Expert Interviews & Perspectives in Counseling

The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 established a system of community-based care, rather than institutional-based care, for treating Americans with mental illness. Nearly 50 years later, that system is as important as ever.

The history of the world is, in one reading, a history of trauma. Political conflicts tear apart families. Refugees escape persecution only to encounter it on new soil, in different forms. Pernicious policies reinforce class divides and thwart social mobility. The right to personhood must be fought for over and over. Ignorance, too frequently, reigns. Patterns of abuse recreate themselves.

Since Kinsey, there have been many studies exploring the spectrum of heterosexuality and homosexuality, yet there has been little to no research measuring the spectrum of aromanticism to alloromanticism, and asexuality to allosexuality.

Transition is the self-actualizing process of aligning one’s external being with their internal sense of gender. This includes social transition like gender expression, legal transition like changing one’s name or pronouns on documentation, and physical transition like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS).

Licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and their clients notched an important advocacy win with the passage of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act (MHAIA), which goes into effect on January 1, 2024.

The field of psychology is dynamic, it is one in which you can never stop learning from. As theories and therapies continue to evolve, it is essential for counselors to stay abreast of the latest research, continuing practices and learn new ways of thinking.

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.

Racism and bias permeate every facet of American society, including the nation’s schools. As mental health professionals, school counselors have the unique opportunity to help students unpack, communicate, and confront the racism and bias they experience in and out of the classroom.

Affirmative counselors recognize how vital it is to validate a client’s sexual orientation, yet some mental health practitioners are reticent to talk about sex-positive identities and alternative sexual lifestyles like kink and BDSM. This can be very stifling for clients whose sexual journey is a foundational part of their lived experience.

We all think we know a great deal about memory and have decent study skills. While that might be true, we can always do better. Cognitive science provides insights about where we can make the learning process easier and more efficient.