ACA Counseling Corner Blog

Self-care and wellness strategies need to be adapted to meet the unique needs of counselors and professional healers. Counselors are individuals who have advanced knowledge and practical experience promoting wellness.

Wellness is central to counselors’ professional identity and the definition of counseling itself. But in helping our clients on their wellness journeys, we must also attend to our individual and communal care.

Counselors play an essential role in helping Black Americans heal from racial trauma and prioritize their overall mental health and well-being. However, creating pathways for that important work can be difficult when centuries of systemic racism has led to inequities in healthcare access and created a deep and justified mistrust of many health systems.

Having a guide while we navigate new and challenging situations can be incredibly helpful, and even the most tenacious and resilient among us need support. For many people, mentorship can be a way to build upon the strategies and skills developed in counseling.

Although telehealth services existed long before the pandemic arrived, many people—counselors and clients alike—were hesitant to fully embrace virtual therapy options because of the potential problems and challenges they posed. Luckily, those potential issues have been matched by several benefits to virtual counseling as well.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on research indicating that Instagram has been studying the effects of its app on younger users for years and the findings have been neither positive nor surprising.

If there was a “Top 10 Buzzwords of the 21st Century” list, it’s likely that “wellness” would be on it. From essential oils and inspirational memes on Instagram to nature bathing and mindfulness apps, there is no shortage of digital content and practical advice on how to tend to our personal well-being these days.

In many ways, self-care has become the ultimate buzzword in everyday discussions about the importance of mental health. But here’s the thing: It isn’t just a buzzword.