Guides to Counseling Careers & Other Resources

As the need for diversely skilled mental health professionals continues to grow, counselors are increasingly being recognized and celebrated for their role in supporting the mental healthcare needs of the public. New movements and regulatory changes are being introduced to make way for the future of the modern counselor.

Each year, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) selects five school counselors who exemplify why we need the profession now more than ever, and from those five, one winner is selected. The School Counselor of the Year Selection Committee includes principals, school counselors, and representatives from education-related organizations.

The allure of e-cigarette usage for high schoolers is waning, according to newly published survey data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Electronic cigarettes, also known as vapes, entered the U.S. marketplace around 2007. The use of e-cigarettes surged by 900 percent among middle and high school students between 2011 and 2015, according to a report from the office of former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy.

Children ages six to 17 have an increasing need for mental health services, with one in six reporting at least one mental health disorder, according to a 2019 paper from researchers at the University of Michigan. And that was before the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit children’s mental health hard.

Starting out with essential archetypes like houses, bridges, animals, heroes, villains, and family figures, sandplay therapists soon become avid collectors, amassing all kinds of cultural symbols to be as inclusive as possible. However, since it can be difficult to find LGBTQ+ representation when shopping for miniatures, let’s explore some recurring themes in LGBTQ+ mental health, and how sandplay therapists can diversify their collection.

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.

What can be traumatizing for some clients who experience an ambiguous loss is the uncertainty or lack of information about the lost loved one. It is this not knowing or ambiguity, which prolongs the grieving process.

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.

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.