empathic process is holding the space or creating quiet moments for your client. It is in these times, when less is said, clients and counselors can have the most profound insights.

There is no formal training on how to deal with client loss. If you are a counselor long enough, you will face a client’s death.

Rather than being motivated by self-referral, mandated clients do not choose to go into counseling and often must report their progress to a third party. Mandatory or court-ordered treatment areas can range from alcohol or substance use disorders, protective services cases, sex offenses, or anger management.

February is International Boost Self-Esteem Month, an annual event dedicated to improving self-esteem among people across the globe. And it’s especially important this coming year after a series of lockdowns have forced everyone to spend more time alone with themselves than usual.

Pregnant women often complain about sudden lapses in memory. We all have had the experience of walking into a room and then completely forgetting what we planned to do, but pregnant women seem to report these lapses more frequently than others of the same age. Are these experiences due to tiredness and sleep deprivation? Or are there other explanations?

Whether you are a client, friend, or family member, you can express gratitude for counselors and therapists’ invaluable contributions to mental health services.

Those who suffer from clinical perfectionism fear negative evaluation or failure. Some clients procrastinate, over-prepare for meetings, and seek over-reassurance from others because they fear the task they complete will not be exactly right.

CounselingSchools.com examined peer-reviewed research and other sources to explain what anger does to the body and compile tips for staying grounded when discussing heated topics such as politics with loved ones. Anger can take a physical toll by restricting blood flow and producing stress hormones, which can have short- and long-term effects on the body, particularly the heart.