ACA MEMBER BLOGS

ACA has called upon its members to confront our own biases, stereotypes, and racial worldview. Moreover, we should work toward challenging and dismantling systemic and pervasive racism.

All too often we find ourselves paralyzed by the ideal of perfection. Trapped at a standstill, unable to move in a direction, and unsure of ourselves, most individuals tend to fear making a decision over the potentiality of relief upon its execution.

In school, we are taught that there are a few different places we can work as mental health and wellness professionals: community agencies, hospitals, and private practice. While in school, we don’t understand the full inner workings of all these settings; after we graduate, we don’t always figure out much more. We graduate, get a job and the bulk of us forget that we have other options out there.

As a Counselor Educator, I encounter many of my master’s level students struggling with understanding the importance of professional identity within our field. Students often do not understand why counseling professional identity is emphasized in introductory courses. But with some guidance, I hope that you can begin to understand the importance of a counseling professional identity.

The first time I unexpectedly saw dolphins playing wildly in the sea, I cried. I am no stranger to slowing down and appreciating “the little things,” though I have never considered it a professional skill until recently.

I’ve been watching Away, a new Netflix series starring Hilary Swank as Commander Emma Green who leaves her teenage daughter and husband for a three-year mission to Mars. The series highlights many themes, but the one I’d like to explore is: Are mothers as free as fathers to prioritize their career goals?

I see you good folks working in crisis centers, hospitals, and mental health clinics, serving those who suffer most acutely the stress of isolation.

Passing qualifying exams or comprehensive exams is a significant step in a student’s doctoral experience and often is a requirement for candidacy. The pressures of balancing the duties and responsibilities during a Ph.D. program can be overwhelming at times. Navigating a Ph.D. program during a national pandemic is an even more tasking process.

Although the virus is more of a public health crisis than a political one, Americans have found a way to use its rampage to deepen the chasm that has already been widening for several years between the left and right. As counselors and future counselors, though, I believe we have a social responsibility to use our perspectives to bridge the divide, whether in our circles or on public platforms.

Counseling is a collaborative process which involves the development of a confidential, unique, therapeutic, helping relationship. This relationship is unlike any other as mental health therapists act as facilitators to help clients better understand themselves, the world around them, their feelings, and their behaviors.