Expert Interviews & Perspectives in Counseling

Identity formation and re-formation occur throughout the lifespan in response to external circumstances and internal revelation. Who we are can change dramatically over the course of one lifetime, shift in subtle ways, or become fortified and rigid. There is no singular path to identity formation, so an attuned counselor adapts therapy to meet a client’s understanding of self.

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.

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.

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.

Ethical non-monogamy, also called consensual non-monogamy, is an umbrella term for all the safe and consenting relationships beyond monogamy. This includes a spectrum of polysexual relationships with more than one sexual partner, and polyamorous relationships, which have more than one romantic partner.

Through a long history of colonization, Western society’s Eurocentric views have excluded not only individuals and cultures but entire modes of thought. That myopia has hindered the efficacy and reach of counseling and psychotherapy. Fortunately, it’s starting to change.

Broadly speaking, social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing a learner’s social and emotional skills with the same level of focus as shown to other core subjects like reading, math, and science.