ACA MEMBER BLOGS

As a society, we tend to only realize the importance of mental health during a crisis or when it’s a little too late. Instead, our goal should be preventative care. Going forward therapists can help prepare people for the longer psychological struggles that lie ahead.

After the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in January 2020, #GirlDad started to trend in honor of their close relationship. It is heart-warming to see a father being emotionally supportive of his daughter, and daughters certainly need their father’s love, attention, and emotional support.

Take your time in trying out all different types of meditation and mindfulness activities to figure out what suites you best. After more and more time is spent meditating you will become more and more comfortable with the idea of being still and focusing your attention to your breath.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers worked long hours and experienced burnout. Physician suicide rates are already more than double the rate of the general population.

Imagine a Hispanic student who doesn’t speak English at all and the teacher refers him to you because he does not make any effort to respond in class and stays to himself every day.

For most of us, expressions of frustration from clients have likely become a very present feature of our sessions. Frustration can have even become an all too present part of our own experiences. The anxiety of the unknown that was such an intense feature of the first weeks of the pandemic in the US has often by now given way to fatigue and frustration.

Until the COVID-19 crisis, we had not experienced a pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. The field of epidemiology aims to prevent and control diseases such as COVID-19.

Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic are often times for reflection. As counselors, we can think about how the profession is responding to this crisis. There has been a rush toward telemental health implementation to assist clients during this troubling time, but what about the prevention efforts of our profession?

Infectious disease efforts have their roots in preventing and controlling an outbreak. These diseases require quick actions to stop the spread of the disease. But they also leave long-lasting impacts on employment, social safety networks, food and housing security, loss of health insurance, and many others.

The first thing you, as a school counselor, needs to do is have an important conversation with you administrator about your role as a school counselor. It is important and vital to the school counseling program and the well-being of the students that your administrator understands your role as the counselor.