that musical artists in these and similar genres are more than twice as likely to die premature- ly as the general population. More than one quarter of the premature deaths studied were attributed to drug or alcohol abuse. Given the pop culture tie-in, the news media gobbled up the report, and the findings, which were hardly surprising to many, grabbed headlines all over the Internet, on television and in print. Not nearly as well publicized, yet infinitely more startling, is the prevalence of addictive dis- orders among another group whose members are unlikely to find themselves gracing the cover of Rolling Stone — elder- ly Americans. Evidence sug- gests that addictions to drugs (particularly over-the-counter and prescription drugs), alcohol and gambling are all on the rise among senior adults. “In this country, the main con- cern with addictions is focused on the adolescent and young adult. In fact, one of the recog- nized ‘rites of passage’ of adult- hood is reaching the legal age to drink alcohol,” says Carolyn Greer, president of the Associa- tion for Adult Development and Aging, a division of the Ameri- can Counseling Association. “Excessive drinking or using illegal drugs gets much publici- ty from the media when it comes to describing the rich, the famous, movie stars and ath- letes. However, our society tends to not recognize the in- creasing rate of alcoholism and excessive use of prescription drugs by adults, particularly those over age 60.” Gay McAlister, a counselor educator at Southern Methodist University, terms the use of drugs and alcohol among the elderly an “invisible epidemic,” largely overlooked or ignored not only by the media and soci- ety at large but, oftentimes, even Addictions don’t have age preference Many counselors contend that the public, the media, family members and even other helping professionals tend to overlook addictive behaviors in older adults BY ANGELA KENNEDY “You’re young — it will hap- pen eventually.” “Miscarriages aren’t uncom- mon. Don’t worry.” “It wasn’t really a baby yet.” “Maybe you should consider adopting.” Even when spoken sincerely, these “words of wisdom” are not necessarily the most appro- priate or comforting to a couple who has experienced an early pregnancy loss. According to counseling experts working with this population, having a miscarriage during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy is just as traumatic as any other loss and should be recognized and vali- dated by the couple, their family and friends. “With early pregnancy loss, or during the first trimester, there is really nothing tangible, so as a result, society tends to make comments downplaying the loss. It’s a sorrow that often goes unacknowledged, and, many times, couples feel that they don’t have a right to grieve or feel the way that they feel,” says American Counseling Associa- tion member Valorie Thomas, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Mental Health Counselor in Florida. Thomas knows this silent sor- row firsthand. Of her nine preg- nancies, she was able to carry only one child full term. Now she draws from her own strug- gles to have children to help other couples longing for a family. BY JONATHAN ROLLINS Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. Live fast and die young. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, there’s plenty of truth to those familiar phrases. Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University studied the lives of more than 1,000 North American and British rock, rap and pop stars and determined 8 ACA-sponsored counseling delegation visits China, Mongolia 12 Families find comfort with CaringBridge during medical crises 18 President-elect candidates share their plans for leading ACA 29 ACA Conference offers wealth of opportunities to earn CEUs 33 An overview of benefits provided by the ACA Insurance Trust 44 Counselors mourn recent loss of Reese House, Robert Betz 49 In Brief: News items affecting ACA members and the profession 4 Letters 5 From the President 6 Executive Director’s Message 11 Finding Your Way 15 Washington Update 21 Resource Reviews 25 Student Focus 31 Your Counseling Career 32 Behind the Book 39 ACA Journal Spotlight 41 Private Practice in Counseling 50 Classifieds 8 44 CounselingToday PERIODICALS MAIL-NEWSP APER HANDLING Silent sorrow Helping couples cope with early pregnancy loss Continued on page 16 OCTOBER 2007 AN AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION www.counseling.org Continued on page 26 iStockphoto ACA 2008 Conference & Exposition Honolulu , Hawaii March 26 - 30 Register before November 30 and save!
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that musical artists in these andsimilar genres are more thantwice as likely to die premature-ly as the general population.More than one quarter of thepremature deaths studied wereattributed to drug or alcoholabuse.
Given the pop culture tie-in,the news media gobbled up thereport, and the findings, whichwere hardly surprising to many,grabbed headlines all over theInternet, on television and inprint.
Not nearly as well publicized,yet infinitely more startling, isthe prevalence of addictive dis-orders among another groupwhose members are unlikely to
find themselves gracing thecover of Rolling Stone — elder-ly Americans. Evidence sug-gests that addictions to drugs(particularly over-the-counterand prescription drugs), alcoholand gambling are all on the riseamong senior adults.
“In this country, the main con-cern with addictions is focusedon the adolescent and youngadult. In fact, one of the recog-nized ‘rites of passage’ of adult-hood is reaching the legal age todrink alcohol,” says CarolynGreer, president of the Associa-tion for Adult Development andAging, a division of the Ameri-can Counseling Association.“Excessive drinking or using
illegal drugs gets much publici-ty from the media when itcomes to describing the rich, thefamous, movie stars and ath-letes. However, our societytends to not recognize the in-creasing rate of alcoholism andexcessive use of prescriptiondrugs by adults, particularlythose over age 60.”
Gay McAlister, a counseloreducator at Southern MethodistUniversity, terms the use ofdrugs and alcohol among theelderly an “invisible epidemic,”largely overlooked or ignorednot only by the media and soci-ety at large but, oftentimes, even
Addictions don’t have age preferenceMany counselors contend that the public, the media, family members and even other helping professionals tend to overlook addictive behaviors in older adults
BY ANGELA KENNEDY
“You’re young — it will hap-pen eventually.”
“Miscarriages aren’t uncom-mon. Don’t worry.”
“It wasn’t really a baby yet.”“Maybe you should consider
adopting.”Even when spoken sincerely,
these “words of wisdom” arenot necessarily the most appro-priate or comforting to a couplewho has experienced an earlypregnancy loss. According tocounseling experts working
with this population, having amiscarriage during the first 20weeks of pregnancy is just astraumatic as any other loss andshould be recognized and vali-dated by the couple, their familyand friends.
“With early pregnancy loss, orduring the first trimester, there isreally nothing tangible, so as aresult, society tends to makecomments downplaying theloss. It’s a sorrow that often goesunacknowledged, and, manytimes, couples feel that theydon’t have a right to grieve or
feel the way that they feel,” saysAmerican Counseling Associa-tion member Valorie Thomas, aLicensed Marriage and FamilyTherapist and Mental HealthCounselor in Florida.
Thomas knows this silent sor-row firsthand. Of her nine preg-nancies, she was able to carryonly one child full term. Nowshe draws from her own strug-gles to have children to helpother couples longing for a family.
BY JONATHAN ROLLINS
Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.Live fast and die young.According to a recent study published in the Journal ofEpidemiology and Community
Health, there’s plenty of truth tothose familiar phrases.
Researchers at Liverpool JohnMoores University studied thelives of more than 1,000 NorthAmerican and British rock, rapand pop stars and determined
8 ACA-sponsored counseling delegation visits China, Mongolia12 Families find comfort with CaringBridge during medical crises18 President-elect candidates share their plans for leading ACA29 ACA Conference offers wealth of opportunities to earn CEUs33 An overview of benefits provided by the ACA Insurance Trust 44 Counselors mourn recent loss of Reese House, Robert Betz49 In Brief: News items affecting ACA members and the profession
4 Letters5 From the President6 Executive Director’s Message11 Finding Your Way15 Washington Update21 Resource Reviews25 Student Focus31 Your Counseling Career32 Behind the Book39 ACA Journal Spotlight41 Private Practice in Counseling50 Classifieds
8 44
CounselingToday
PERIODICALS MAIL-NEWSPAPER HANDLING
Silent sorrowHelping couples cope with early pregnancy loss
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AN AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION www.counseling.org
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NEWS BRIEFS
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THIS ISSUE’S FEATURE ARTICLE SHORTS AND STATISTIC OF THE MONTH
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On the evening of Sept. 18,the Senate passed far-reachinglegislation to require most private-sector health plans toprovide parity of coverage formental and addictive disordertreatments. The legislation, theMental Health Parity Act of2007 (S. 558), was passed byunanimous consent.
For decades, health planshave restricted their coverage ofsuch treatments by requiringhigher deductibles and copay-ments, providing treatment cov-erage for only a short list ofmental disorders and placingarbitrary limits on service use.Current federal law prohibitsseparate and unequal dollarcoverage limits for mentalhealth services but allows allother forms of insurance dis-crimination. Advocates havetried for years to expand uponthe federal law, which has beensuperseded by stronger laws inseveral states.
Following months of behind-the-scenes negotiations be-tween mental health and em-ployer groups, spearheaded bySens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.),an agreement on broad paritylegislation was reached earlierthis year. The Senate Health,Education, Labor and PensionsCommittee approved the legis-lation in February, and it hascontinued to be refined sincethat time.
The legislation will affect anestimated 113 million Ameri-cans enrolled in group healthplans, specifying that treatmentlimitations and financial re-quirements applicable to mentalhealth benefits — including fortreatment of addictive disorders— are “no more restrictive”than the limitations and require-ments placed on substantiallyall medical and surgical bene-fits. In one notable change from
earlier versions of the bill, thelegislation does not pre-emptstronger state laws. The billdoes not apply to small employ-er health plans and allowshealth plans to seek an exemp-tion from parity requirements ifthey can demonstrate signifi-cant cost increases associatedwith implementing parity.
The American CounselingAssociation applauds Kennedy,Domenici and Enzi, along withthe rest of their colleagues inthe Senate, on this historic stepforward for individuals withmental and addictive disorders.ACA is working in coalitionwith other mental health advo-cacy organizations to gain swiftHouse passage of similar legis-lation (H.R. 1424, the PaulWellstone Mental and Addic-tion Equity Act of 2007) so thata final version of parity legisla-tion may be enacted this year. �
ACA IN ACTIONSenate passes landmark mental and addictive disorder parity bill
By the Numbers: Bipolar Diagnosis
YOUTH, 19 AND UNDER1994-1995: Out of every 100,000 visits to a
doctor’s office by children or adolescents, 25resulted in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
2002-2003: Out of every 100,000 visits to adoctor’s office by children or adolescents, 1,003resulted in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
ADULTS, 20 AND OLDER1994-1995: Out of every 100,000 visits to
a doctor’s office by adults, 905 resulted in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
2002-2003: Out of every 100,000 visits to a doctor’s office by adults, 1,679 resulted in adiagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Statistics courtesy of a recent study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
Ross Trust competition open to studentsThe American Counseling Association is pleased to
announce the fourth annual Ross Trust Scholarship competi-tion, designed to reward excellence among counselor educa-tion students who have also engaged in volunteer service inschools and communities. Member counselor educators cannominate high-achieving student members who aspire to workin educational environments.
Fifteen scholarships of $1,000 each, plus a complimentaryone-year ACA membership and conference registration (totalvalue of $1,255) will be awarded in early 2008 to 10 master’s-level students and five doctoral-level students. Beginning Oct. 4,nominating professors and students can visit www.counseling.org and access the electronic nomination/applicationform at the “Student” web link. Instructions for navigating thenomination/application process will be available on the website.
Forms must be filed electronically and supporting materialsreceived at ACA by Nov. 16. A panel of ACA, American SchoolCounselor Association and Association for Counselor Educationand Supervision members will serve as judges for the competi-tion. Questions about the Ross Trust Scholarship programshould be directed to Janice Macdonald at [email protected]. Please provide a return e-mail address and tele-phone number for response.
ACA National Awards around the cornerThe ACA Awards Committee announces the beginning of the
nominations process for the 2008 ACA National Awards, whichwill be presented at the ACA Annual Conference in Honolulunext March.
ACA members can nominate one or more ACA members whohave made a noteworthy contribution to the counseling profes-sion at the local or state level. ACA divisions, branches, chap-ters, regions or committees can also submit nominations. Com-plete information, including criteria for each of the 19 awards, isavailable on the ACA website at www.counseling.org in the“Resources” section.
Request a 2008 National Awards Packet by calling ACAMember Services at 800.347.6647 ext. 222. Nominations shouldbe submitted via mail to ACA 2008 National Awards, c/o JaniceMacdonald, 5999 Stevenson Ave., Alexandria, VA 22304-3300.All nominations must be postmarked by Oct. 31.
Enter the student ethics competitionAttention graduate students and counselor educators: Win
prizes and bring glory to your graduate program! Have yourname seen by more than 40,000 ACA members! Sharpen yourethical decision-making skills!
The ACA Ethics Committee will begin accepting registrationsfor the Fourth Annual Case Study Competition on Oct. 15. Thecompetition is open to teams of students in counselor educationprograms. Participants must be ACA members.
The registration deadline is noon on Nov. 15, and teams willbe able to submit responses to the case studies from Nov. 1-Dec.14. For more information, visit the ACA website at www.counseling.org.
ACA to exhibit at ACES ConferenceACA will exhibit at the 2007 ACES Conference in Columbus,
Ohio, Oct. 10-14. The ACA booth will offer the newest text-books in the field, including Counseling for Social Justice(Courtland Lee), The Counselor and the Law (Anne Marie“Nancy” Wheeler and Burt Bertram), Tough Kids, Cool Coun-seling (John Sommers-Flanagan and Rita Sommers-Flanagan),Multicultural Issues in Counseling (Courtland Lee), ACA Ethi-cal Standards Casebook (Barbara Herlihy and Gerald Corey),Youth at Risk (David Capuzzi and Douglas Gross) and Assess-ment in Counseling (Albert Hood and Richard Johnson). Mem-bership materials and the latest information on the ACA Confer-ence in Hawaii will also be available. �
It’s time to stop beingsilent about inadequate counselor compensation
Counselors and other mentalhealth professionals are insulted,yet we passively remain indif-ferent. ACAeNews recently pub-lished the average salary ofcounselors. The numbers showwhat we already knew: We aregrossly undervalued and, conse-quently, grossly underpaid.
Counselors provide an invalu-able service to our communities.Our work benefits and improvessociety and leads individuals toachieve greater potential. Be-cause of our work, lives arerestored and relationships mend-ed. We ameliorate suffering, im-prove functionality and increaseproductivity. Far from being glo-rious, our work is a slow, oftenlaborious and frequently thank-less process that requires dedi-cation and commitment. Ourwork is hard, and we labor toearn our livelihood.
Counselors are some of thebrightest and most talented citi-zens. A counselor must be intel-ligent, innovative and consumer-driven. We could have pickedmany other professions. Instead,we picked a career that requires,on average, a master’s degree,the pursuit of licensure and con-tinuous professional develop-ment. Our career demands a sig-nificant investment of time,energy and money. Sadly, weremain inadequately compensat-ed and see little return on ourinvestment.
The Bureau of Labor Statis-tics, as cited in ACAeNews,reported the average earningsfor counselors to be $43,500. Instark contrast, other sources(such as www.census.gov) reportthe average earnings for peoplewith a master’s degree to beclose to $68,000. On average,our profession is paid $24,500less than our education deserves.
I know a counselor with amaster’s degree in Californiawho gets paid $15 an hour. Herdaughter, still in college, getspaid $11.50 an hour to assistwith gymnastics lessons. Anoth-er counselor in New Jersey doesnot know how long he canremain in the profession becausethe pay is not enough to supporthis family.
I find it ironic that, though weare taught to advocate boldly forour clients, we are timid aboutadvocating for ourselves. Thereseems to be a helpless indiffer-ence about this among coun-selors. We know we are not paidfairly, but we somehow refuse to
be outraged. We may talk aboutthis with our colleagues but onlywith passing recognition. It is asif we cannot allow ourselves tosee this inequity.
I recognize the historical rootsof this phenomenon and believethat as counselors resolve theiridentity, attack stigma, improvelicensure and become morevocal in the mental health arena,compensation will improve.However, I do not see this as a“counselor-only” issue. I see thispertaining to all mental healthprofessionals. From counselorsto social workers to psycholo-gists, we are inadequately com-pensated as it relates to our edu-cation and labor. For this reason,all providers of mental healthservices must speak out on thismatter. However, if counselorsare serious about taking leader-ship in our field, then we mustlead the conversation.
We must recognize this prob-lem and become vocal about thisinequity. Our dialogue must beaudible, inclusive, direct andspecific. Much work must bedone to improve parity in com-pensation. We must come to-gether and find solutions. Every-one must participate. Christopher FreemanHamilton, [email protected]
Relationship violencearticle draws both criticism, praise
While I very much enjoyedreading the article headlined“Students lacking education onhealthy relationships” in theSeptember 2007 issue of Coun-seling Today, I was disappointedthat it was written exclusivelyfrom a heterosexist perspective.At no point were gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender (GLBT)students referenced, therebymissing a huge demographicgroup on campus.
Unfortunately, heterosexismrenders GLBT students (and thechallenges they face) invisible.Relationship violence is proba-bly no more prevalent in thisgroup, but naiveté may driverelationship violence furtherunderground for GLBT students.As an ACA member and a coun-selor on a college campus with alarge GLBT population, I ex-pected a more inclusive perspec-tive from ACA’s publication.Jeffrey A. KlugBaltimore
I enjoyed reading the article“Students lacking education onhealthy relationships.” Duringthe past several semesters, we
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Counseling Today Staff
PublisherRichard Yep800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Associate PublisherCarol Neiman800.347.6647 ext. [email protected] Rollins800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Senior Staff WriterAngela Kennedy800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Contributing WritersStacy Notaras Murphysmurphy@pastoral
counselingdc.com
Advertising RepresentativeKathy [email protected]
Graphic DesignerCarlos J. Soto800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
CT Column Coordinators
Washington UpdateScott Barstow800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Finding Your WayJeffrey A. [email protected]
Dignity, Developmentand DiversityMichael D’[email protected] [email protected]
Student FocusRichard [email protected]
Resource ReviewsRuth [email protected]
ACA Journal SpotlightSusan X [email protected]
Counseling Career CornerAmy Reece [email protected]
Private Practice in CounselingRobert J. Walsh and Norman C. [email protected]
Behind the BookJohn [email protected]
The AmericanCounseling Association
PresidentBrian S. Canfield800.347.6647, ext. [email protected] President-ElectColleen R. [email protected] Executive DirectorRichard Yep800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Counseling Today (ISSN 1078-8719) is the monthly newspaper of the American CounselingAssociation, 5999 StevensonAve.,Alexandria, VA 22304–3300;Tel: 703.823.9800;Web: www.counseling.org
Subscriptions are available for$125 for 12 issues by calling PP&Fat 800.633.4931. Single copies areavailable at $11 each by callingACA in-house fulfillment at800.422.2648.
Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria,Va., and additional mailing offices.Postmaster: Send addresschanges to: ACA Member Services, 5999 Stevenson Ave.,Alexandria, VA 22304. All rightsreserved, 2007 by the AmericanCounseling Association.
Editorial PoliciesCounseling Today accepts unso-licited articles and guest editorials.Please send via e-mail to [email protected] or to CounselingToday at 5999 Stevenson Ave.,Alexandria, VA 22304-3300 astyped, double-spaced copy. Sub-missions will not be returned.For more information, [email protected] to request acopy of the writing guidelines.
Anti-Discrimination PolicyThere shall be no discriminationagainst any individual on the basisof ethnic group, race, religion,gender, sexual orientation, ageand/or disability.
Mission StatementThe mission of the American Coun-seling Association is to enhance thequality of life in society by promot-ing the development of professionalcounselors, advancing the counsel-ing profession, and using the pro-fession and practice of counselingto promote respect for human dignity and diversity.
CounselingTodayVolume 50/Number 4
Letters
have attempted to educate ourstudents on healthy relation-ships. However, this semesterwe are beginning to see anincrease in counseling visitsregarding unhealthy relation-ships. I would like to think thatthis is because of the educationbeing provided and that studentsare beginning to feel more com-fortable with seeking our ser-vices. I hope to enhance ourtraining by including some ofthe research from this article.Linda ColbertTexas A&M University
at Galveston
Perceived double standardleads to questioning ofdiversity movement
In their August 2007 Dignity,Development & Diversity col-umn, Michael D’Andrea andJudy Daniels comment that“many” white persons minimizethe complex problem of racismin our society. In my experience,it is not that white persons do notacknowledge the problem ofracism, but rather that they aremore at odds with current mod-els of how to address the issue.Many of the methods reliedupon by multiculturalists to,ostensibly, bring people togetherseem designed only to create asense of victimization amongmembers of minority groups anda sense of guilt among whites.
In the August piece, the readeris given the address where onemay write to express support forthe “Jena Six.” These six indi-viduals were allegedly involvedin beating a white studentunconscious after nooses werehung from a tree on the schoolcampus. If a racist prosecutor isin fact targeting these youngpeople, it should be brought tolight and spoken against.
But nowhere in the column isthere any denunciation of theviolence that these same six arealleged to have committed. Alsomissing is any address by whichone might express support for,apparently, the only victim ofphysical violence associatedwith the case. I have nowhereread that this student wasinvolved with the abhorrenthanging of the nooses at theschool.
If the authors wish to under-stand why “some” whites do nottrust the so-called diversitymovement, they perhaps needlook no further than their owncolumn. Double standards al-ways lead to mistrust, as theyrightfully should.Doug [email protected]
Continued on page 42
From the President – BY BRIAN S. CANFIELD
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The Great Seal of the UnitedStates of America bears theLatin motto “E Pluribus Unum.”The motto’s literal translation,“Out of many, one,” originallyreferred to the union betweenthe 13 original states and thefederal government. However,the motto holds multiple mean-ings. It also underscores ourcountry’s identity as a nation ofimmigrants, with each group’sunique traditions and cultureenriching the unified whole. Italso refers to the culturally plu-ralistic and multiethnic nature ofmodern American society. It’s agreat motto that reminds us thereis strength in our numbers anddiversity. For me, this motto alsoholds meaning for the future ofthe counseling profession.
Many changes have takenplace in the field of counselingand within the American Coun-seling Association during thepast 50 years. We have grownfrom a confederation of fourorganizations in 1952 to an orga-nization that today represents 19divisions. During this period,counseling has grown from a
mere idea to a “bona fide” pro-fession with more than 100,000Licensed Professional Coun-selors in 49 States.
I recently reread a column in a1993 edition of the ACA Guide-post (forerunner of CounselingToday) in which Ted Remley,then ACA’s executive director,wrote of the risks of “specializa-tion” within the field of counsel-ing and extolled the need forcounseling to be a “single andunified profession.” While no-table advances have been madetoward the establishment of acommon counselor identity (e.g.,licensure), there remains a trendtoward increased professionaldiversification and specializationrather than greater professionalhomogeneity. In many respects,counseling remains a disconnect-ed field characterized by partisansocial and political interests andcompeting factions — real orimagined.
I must confess that I remain abig fan of diversity and special-ization within the counselingprofession. However, I appreci-ate that if counseling is ever to
fulfill its potential as a “helpingprofession,” we must find betterways to incorporate our diversi-ty into a unified professionalidentity.
Several years back, ACA dis-carded a long-standing policythat combined division member-ship and general ACA member-ship. This policy change result-ed in some unintended conse-quences, not the least of whichwas a precipitous drop in overalldivision membership numbersand, at least correlationally, anotable decline in general ACAmembership over the pastdecade.
Two of our largest and mostimportant divisions, the Ameri-can School Counselor Associa-tion and the American MentalHealth Counselors Association,while still part of ACA, electedsome years back to take paths ofgreater operational autonomy.Similarly, two organizationsconceived and nurtured byACA, the National Board forCertified Counselors and theCouncil for Accreditation ofCounseling and Related Educa-
tional Programs, have evolvedinto independent bodies, albeitmaintaining close collaborationwith ACA.
Currently, many counselorsare active members of their statebranch but are not members ofACA. Some counselors aremembers of an ACA division butchoose not to join ACA or theirstate branch. And many ACAmembers do not join their statebranch or any division. Thisneeds to change through profes-sional education, membershipincentives and the adoption ofmore enlightened policies.
I believe it important that wenot dwell on either the success-es or the missteps of the past.Rather, I hope we can marshaland focus our collective effortsto build a more responsive andeffective ACA for the future. Asingle professional associationwith 100,000 members will playa much more meaningful role insociety than 20 professionalassociations with 5,000 mem-bers each. Respecting and em-bracing the professional diversi-ty that exists, and has always
existed, within the counselingfield is not mutually exclusive tobuilding a unified profession.
ACA plays a critical leader-ship role within the field ofcounseling. While many of ourdivisions and affiliate groupsengage in uniquely importantwork, only ACA is in a positionto serve as the common and uni-fying voice for the entire coun-seling profession.
All counseling professionalsshould view membership inACA, along with membership inan ACA division and branch, asa professional responsibility andan investment not only in theirpersonal future, but in the col-lective future of our profession.To assist in this process, theACA Governing Council will beworking to establish collabora-tive membership options toexpand membership in ACA, itsdivisions and branches.
“Many uniting into one” —together we can make a difference! �
Many uniting into one
Building on a foundation of support
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Nearly 30 years ago, theAmerican Counseling Associa-tion formed a foundation thatwas originally funded from theproceeds of the sale of the asso-ciation’s headquarters buildingin Washington, D.C. During the past three decades, manychanges have occurred in theprofession, the association andsociety at large. To keep pacewith such changes, the entitynow known as the ACA Foun-dation has found it necessary toevolve to continue its relevanceto its major constituencies,namely the counseling profes-sion and ACA.
Last month, the Board ofTrustees of the ACA Founda-tion met and engaged in long-range and strategic planningthat will help position the orga-nization to meet the needs oftoday’s, as well as tomorrow’s,professional counselor. With theaddition of Skip Hansen, theFoundation’s full-time directorof development, the staffingneeded to help implement thestrategic plan is now in place.The Board of Trustees mem-bers, chaired this year by Terri
Lonowski of Atlanta, onceagain committed themselves tocontinuing their support ofACA, graduate students, fellowcounselors and those who bene-fit from the work of profession-al counselors.
The ACA Foundation contin-ues to need one key ingredient,however. That ingredient is you.We all need to do what we canto support the ACA Foundationbecause, together, we really canmake a difference. Our impacton the issues facing profession-al counselors and emergingcounselors is even more signifi-cant when we work collectively— and, yes, that means whenwe make donations of time andmoney to the Foundation. TheACA Foundation is the onlyorganization dedicated to sup-porting ACA and the myriadissues facing many special areasof the profession.
I am pleased to say that everyboard member of the ACAFoundation has made a finan-cial commitment. Many mem-bers of ACA’s Governing Coun-cil and our ACA past presidentscontinue to support the Founda-
tion every year as well. In fact,two ACA past presidents,Courtland Lee and SamGladding, have committed todonate the royalties from someof their books to the Founda-tion. These generous actions,along with many more, demon-strate to me the special bondthat the Foundation has forgedwith the counseling professionand ACA. Other examplesshowing your colleagues’ gen-erosity would take up this entirecolumn. Needless to say, we areall very appreciative of suchgenerous efforts.
Among its accomplishmentsduring the past year, the ACAFoundation Board of Trusteesundertook the task of redesign-ing the Foundation website. Theupdated site can be viewed atwww.acafoundation.org. I hopeyou will take a moment tocheck it out and then visit itagain from time to time to learnabout the Foundation’s latestactivities and how ongoing pro-jects are progressing.
In case you aren’t familiarwith some of the projects thatthe ACA Foundation supports,
let me tell you about a few of itsendeavors. The Foundation hasa great interest in supportinggraduate counseling students,given their important role incarrying the profession forward.The Foundation supports theGraduate Student Essay Com-petition, the Graduate StudentLounge at the ACA AnnualConference and the develop-ment of publications used bygraduate students.
Many of you are aware of theACA Foundation’s efforts toencourage “counselors helpingcounselors” through its Coun-selors Care Fund. This fund wasestablished to aid counselorswho were directly affected bythe hurricanes that hit the GulfCoast region of the UnitedStates two years ago. For everydollar you donated, the Founda-tion committed to match thedonation. To date, several thou-sand dollars in grants have beenmade to your colleaguesimpacted by the hurricanes.
One of the Foundation’s sig-nature projects is the GrowingHappy and Confident Kids pro-gram. Each elementary school
counselor who wins a GrowingHappy and Confident Kids grantis provided with as many as 20books, each carefully selectedbecause it deals with an issue ortopic that impacts kids, such asbullying, divorce, diversity orfamily relationships. The ACAFoundation has awarded morethan 50 grants, and it hopes toincrease that number signifi-cantly during the next few years.For more information on apply-ing for a Growing Happy andConfident Kids grant, visitwww.acafoundation.org.
When we all work togetherfor the collective good, veryspecial things can happen. I liketo think that the evolution of theACA Foundation is an exampleof that thought. I thank you foryour past (and future!) supportof the ACA Foundation.
As always, please feel free tocontact me with your questions,comments or suggestions by e-mailing [email protected] calling 800.347.6647 ext.231.
Thanks and be well. �
Executive Director’s Message – BY RICHARD YEP
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� Use of traditional mentalhealth treatments in China,including rituals and spiri-tual practices, especially insome rural areas
� The influence of Chinesephilosophy on mentalhealth, wellness and pre-vention of mental illness
� The effect of the one-child/one-family policy andthe rising needs for coun-seling and psychotherapyfor the children and elderly
� Use of traditional Chinesemedicine in treating mentaland physical disorders
� Efforts to promote mentalhealth in China
In Mongolia, delegates metwith psychiatrists, professors,counselors and students fromthe National University ofMongolia as well as profession-als from the Institute of Strate-gic Studies; the Institute of Phi-losophy, Sociology and Law atthe Mongolian Academy ofSciences; the Mongolian-American Society for Coopera-tion; and the Setgeliin Toli Psy-chological Center.
While in Mongolia, PatriciaArredondo, A. Michael Hut-chins, Gisela Lin and SamuelShaffer presented informationon the methodologies and con-temporary approaches of psy-
chotherapy in the United States.Additionally, they participatedin a simulated group counselingsession that included severalMongolian professionals.
Reciprocating, the Mongo-lian mental health professionalsand advocates presented infor-mation to the U.S. delegates onthe development of psychologi-cal science, counseling typesand contemporary methodolo-gy used with the country’snomadic population.
Experience of a lifetimeLeading the delegation was
Patricia Arredondo, an ACAformer president. Known forher dedication to multiculturalcounseling and education, itwas no surprise that she volun-teered to spearhead the journeyabroad.
“I’ve always been fascinatedwith Mongolia, reading aboutGenghis Khan and so forth, sowhen I was told that Mongoliawas part of the trip, I immedi-ately said I would go. It’s onething to read about it in a book,but to be able to go there and beinvolved with those who areteaching, conducting researchor ‘doing the work,’ it puts it ina whole other realm of engage-ment,” she says. “That was verycompelling to me. We had somevery powerful cross-culturalexchanges — so much so that
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ACA delegates experience culture, counseling practices in China and Mongolia
BY ANGELA KENNEDY
This summer, 53 mentalhealth professionals represent-ing several American Counsel-ing Association divisions trav-eled to Beijing, China, andUlaanbaatar, Mongolia, on a10-day People to People coun-seling delegation.
People to People CitizenAmbassador Programs, devel-oped under former PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower, offerforeign educational travel expe-riences for professionals.Through meetings, seminarsand cultural activities, partici-pants connect with individualsin similar professions overseas.Approximately 200 ACA mem-bers have participated in pastcounseling delegations to desti-nations such as South Africaand Russia. Another delegationpreviously visited China tolearn more about the country’s
school counseling programs.The most recent ACA-
sponsored delegation met withvarious Chinese mental healthprofessionals from the ChinaMental Health Association,Beijing Mental Health Associa-tion, Tongren Hospital, AnzhenHospital, Chaoyang Hospital,Renmin Hospital, HuilongguanHospital and Beijing ResearchInstitute of Pediatrics, as wellas with students from CapitalNormal University.
In addition to attending gener-al discussions, seminars andluncheons, the delegates learnedmore about the following topics:� Current challenges and
future directions of mentalhealth and counseling inChina
� Professional counselingorganizations in China
Delegates were treated to a performance
at the Kung Fu Theatre in Beijing.
sutras (scriptural narratives) to read from,and that is supposed to provide the guid-ance needed to help with the issue. So in away, it’s a form of counseling, and yet it’s avery historic practice of problem solving.”
It is interesting, Arredondo says, to seehow religious and spiritual figures fit intothe counseling world and how people ofdifferent cultures rely on that guidance. Shenotes that the issue of stress is a universalphenomenon, and she was eager to learnhow other societies address the issue.
“How people manage stress may have acultural aspect, and that is important to learn.
There are other practices that help with heal-ing and responding to stress,” Arredondosays. “How people balance life and preven-tion approaches are big within the Chinesemental health organizations. They have com-munity and media presentations emphasiz-ing the holistic approach of well-being.”
While visiting a hospital in Beijing, thedelegates were introduced to traditionalChinese medical practices such as acupunc-ture and moxibustion. “One patient wastreated by cupping to relieve back pain andstress, while another had Chinese herbsburning in a container on the patient’s back
to treat menopause,” she says. She explainsthat cupping is the practice of placing smallcups on a portion of the body, usually theback, and creating a vacuum to draw toxinstoward the skin surface.
As was the case with many of the othercounseling delegates, Arredondo was veryinterested in finding out more aboutChina’s changing family dynamic. Forexample, she says, although senior citizensare still revered and respected in China,many are being forced to continue working
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the experience has inspired meto go back again.”
Arredondo wasn’t the onlyparticipant motivated by theeducational discussions in Mon-golia. She says the Americandelegates feverishly took notesand soaked up as much as theycould from their Mongoliancounterparts. Because many ofthe professionals there spokeEnglish, the need for a transla-tor wasn’t as great, and theexchanges were more candidand fluid.
“We had lunch in Mongoliawith several people from theuniversity — faculty, students,other organizations associatedwith the university, an agencydirector and a psychologist,”she says. “Their English wasvery good, so there were a lotmore opportunities to learnfrom them during the informalexchanges and coffee breaks.People would just continue theconversations outside the pre-sentations. (The Mongolian pro-fessionals) were very forthcom-ing and initiating. I was veryimpressed with the Mongolianpresenters — all women by theway — who were heads of thedepartments. They were veryengaging and well-educatedfolks.”
Arredondo notes that, inMongolia, people employed inmental health professions dur-ing the late 1970s receivedtraining heavily influenced bythe former Soviet Union. How-ever, she says, when Mongoliabegan transitioning from social-ism to democracy, the trainingswitched largely from Russian-based methods to more Westernconcepts, including group, fam-ily and individual therapy tech-niques based on the teachings ofcounseling pioneer Carl Rogers.
“They (the Mongolian profes-sionals) have a lot of influencefrom psychiatry, but they are try-ing to make that less dominantin that they are looking at coun-seling models of psychothera-py,” she says. “They want tofocus on helping the peoplerather than the pathology.”
She notes that a small groupof U.S. delegates also had thechance to meet with a Mongo-lian spiritualist and were intro-duced to cultural, herbal andspiritual practices. The spiritualand religious aspects of mentalhealth were discussed in bothMongolia and China.
Arredondo also reports thatthe group witnessed severallocal people at a monastery inMongolia seeking the guidanceof monks. “While we were vis-iting, we saw a young man andhis parents sitting with themonks,” she says. “Apparently,after (a person) presents theirissue, the monk pulls one of the
Continued on page 23
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It was shortly after I startedgraduate school that I began toreally embrace the idea of self-care. Having worked in thebusiness world for 15 years,self-care definitely was notsomething I had known muchabout or practiced as part ofbeing a better employee. Inbusiness, my understandingwas that the more your life wasconsumed by your job the bet-ter, and all should be sacrificedfor the company. In joining thecounseling profession, howrefreshing it was to be encour-aged to take care of myself, notonly for my own betterment,but also for my clients’ welfare.I truly took the idea to heart.
Balance has always beenimportant to me. Ever since Iwas little, I have explored manydifferent interests and activities.As I got older, I always had var-ious projects going on at homeand outside of work. I havenever been one to sit still. Soself-care was easy for me toembrace and promote to othersas a way not to get burned outin any one area of life.
Self-care was a concept thatwas especially important to mewhile attending graduate school.At that time, I was in my mid-30s, attending classes, teachingkindergarten part time, interningand being a single mom to apreadolescent daughter. I knewif I wasn’t careful, I wouldquickly become overstressed. SoI was deliberate about schedul-ing tasks and activities well,being as present as I could bewherever I was and making sureI had time for family, friends andmyself.
Toward the end of my school-ing, my brother moved back tothe area with his new family. Hehad been away for longer than10 years, and I was very happyto have him close again, espe-cially with a new wife, stepchil-dren and my brand new nephew.His stepdaughter, however, washaving difficulty with the transi-tion. A month after arriving, shewas hospitalized for a 10-daypsychiatric evaluation.
Because my clinical focuswas children, I was naturallycurious about what was goingon with my niece. I knew myfamily didn’t have any experi-
ence with mental health issues,so I wanted to provide as muchhelp and support as I could. Ifelt it was my responsibility totake care of everyone duringthis difficult time, providing forall their different needs.
During the next severalweeks, I made many calls tomy brother and his wife to offeradvice, education and support.I made more calls to my par-ents to help them better under-stand what was happening, howto respond to the situation andhow to help my brother and hisfamily. I had late-night talkswith my daughter, who wasscared for her step-cousinbecause she had been hospital-ized and scared for herself,wondering if the same thingcould happen to her. I alsowanted to offer my support andunderstanding to my step-nieceso she wouldn’t feel shunned
and alone. After school, workor my internship, I made a fewvisits to the hospital, which was45 minutes away.
By the end of the week, I real-ized my whole world now con-sisted of mental health issues. Iwas learning about them inschool, observing and manag-ing behaviors in kindergarten,counseling children at myinternship and assisting myfamily to provide help for myniece. One night, I looked overto my bedside table and realizedthat even my “leisurely read-ing” was about psychoticbehavior. Without meaning to, Ihad completely surrounded my-self with mental health. I wasno longer “balanced.”
This revelation truly took meby surprise. I have never been a“workaholic,” nor have I limit-ed myself to a bare minimumof interests and activities. How
could I have become, uncon-sciously, so preoccupied solelywith mental health? I knew bet-ter than this. I knew it was aquick way to wear myself downand burn myself out. This wasjust not my personality. As Ithought more about it, I real-ized I had immersed myself allin the name of “becoming abetter counselor.” I had beenhelping everyone and trying tolearn all that I could, as fast asI could, and all at once.Patience has never been one ofmy virtues.
I quickly changed what Icould. I put the academic textsaway and replaced them withmystery novels. After my niecewas released, I remained avail-able to my family when need-ed, but otherwise became lessinvolved with the situation.There was nothing I could doabout the other factors —
school, kindergarten, internship— but I made sure to work intime to spend with my daughterand friends and for exercising.Things returned to normal, andmy stress level went down. Iwas very glad to have learnedthe lesson of the importance ofself-care and remaining bal-anced. I swore to myself to bemore vigilant. I even gave pre-sentations on the importance ofself-care to my classmates andcolleagues. I was now evenmore dedicated to the idea ofself-care, and I made it a high-er priority.
Eight months went by andsummer arrived. My daughterwas off to a sleepaway campfor two weeks. I thought tomyself, “Now I can be a reallygood counselor. I can be avail-able for my clients at any time.”
Before you know it
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Finding Your Way – BY LORI MYLES
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BY ANGELA KENNEDY
In most hospitals, cell phonesare prohibited. This seeminglyinsignificant rule doesn’t affectmost people until they have aloved one in a medical crisis.Then — not being able to call,stay in touch, report progress— it can become an additionalburden during an alreadystressful situation.
It’s not uncommon to seefamilies lined up outside wait-ing rooms and intensive careunits to use either a local phoneline or a worn out pay phonedown the hall. They are oftentorn between staying near theirloved one’s bedside or leavingtemporarily to call and updateconcerned friends and family athome.
This was the challenge SonaMehring faced 10 years agowhen a close friend was strug-gling with a high-risk pregnan-cy. Mehring took the initiative
to become the point of contactas the couple fought for theirnewborn’s life. Instead of mak-ing call after call or asking fam-ily members to relay messagesto each other, Mehring createda weblog to update everyoneabout Baby Brighid’s progresssimultaneously.
“My two good friends had avery premature baby, and theyasked me to let everybodyknow what was going on,”Mehring explains. “Instead ofmaking phone calls, I made awebsite. It certainly made itinstantly easier to let everyoneknow what was going on. But italso became this connectingpoint bringing all their friendsand family together to helpthem in this situation.”
The website made it possiblefor the couple to post dailynews, updates and photos for awide circle of family andfriends without placing addi-tional demands on hospital
staff or interfering with themother’s need to rest. Mehringalso attached an online guest-book that allowed visitors torespond to the posts and sendthe family messages of supportand encouragement.
Sadly, Brighid passed awayafter nine days at Children’sHospital in St. Paul, Minn. Atthat point, the website becamethe medium for Joann and Dar-rin (last names intentionallyomitted) to convey their heart-breaking loss without having torehash the events over and overagain.
On the basis of the over-whelming response, bothMehring and the grieving cou-ple realized similar websitescould benefit other parents ofcritically ill children or evenadults facing a medical crisis.Today, through the help of amemorial fund created inBrighid’s memory, Children’sHospital in St. Paul providescomputer and Internet accessfor patients and families wish-ing to create their own onlinecommunities.
“The night their baby wasborn, so was the first Caring-Bridge site,” Mehring recalls.“That first experience was soamazing — not only lettingpeople know what was goingon, but being able to use tech-nology to connect people. Weknew that this was somethingthat anyone in a serious healthcondition could use. Joann and
Darrin were instrumental insaying that this was a servicethat was so helpful that it need-ed to be available to others. Itwas one of those life events thatwe knew could be used to helpother people.”
Now, 10 years later, Caring-Bridge.org is a nonprofit webservice that connects familyand friends during periods ofcritical illness, treatment orrecovery. The service is free,private and available 24 hours aday, seven days a week. Duringthe last decade, 70,000 familieshave created personalized web-sites. The site has logged morethan 400 million visits, andmore than 10 million messagesof support have been entered inCaringBridge guestbooks. Indi-viduals from more than 40countries have used the onlinecommunication tool.
“Even though we are con-necting 250,000 people a day,we are still only at the tip of theiceberg. Most people onlyknow about CaringBridge byword of mouth. It’s been verygrassroots, but what we arestriving to do is make sure thateveryone that is in this type ofsituation knows about the ser-vice,” says Mehring, recog-nized by MSN.com as one ofthe nation’s leading womenworking for change. She is amember of the MinnesotaCouncil of Nonprofits and theNational Health Council.
Mehring says she designed
CaringBridge: Keeping families, friendsconnected during medical crisesA friend’s high-risk pregnancy inspires the creation of an online tool now providing support and encouragement to thousands of families
The brief life of Baby Brighid, who died nine days after being
born premature, led to the creation and eventual expansion of
the CaringBridge website.
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the site to allow even the mosttechnologically unsavvy ofindividuals to build and person-alize a weblog (blog). Websitescan be completed in three easysteps.
“We hear over and over againpeople saying thank you formaking CaringBridge so easy,”she says. “That is one of ourprimary core values. Caring-Bridge is very easy to use, andyou don’t have to know a lotabout technology — the sitedoes that for you.”
She adds, “I think this serviceshould be prescribed to anyonefacing a serious health condi-tion because being connectedto your friends and family isthat important. It’s not only forthe person who is dealing withthe illness but also for theircaregivers and loved ones.”
One counselor’s firsthand experience
Counseling Today firstlearned about CaringBridgethrough Brooke Collison, a for-
mer president of the AmericanCounseling Association. Hedescribed a wonderful tool thathis close friend was using dur-ing his fight with an aggressiveform of cancer. The website,Collison said, was allowing hislongtime colleague, ReeseHouse, to stay in touch with hismany friends across the nation.
House, a distinguished leaderin the counseling profession,died peacefully in his home onSept. 10 (see page 44). But sev-eral weeks before he passedaway, House shared with Coun-seling Today how CaringBridgehad helped him as he faced hisillness.
“I was diagnosed with headand neck cancer in February2006 and began both radiationand chemo treatments a littleafter that. I had heard aboutCaringBridge through a friendand checked it out. (I) thendecided to create my own siteand use it as a way of keepingfolks informed,” he said.
At the time of the interview,House was in good spirits, buthe knew the toughest timeswere still ahead. “The dramacontinues as the process of can-cer treatments and care are stillwith us,” he said. “My partnerTed Guthrie and I decided to dothis (CaringBridge) because wehave various networks offriends around the U.S. andbeyond. This seemed like agood way of getting informa-tion out and not having torepeat the same thing over andover. Partially, it is efficiencyand, partially, a way of decid-ing what you want to sharewith others. Frankly, I am a lit-tle surprised that I decided todo this, as I am not a personthat particularly likes to leteveryone know exactly what isgoing on all of the time. How-ever, it just seemed to me thattransparency was the mostimportant thing here.”
This transparency was also asurprise to some of his closest
friends, including Collison,who says the blog allowedHouse to open up more tofriends and family about hiscondition and medical treat-ments. “He was a very privateperson,” Collison says, “butwhen he started writing on thewebsite, it was like a spiderweb out into the counselingcommunity. He was very hon-est about his physical condi-tion, and he could draw sup-port from all the people leav-ing messages of encourage-ment to him.”
One of the website’s mostbeneficial aspects, Collisonadds, is that individuals whoare going through a medicalcrisis can provide updates ontheir condition in a single postinstead of having to repeatthemselves. From a counselor’spoint of view, he notes, thislessens some of the emotionalburden of sharing bad news.
“CaringBridge provides anelectronic means of being open
about your condition and thenpermitting caring people to beresponsive or supportive —much like what good counsel-ing enables,” Collison says. “Inthis electronic age, it’s a way tobe in touch and to be in supportfor people in personally diffi-cult times. Counselors can takea lesson from CaringBridgeand should look for ways to usethe same mechanisms in otherhuman service areas.”
“No one has complained tous about this website,” Housesaid during his interview.“Everyone seems to love it, useit and appreciate it. I am surethere are those who have differ-ent opinions, but if so, theyhave kept that to themselves.You know it is there; peopleuse it if they want to. And Imust tell you, there are thosewho cannot say enough timeshow important it is to them.One feature is that you can be
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House Education and Labor Committee releases draft bill for NCLB
The No Child Left BehindAct (NCLB) is five and a halfyears old and due for an update.As the first session of the 110thCongress enters the home-stretch, the House Educationand Labor Committee hasreleased a preliminary proposalto reauthorize NCLB. Follow-ing release of the draft lan-guage, the American Counsel-ing Association joined othereducation groups in submittingcomments.
Both House and Senate mem-bers are trying to revamp theNCLB accountability systemand increase support for strug-gling schools. The House Edu-cation and Labor Committee’sdraft legislation would maintainrequirements that states assessstudents in reading and math in
WASHINGTONUPDATEWASHINGTONUPDATE
Written and compiled by Scott Barstow, Christopher Campbell and Peter Atlee
grades 3-8 as well as in highschool but would authorizestates to use new methods totrack progress toward subjectproficiency goals that must bemet by the end of the 2013-14school year.
ACA is pleased to report thatcommittee staff included theterm “specialized instructionalsupport personnel” in Title I ofthe draft bill. As part of itsNCLB recommendations, ACAand other pupil services groupsurged Congress to adopt “spe-cialized instructional supportpersonnel” as the single term tobe used in all education lawsthat reference these personnel.Services provided by these per-sonnel are currently titled“pupil services” in the Elemen-tary and Secondary EducationAct and “related services” inthe Individuals with Disabili-ties Education Act.
Establishing one commonstatutory term would ease con-fusion and more accuratelyreflect the nature and purposeof the services that these pro-fessionals provide to studentsin schools. The draft legisla-tion’s definition of “specializedinstructional support person-nel” includes school coun-selors, school social workers,school nurses, librarians andschool psychologists. The defi-nition does not include non-
school-based mental healthcare specialists.
Unfortunately, the draft leg-islation’s Title II section, whichdeals with professional devel-opment for school personnel,does not include a mention ofspecialized instructional sup-port personnel. ACA and othergroups had recommended thatthe term be included through-out Title II to better coordinatetraining and professional de-velopment of these personnelwith teachers and principals/administrators. ACA is encour-aging the committee to addressthis issue in the next iterationof the legislation.
The House Education andLabor Committee was sched-uled to mark up a bill to renewNCLB the week of Sept. 24,with a vote on the House floorlater in the fall. In the Senate,lawmakers worked on anNCLB bill throughout theAugust recess and are aimingto have their bill win the Sen-ate’s approval by the end of theyear.
For more information aboutthis issue, contact Chris Camp-bell, ACA’s assistant director ofpublic policy and legislation,by calling 800.347.6647 ext.241 or e-mailing [email protected].
Sweeping student aid bill passed by Congress
Congress gave final approvalSept. 7 to legislation providingthe largest increase in federalstudent aid since the GI Bill.The College Cost Reductionand Access Act (H.R. 2669)slashes government subsidiesto student-loan companies anduses the savings to bolster stu-dent aid programs. PresidentGeorge W. Bush is expected tosign the bill into law shortly.
Specifically, the College CostReduction and Access Act will:� Increase the maximum Pell
grant, which goes to thepoorest college students,from $4,310 a year to$5,400 a year by 2012
� Cut interest rates on feder-ally backed student loansfrom 6.8 percent to 3.4 per-cent over the next four years
� Create a new loan-forgiveness program fordirect loan borrowers whowork for 10 years in publicservice professions
Unfortunately, the bill doesnot include a provision con-tained in the original Houseversion that would have addedschool counselors to a list ofindividuals eligible for federalstudent loan forgiveness underthe Higher Education Act.
However, the bill does create anew loan-forgiveness programfor eligible federal direct loanborrowers who meet both of thefollowing requirements:
1. Made 120 monthly pay-ments (i.e., 10 years) on adirect loan taken out after Oct.1, 2007
2. Are employed in a “publicservice job” and have beenemployed in a public servicejob during the 120-paymentperiod
Included in the bill’s defini-tion of a public sector job isfull-time work in public health,safety or education fields;emergency management; gov-ernment; military service andlaw enforcement; public childcare, service for individualswith disabilities or the elderly;and service for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations.
For information on the newloan-forgiveness program, bor-rowers should visit the U.S.Department of Education’s Di-rect Loan Servicing website atwww.dlssonline.com/borrower/
BorrowerWelcomePage.jsp orcall 800.848.0979; TDD: 800.848.0983. �
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“Many couples feel that they need per-mission to grieve. I just really wanted tohelp other women and couples to gothrough the grieving process,” she says.Using therapeutic rituals, Thomas guidescouples as they grieve not only for thebaby they lost, but also for their dreamsof what they thought their future wouldbe like with that child.
“Couples experiencing one or moremiscarriage often have the same emo-tional experience as those couples thathave difficulty conceiving — the samesense of loss of control, helplessness anddesperation,” she says. “It’s a biological,psychological, social and spiritual crisisthat affects all aspects of an individualand couple’s functioning.”
Individual, shared reactionsMost counselors know that men and
women experience and cope with deathdifferently, but Thomas says these reac-tions must be explained and presented to
the couple as normal. Reactions to theloss may also differ because of personalcoping styles, initial levels of desire tohave a child and cultural beliefs.
Some common reactions among wom-en include:� Depression
� Higher levels of distress
� A sense of loss of control
� Guilt/blaming themselves
� Talking constantly about the loss
� Reaching out for social support fromfriends or family
Common reactions among men include:� Buffering themselves against feelings
of powerlessness and uncertainty� Tending not to speak of the loss
� Rationalizing
� Pursuing action or wanting to tryagain too soon
Silent Sorrow Continued from page 1
� Engaging in denial and distance oravoiding their partner
� Feeling helpless that they cannot fixthe problem
� Blaming their partnerTogether, couples may experience an-
ger, shock or disbelief. Thomas says cou-ples may withdraw from friends or fami-ly members who have children and willcommonly go through spiritual question-ing — “Why did this happen to us?” “Arewe not good enough to be parents?” “IsGod punishing us?”
“The spiritual aspect, to me, is so sig-nificant no matter what the religiousbackground,” Thomas says. “You have tomake sense of the loss spiritually. Youhave to figure out how this fits into yourstory as a couple. It’s about helping themmake sense of what has happened andstrengthening them as a couple.”
She notes that an early pregnancy losschanges the relationship permanently. Ifone or both of the individuals avoid thegrieving process, she cautions that it canparalyze the couple’s ability to commu-nicate and problem solve effectively. Italso may hinder sexual intimacy andenjoyment.
“They often find themselves stuck andunable to move on. They need to recog-nize and validate their loss and find a wayto say goodbye to their dream of havingthis particular baby,” Thomas says. “Oncea woman finds out that she is pregnant,that emotional attachment begins. Theystart thinking about what their baby willbe like, the child’s future and how thebaby will interact within the family.” Sheadds that if the couple has seen their babyon a sonogram or heard the heartbeat, thesense of loss is even greater, yet they areleft with only a fuzzy black-and-whitephoto or a hospital bracelet as proof ofwhat they once had.
Helping couples grieveTo help couples move through the
grieving process, Thomas suggests mark-ing the loss of the child with a “life-cycleritual,” a planned set of actions acknowl-edging the passing of the baby. The ritualprovides couples the chance to collabo-rate and construct a symbolic experienceto reflect on their loss and share their vul-nerabilities with each other. The processof designing the ritual can foster commu-nication, understanding and a sense ofpeace within the couple, Thomas says.
“When creating a ritual experience, it isimportant to ask the couple if this issomething they desire to do,” she says.“You can suggest that it has been helpfulto other couples who have experienced anearly loss. This discussion can then leadto determining what the couple needsmost from the experience.”
The counselor’s role in this process is tolisten to each partner’s story about his orher loss and identify individual and rela-tional strengths and coping skills,Thomas says. These strengths can then beused to help the couple create their ownritual.
She suggests having each partnerexplore the following questions:� What individual strengths have helped
you cope with losses in the past?� What individual strengths do you pos-
sess that get you through difficulttimes?
� What are three of your strongestassets as a couple that have helpedyou through life challenges?
Thomas offers suggestions for eachstep of the creation process if couples arereceptive to the idea of creating aritual.
Valorie Thomas poses for a family portrait with her husband, Donald, and only
son, John Michael. Thomas struggled for years to have children but now uses
that experience to help other couples through the trauma of pregnancy loss.
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Step 1: Purpose of the ritual What does the ritual mean to you both?
� Validates the existence of their baby
� Marks the pregnancy as real
� Marks the passing of the child
� Allows the couple to move on
� Allows the couple to come to termswith their early pregnancy loss
What do you hope to gain from theexperience?� Closure
� A forum to grieve the loss of the child
� Recognition that the baby’s spirit haspassed on to another place
� Taking a step toward accepting the loss
Step 2: Identifying symbolic articles relevant to the loss
What are some special articles that youwant to include in your ritual? What doeseach symbolize?� Appointment card
� Sonogram photo
� Mother’s journal
� Candle
� Baby blanket, toy or clothing
� A family article, photo or culturalitem
� Religious jewelry or trinket
Step 3: Creating the symbolic action orgesture to be carried out during the ritual
What actions speak to you as a coupleas a form of recognizing the loss?(Through this action, Thomas says, acouple can connect themselves, theirpartner, and their family and friends totheir baby.)� Lighting a candle
� Playing a song
� Reading a letter composed by the par-ents to the baby
� Reading a poem
� Planting a tree or flower
Step 4: Creating a specific planThe counselor should ask the following
questions to help the couple prepare
logistically for the ritual.� How will the event take place?
� When will it occur?
� Where will it be performed?
� Who will be present?
� Who will contact family membersand friends (if included)?
� How will the ritual be concluded?
Thomas adds that some couples maychoose to involve close family membersand friends, while other may decide toperform the ritual privately. The couplealso needs to consider the possibility thatsome family members may not be recep-tive to the idea of a life-cycle ritual anddiscuss how to cope if that occurs. “Theyneed to be selective when choosing whowill be there and who will be the mostsupportive of them,” Thomas says. Sheadds that by discussing and exploring thecouple’s preferences while designing theritual, counselors can also help them usetheir individual and relational strengthsand guide them as they mend their bondwith each other.
Thomas notes that some couples maywant to conduct a ritual but not plan outall the specific details. “They may justhave an idea, but they don’t know whenthey will be ready to actually do the ritu-al,” she says. “It may be a spontaneousevent that they share when the time isright. It will happen when they are ready.They are in therapy to move forward, sojust allow them to evolve. It’s importantnot to push them.”
After the ritualAfter the ritual experience, Thomas
says it is important for counselors toexplore how things may have changed forthe couple. She suggests asking the fol-lowing questions:� What has changed between the two of
you as a result of creating this ritualtogether?
� What have you learned about yourselfand the way you grieve?
� What have you learned about yourpartner?
� What strengths have you becomeaware of in yourself and in your part-ner as a result of this experience?
� What do you think your baby wouldsay to you now that you have honoredand remembered him or her?
“This is usually a pretty powerful ses-sion,” she says. “This experience hashelped them create or rewrite their storyas a couple. They came in with onestory, not knowing what to do with thisloss, and they leave with an understand-ing of how this event fits into their story.It has a special place within their livesand relationship.”
Helping a couple or individual addressissues through the use of their “story” isthe primary technique used in narrativetherapy. Like Thomas, Donna Gibson,president of the Association for Assess-ment in Counseling and Education, hasused narrative therapy in the past whenhelping couples through the grief of earlypregnancy loss.
Several years ago, Gibson moved out ofstate and, because of the lack of licensureparity, needed to complete an additionalinternship. She chose to work with a griefcounselor specifically assigned to a hos-pital maternity ward. This position is rare,Gibson says, because most hospitalsemploy few grief counselors, and thosethat do usually assign these counselors tothe hospital as a whole rather than desig-nating them for one specific area.
“I worked with a counselor who wasonly seeing couples who had either lost achild preterm, had stillbirths or had madethe decision to terminate the pregnancydue to genetic complications. We alsoworked with couples who were experienc-ing infertility,” says Gibson, now a coun-selor educator at the University of SouthCarolina. “It was a very enlightening ex-perience because I never before had dealtwith that level of grief. It was stressful attimes because we were considered a front-line person responding to the family.”
Gibson describes narrative therapy as apostmodern form of treatment in whichthe individual or couple directs the courseof counseling and how they interpret thestruggles with which they are dealing.Through this storytelling, she says, cou-ples can come to terms with their loss andforge a stronger relationship with eachother.
“I have them tell me their dreams theyhad for this baby — all the details. The
humor they first found (when theylearned of the pregnancy) and, now, thesadness they are experiencing. They tellme their story and talk about all of theseaspects in the dreams that they created,”Gibson says. “Then I help them rewrite orretell the story focusing on the presentand how this has changed their lives. It’simportant to get them to recognize thattheir dream has to be modified, not neces-sarily lost, even though they lost the baby.The dream can still live if it’s modified,and they are the ones to modify it.”
Gibson adds that miscarriages andearly pregnancy losses are not thatuncommon, but many couples suffer pri-vately because the subject is painful totalk about or because many people con-sider it taboo to discuss such issues asinfertility. “The problem is that we don’ttalk about it in our society,” she says. “Ascounselors, we need to be comfortabletalking about this.”
Barb Fehrman has made it her job toget comfortable discussing the subject.After her pregnancy complications, shedecided to change careers and become aLicensed Professional Counselor dedicat-ed to helping couples cope with loss andinfertility. The private practitioner usesher experiences with fertility drugs, injec-tions, insemination procedures and preg-nancy losses, and her eventual successes,to connect with clients.
Coming from a large Roman Catholicfamily, Fehrman says her pregnancy com-plications shattered the family portrait shehad envisioned. The lack of support shefelt during her own grieving process moti-vated her to become a counselor in thisfield. She says it’s important for couplesto talk about what has happened anddecide how they want to mark the loss andsignificant dates associated with the loss,such as the baby’s original due date andMother’s Day. She encourages couples touse whatever medium seems natural tothem, be it journaling, preparing a ritual,painting or any other creative expression,and then helps them follow through withthe grieving process. �
Angela Kennedy is a senior writer at
Counseling Today. Contact her at
Letters to the editor: [email protected]
Considering family and friendsAmerican Counseling Association member Valorie Thomas provides the follow-
ing suggestions to help couples communicate with family and friends after a preg-nancy loss.� Friends and family usually respond well to a specific request when they other-
wise wouldn’t know what to say or do. Let others know that you need help.� Respect your need to talk and be heard, and choose good listeners who care
about you. It is vital that you reach out to others during this sad time.� Plan how you will phrase your loss to colleagues and acquaintances in
a simple, brief manner. Respect your need to decline discussing details youdon’t want to share.
� Consider telling those close to you who are pregnant or have small children thatit will be difficult for you to socialize with them for a while. If you feel it is toodifficult to attend celebrations, send your regrets. Relatives and friends who carefor you will probably understand.
In addition, the following suggestions can be offered to the couple’s family andfriends:
� Acknowledge their sorrow and validate their feelings.
� Give them permission to express their grief.
� Let the couple know it is OK for them to be sad and express their feelingsaround you. This will allow them to grieve naturally.
� Offer support by asking if there is anything you can do. For example, providemeals or help with the care of their other children.
� Ask if it is OK for you to check on them periodically. It is assuring to know thatfamily and friends are there to support them in the coming months.
� Ask them out or invite them over and enjoy just “hanging out” and being together.
� Be aware that being around children or someone who is pregnant may be verydifficult for the couple at this time. Give them permission to choose not toattend baby showers or children’s birthday celebrations.
� Acknowledge that they may have emotional reactions on the anniversary of thedue date of their baby or the date of the loss. Be especially sensitive to theirneeds at these times.
— Angela Kennedy
Getting to know the candidatesThe four contenders vying to become ACA’s next president-elect share their views
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In an effort to bring American Coun-seling Association members more com-plete information about the ACA presi-dential candidates, Counseling Today ispleased to introduce the four individualsrunning for the association’s top leader-ship position.
Each candidate was asked to provideinformation for four questions. Thismonth, they answer two of those ques-tions. In the November issue, theiranswers to the two remaining questionswill be featured.
Complete information for all four can-didates, including biographical informa-tion and goals statements, will be fea-tured in the December issue of Counsel-ing Today. That issue will also includebiographical information and goalsstatements for those participating inelections for ACA divisions and regions.
Editor’s note: The following informa-tion is printed as it was submitted fromthe candidates. Counseling Today hasedited only for spelling and minor styleissues.
There are still thousands of coun-selors who are not members of theAmerican Counseling Association.How would you reach this broad-based, specialty-driven population?
A. Michael Hutchins: Relationshipsare critical in our profession. Under myleadership, ACA will expand currentrelationships and use our advocacy/multicultural competencies to providetraining for mental health professionalsand others on local and state levels. Wewill increase working with our own divi-sions and regions to build stronger rela-tionships. I will invite colleagues fromacross disciplines to join us in open dis-cussions of difficult issues exploring awide range of worldviews. We will col-laboratively publish the results of thesediscussions.
Under my leadership, ACA willbecome actively associated with ahumanitarian cause. I will further devel-
op public policy and legislative trainingfor helping professionals to furtherensure parity and the quality of mentalhealth services on all levels. With theassistance of our insurance carrier, theACA Foundation and other entities, wewill publish online and hard copy publi-cations which provide specific skilltraining and other articles of interest tohelping professionals.
We speak of graduate students asbeing our greatest resource. I will buildupon graduate student ideas and energyto move forward in areas such as tech-nology, diversity and connectednesswith other professions. Finally, I willsupport real-time and virtual confer-ences and meetings involving other pro-fessional associations and colleaguesacross disciplines.
Lynn E. Linde: In order to reach pro-fessional counselors who are still notmembers of ACA, the question mustfirst be asked: Why haven’t they joined?We must first look at the needs of thisgroup and determine what resources andservices they would find invaluable andthen use that information to tailor amembership outreach campaign. ACAmust be viewed as being in the forefrontof professional counseling and the mem-bership benefits invaluable in one’spractice setting. This may mean chang-ing the way we package membershipand offering more of a menu approach tobenefits. Members would then be able toselect additional services and resourcesthat best meet their needs. ACA needsimmediate name recognition; gettingthere requires a marketing campaign andoutreach efforts so both counselors andthe public know what ACA is and does.
A second method of reaching non-members is through personal contact.Most of us joined the associationbecause someone invited us to becomeinvolved — and, so, we became en-gaged. We need to continue our person-al outreach efforts to nonmembers toinvite them to participate at the grass-
roots, state or national levels, so they toowill see the value of belonging to ACAand its entities.
Marcheta P. Evans: Over the pastseveral years, the leadership of this asso-ciation has worked actively to addressthe issues of declining membership.Through the development of surveys,focus groups and hiring of membershipspecialists to investigate the cause of thisshift, a multitude of reasons has beenreported for this decrease. The questionposed is, can we realistically be allthings to all professional counselors? Ibelieve we must meet the needs of ourbroad-based, specialty membership bytackling the issue of declining member-ship through multiple creative approach-es. These ideas range from includingmembership payment options over time,discounts for multiple-year commit-ments and recruitment of members, andnew marketing strategies of the profes-sion via commercials.
We must have a product or experiencethat our membership finds valuable —one that can meet the needs regardless ofspecialization. We can no longer expectindividuals to join just because their pro-fessors told them to join. Yes, our coun-selor education programs are a criticalcomponent to our success. These pro-grams instill a value of professionalinvolvement, but we must find ways tokeep the counselors once they are a partof our association by giving them areturn on their investments of time andresources. ACA can be that one profes-sional voice for all professional counsel-ing, regardless of specialization.
Michael C. Lazarchick: The majorityof members join because someone askedthem. Those that stay find value. I joinedwhen a professor passed out member-ship applications. After 30 years of con-ventions, my network includes thou-sands of counselors. Conferences arerejuvenating. Attending workshops orpresenting or just conversing expands
knowledge. Do you not find comfort inthe fact that colleagues with varied inter-ests take actions on committees and indivisions or regions? Their work bene-fits all counselors personally and profes-sionally. ACA provides the forum thatbrings these people together. Numberstranslate into lower group insurancerates and a louder voice with legislators.
That message, and the messages fromall the others who find value, needs to beshared. I would further develop our mar-keting plan and teach members how torecruit. I would seek to expand ROAR,which rewards members for their efforts,because a primary purpose of ACA is touse its resources to serve members.Holding the belief that participationenhances growth and breaks isolation, Ihave taken the responsibility to recruitnew members. In return, I have receivedcountless testimonials confirming thattruth. Sometimes we have to take peopleby the hand to get them on the dancefloor.
One of ACA’s strategic priorities ispublic awareness. What methodswould you recommend to reach exter-nal constituencies (e.g., members ofCongress and identity-related groupssuch as AARP or the Alliance on Men-tal Health)?
Lynn E. Linde: ACA has madetremendous progress over the past 15 years in gaining recognition as anassociation for professional counselors.But there is still much that needs to bedone. A multifaceted approach utilizingmembers as well as the association is necessary to reach ACA’s externalconstituencies.
ACA needs to continue its marketingcampaign until we have visibility andname recognition. Additionally, we needto continue to develop collaborativerelationships with the media so thatACA is perceived as an expert resourceto be called upon and quoted when
A. Michael Hutchins Lynn E. Linde Marcheta P. Evans Michael C. Lazarchick
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events happen or when infor-mation is needed. We need tocontinue to work with our sisterorganizations on topics of com-mon interest to solidify ourposition as representing animportant constituency. Thiswill require outreach on ourpart. We also need to continueour efforts at the local and statelevels. Members need supportin becoming more adept atmarketing themselves and theirprograms and gaining recogni-tion and public awareness forthose things they do. ACA mustalso provide support for coali-tion building at the local andstate levels. And, lastly, mem-bers must continue to increasetheir public policy efforts at thelocal and national levels.
Marcheta P. Evans: Therehave been over the past severalyears wonderful initiatives de-veloped which need to be fur-ther explored to examine thelong-range impact on publicawareness. One such initiativeinvolved the development of acommercial highlighting theservices of counselors as pro-fessionals. It was aired in cer-
tain markets, and I believe it tobe a wonderful achievement forour profession. The communitywas impressed and saw thework of the profession. As withany attempt to operationalize astrategic plan, there is no oneset way to accomplish this pri-ority. The priority of publicawareness must be addressedthrough all types of print, tech-nology and personal interac-tions with the audiences inwhich the association must beengaged.
These include enhancing thetraining of current membershipon grassroots public awarenessinitiatives and developing pro-fessional marketing strategieswhich specifically target suchgroups as members of Congress,AARP and the Alliance on Men-tal Health through print andvideo mediums, podcasts, web-casts and other technology-relat-ed forms of communication.
Michael C. Lazarchick:External constituents or theircustomers have needs. Everytime we deliver a service orprovide information that ad-dresses one of these needs, we
are elevating our image inpublic awareness. We need toprovide congressional staffwith information on issues thatwill help them prepare briefsfor their congressperson. Weneed to submit articles to theAARP Bulletin and similarpublications on a regular basis,written by counselors, for gen-eral public consumption. Weneed to submit links to articleswritten by counselors that sup-port information found on factsheets published by theAlliance for Mental Health. Ofcourse, we need to use everytype of media outlet andunderstand that we are limitedonly by the extent of our imag-ination. How quickly wouldour penetration level rise inpublic consciousness if Mari-na Sirtis (Counselor Troi onStar Trek: The Next Genera-tion) made a public serviceannouncement?
Most important, we areamong the most educated peo-ple on this planet and are in avery noble occupation. Weneed to share our knowledgeand skills at every opportunity.When we serve other humans,
fight injustice, respond totragedy and take actions to healour planetary community, weare creating our image in publicconsciousness.
A. Michael Hutchins: ACAhas collaborative relationshipswith many other organizations.Under my leadership, ACA willcreate a networking map toexplore the next steps in coali-tion building. Using emergingtechnology, I will expand dia-logue with groups who havecommon concerns and passionsto share expertise, vision andstrategies.
As ACA president, I willactively explore our emergingrelationships with worldwidecolleagues. Some of our enti-ties work collaboratively totrain counselors in other partsof the world. We must continueto do so. Working with theInternational Association forCounselling, I will encouragecollaborative visioning, partici-pation and action.
We must share the energyand creativity of our graduatestudents and emerging profes-sionals by participating in col-
laborative efforts across disci-plines. By working with ourcredentialing and training asso-ciations, I will encouragecross-discipline training. On alocal level, we will activelywork with branches to providerelevant training and work withcommunity organizations onlocal concerns affecting ourclients and their communities.
ACA will continue to devel-op close relationships with the“press” on local, state andnational levels. Through ourscholarship and leadership, wewill become the “go to” organi-zation in specific situations,publicly being acknowledgedin the media. We will becomean NPR sponsor. �
To be eligible to participate in
the election, you must be a
member in good standing of
ACA or the division for which
you are voting by Oct. 31.
Your membership renewal
must be received by Oct. 15
to ensure that it can be
processed in time. Call ACA
Member Services at 800.
347.6647 ext. 222 to ensure
that your membership is up
to date.
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Addressing Racism: FacilitatingCultural Competence in MentalHealth and Educational SettingsEdited by Madonna G. Constantine and
Derald Wing Sue, 2006, John Wiley &
Sons, 305 pages, $49.95 (paperback),
ISBN 0-471-77997-0
This ambitious texttackles the perniciousand pervasive prob-lems of racism andother forms of op-pression in mentalhealth and school set-tings. Edited by twoof the most respected
scholars and advocates in the field ofmulticultural counseling, this thought-provoking and perceptive book will findan appreciative audience among practi-tioners, students and counselor educa-tors. Given the intractable and deleteri-ous effects of racism and other oppres-sions in these settings, the contributingauthors respond by offering provocativeand enlightening depictions of the cur-rent state of affairs. They also provide awelcome collection of challenging yetrealistic suggestions to work toward theelimination of racism, sexism, classismand heterosexism.
The book is divided into four sections:What Is Known About Racism, Racismin Mental Health Settings, Racism inEducational Settings and EradicatingRacism: Future Directions. These titlesare a touch misleading; in addition toaddressing racism, several of the chap-ters do an admirable job in discussing theintersections of various forms of oppres-sion. In addition, while six of the chap-ters are devoted to educational settings,the text seems more rewarding overallfor readers working in a counseling con-text, including school counselors.
The tone throughout the text is forth-right. Derald Wing Sue opens the secondchapter by stating: “In our society,Whiteness is a default standard … Fromthis color standard, racial/ethnic minori-ties are evaluated, judged and oftenfound to be lacking, inferior, deviant orabnormal” (p. 15). He then convincinglymakes the case that the invisibility ofWhiteness is linked to an often unin-tended support of the racist status quo byWhites. As is the case in each of the 14well-written chapters that follow, Suesprinkles in a generous dose of sugges-tions, insights and potential solutions tothe identified concerns and issues. Inthis case, that consists of outlining stepsneeded for Whites to effectively engagein the fight against the perpetuation ofthis insidious form of oppression.
Most of the chapters offer contentdesigned to enhance the reader’s multi-cultural competence in each of three oft-cited domains. The authors invite reflec-tion and increased self-awareness ofone’s own beliefs and behaviors, offervaluable knowledge on their topic andgive suggestions for improved skills and
interventions. The overall effect is aneminently worthwhile, readable and rel-evant contribution on an essential topic.Reviewed by Tim Grothaus, assistantprofessor and school counseling coordinator, educational leadership andcounseling, Old Dominion University.
Handbook for Achieving GenderEquity Through Education, 2nd editionBy Susan Klein (General Editor), Barbara
Richardson, Dolores A. Grayson, Lynn H.
Fox, Cheris Kramarae, Diane S. Pollard
and Carol Anne Dwyer (editors), 2007,
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 768 pages,
$295 (hard cover), $95 (paperback), ISBN
978-0805854541
The first edition ofthis valuable refer-ence published in1985 uses the terms“gender equity” and“gender equality”interchangeably. Itis organized into sixmajor parts: 1) FactsAbout the Nature
and Value of Gender Equity, 2) Adminis-trative Strategies for Implementing Gen-der Equity, 3) General Educational Prac-tices for Promoting Gender Equity, 4)Gender Equity Strategies in the ContentAreas, 5) Gender Equity Strategies forDiverse Populations and 6) GenderEquity From Early Through Postsec-ondary Education. A disappointingomission in the new Handbook is itslack of attention to the significant workof counselors and counselor educators inthis area during the last 20-plus years;contributions of teachers, administratorsand parents are clearly specified.
This second edition includes about 60authors who write on various genderequity topics. Most have some familiari-ty with education and have written earli-er about the women’s movement and thepsychology of gender. Many of theauthors are from academia and appear toregard empirical research as the onlypath to knowledge. Nevertheless, it wassurprising to find little in the volume on“other ways of knowing,” such as quali-tative research methodology, in a bookon this topic.
While the enormous Handbook is not avolume one would sit down with and readcover to cover, it is a well-developedguide to the current state of gender equi-ty, especially in the United States. Theforeword is written by Eleanor Smeal,whose Feminist Majority Foundation wasa major sponsor of the project. The pref-ace is written jointly by Smeal and gener-al editor Susan Klein. The Handbook isquite expensive for personal purchase,but is appropriate for a library, media cen-ter or department.
Klein points out that many societaland contextual changes since 1985 haveinfluenced present writers in this field.
Some of these influences include thegrowth of the field of gender equity edu-cation, greater focus on global genderissues, more attention to the intersec-tions of gender and other educationalequity areas, increased attention to boysand men, more attention to Title IX andother gender equity laws, more govern-mental accountability in general (butless for gender equity) and more atten-tion to the gender equity needs ofdiverse populations.
The volume identifies four major indi-cators of progress: 1) increased publicunderstanding and media attention relat-ed to gender equity in education, 2) theuse of U.S. gender equity laws (especial-ly Title IX to protect women and menfrom sex discrimination in education),3) decreases in gender gaps in educa-tional achievement tests formerly favor-ing men and boys and in educationalattainment and 4) some indication thatwomen’s internalized barriers to suc-cess, such as low self-esteem or attribu-tions of success to luck, have decreased.
The authors also identify persistentobstacles to achieving gender equity. Ina section on “Conundrums,” Klein asksseveral important questions, including:� What are appropriate and inappropri-
ate strategies to address gender differences?
� To what extent can and should gov-ernment try to change education toeliminate sex stereotyping, discrimi-nation and stratification in a pluralis-tic society?
� How can education change valuesand rewards in society to promotegender equality?
In the final chapter, a 12-page tablesummarizes “Key Chapter Recommen-dations” according to topical headings.This table provides a very convenientand useful end to a Handbook filled withquestions and answers about significantgender issues in education and providesa good sense of closure, at least for thepresent, to a complex, important topic.Reviewed by Sunny S. Hansen, a formerAmerican Counseling Association pres-ident and professor emerita, counselingand student personnel psychology,Department of Educational Psychology,at the University of Minnesota.
Moved by the Spirit: Discoveryand Transformation in the Lives of LeadersBy Jeffrey Kottler and Jon Carlson, 2007,
Impact Publishers, 240 pages, $18.95,
ISBN 987-1-886230-68-2
As deeply personal experiences, spiri-tual transformations define a person andhis/her life. Transformations alter anindividual’s choices and outlook andchange the ways in which that personrelates to others. In this book, JeffreyKottler and Jon Carlson offer readers
insightful glimpses intothe transformation ofspiritual leaders fromaround the world. ArunGandhi, Parker Palmer,Bradford Keeney, Car-oline Myss, ThomasMoore and Jose Cer-
vantes are a representative sample ofthose interviewed.
The authors identify similarities ofexperience that divide the book into fourtheme-related sections: Guided Discov-ery, Painful Discovery, Risky Discoveryand Surprising Discovery.
As I read through these chapters, Iwas deeply impressed by the spiritualityof these leaders. The passionate spirit ofeach individual shines through, espe-cially in their quoted words. Remark-ably, considering the great diversity ofthe group, all spoke with the sameintention. Whether a Bushman shaman,scholar or monk, each message placedgreat emphasis on creating purpose andmeaning.
Although the words of those inter-viewed were powerful and evocative, Ifound myself distracted at times by edi-torial and typographical errors. Thecompelling meaning of each speaker’swords prevailed, however.
These stories contain importantreminders for counselors. As humans,we are unique, yet we share a yearningfor peace and well-being. As illustratedthrough the stories in Moved by the Spir-it, each person’s path to peace is as var-ied as the individual who walks it. Ascounselors, we have opportunities tonurture the spiritual growth of thosewith whom we work and help them findmeaning and purpose.
Moved by the Spirit provides a sam-pling of spiritual pathways. Merelyreading this book awakens the reader tolimitless possibilities, beyond the con-fines of traditional religion. At the end ofthe book, the authors provide simple, yetpotentially life-changing suggestions forincreasing spirituality.
Through interviews, Kottler and Carl-son provide enlightening examples ofthe endless pathways to enhanced spiri-tuality. Each of the individuals inter-viewed provides an extraordinary exam-ple for following instincts and listeningto one’s heart.Reviewed by Linde Murray, graduatestudent in counseling and humanresource development at South DakotaState University. �
Resource ReviewsResource Reviews
Ruth Harper is the column coordinator
for Resource Reviews. Submit reviews
for consideration to [email protected].
Letters to the editor:
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Fourth quarter ACA fiscal report
AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION
BALANCE SHEET
JUNE 30, 2007
ASSETS
Cash & Cash Equivalents $6,606,436Accounts Receivable (net of allowance
for doubtful accounts of $54,679) 312,815Prepaid Expenses 71,278 Deposits 14,198Inventory 254,157Fixed Assets (Net of Accum. Depr.) 283,516
Total Assets $7,542,401
LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE
LIABILITIES:Due to related organizations 60,890Accounts Payable 273,039Accrued Salaries, Annual Leave & Payroll Taxes 465,990Deferred Revenues 3,279,730
Total Liabilities 4,079,650
FUND BALANCES:Unrestricted Fund Balances (368,393)Designated Fund Balances 3,410,305 Prior Period Adjustment 0 Retained Earnings 420,839
Total Fund Balance (Deficit) 3,462,751
Total Liabilities & Fund Balance (Deficit) $ 7,542,401
BY THELMA T. DALEY
In an effort to keep the AmericanCounseling Association membershipfully informed and simultaneously com-ply with Governing Council policy,quarterly fiscal reports are issued inCounseling Today. This quarterly report(summarizing April 1-June 30) repre-sents the fourth and final report for thefiscal year ended June 30, 2007.
The balance sheet presented with thisreport is intended to reflect ACA’s finan-cial position at a given point in time.This balance sheet gives a picture of theassociation’s financial position as ofJune 30. As of June 30, ACA owned$7,542,401 in assets. Of these assets,$6,606,436 was in cash and investments.
As of June 30, the association’s liabil-ities included vendor fees of approxi-mately $273,039, staff salaries and ben-efits of $465,990 and fees collected onbehalf of related organizations of$60,890. Member benefits to be fulfilledtotaled $3,279,730 and appear as a lia-bility because ACA receives member-ship revenues annually while providingmember benefits monthly.
As this balance sheet indicates, ACA’snet worth on June 30 was $3,462,751,indicating that the association remainsfinancially healthy. However, efforts to
ensure the association’s long-term sta-bility must continue.
As of June 30, ACA reported$420,839 in excess revenues overexpenses. ACA’s revenues are more than$595,345 higher than those reportedduring Fiscal Year 2006. Expensesincurred for FY 2007 were $251,364higher than those incurred last year. TheACA Financial Affairs Committee willcontinue to monitor revenues andexpenditures on a monthly basis. ACAwill continue its legislative activities andmaintain efforts to provide increasedprograms and benefits to its members.
The ACA Financial Affairs Commit-tee, in collaboration with the administra-tive staff, convenes monthly to evaluatethe financial position of the associationand to recommend pertinent action.Quarterly reports are provided to themembership via Counseling Today. Ifyou have questions about this report orneed clarification, contact Thelma T.Daley by telephone at 410.542.0176 orvia e-mail at [email protected]. �
Thelma T. Daley served as ACA treasurer
for Fiscal Year 2007.
to help support the family because of theone-child policy.
Delegate Gisela Lin noted in her dailyjournal of the trip that, “(A) main prob-lem is the lack of welfare and rewardsfor the elderly and senior citizens.” Sheadds that many seniors suffer fromdepression and do not feel the support ofextended families that once played suchan important role before China institutedits one-child policy. She also says mem-bers of the one-child generation seem tolack persistence and are often irresponsi-ble. At the same time, she notes, the highlevel of academic pressure put on thesole offspring often leads young peoplein China to experience stress, addiction,depression and an unbalanced life.
In retrospectOn a personal level, Arredondo found
visiting the Great Wall of China the mostmoving and memorable part of the trip.“You see photos and documentaries onthe Great Wall of China, but it’s just anincredible structure,” she says. “Andwhen you think about the fact that it wasbuilt centuries ago, it’s really awesome.It leaves you speechless when you seehow it winds through the countrysideand mountains.”
Arredondo says the trip was both pro-fessionally and personally rewarding. “Itwas an excellent journey, and I hope wecan do this again,” she says. “Bothplaces have so much to offer us. Thewhole cross-cultural focus really comesto light when you take part in theseexchanges. We need to understand thatas mental health practitioners, there’salways a lot to learn from these culturalexchanges.”
Journal entries written by the counsel-ing delegates should soon be added tothe People to People website atwww.ambassadorprograms.org.
The next ACA-sponsored People toPeople delegation will visit Vietnam andCambodia in May 2008. Courtland Lee,a past ACA president, will lead the dele-gation. For more information on joiningthe counseling delegation to Vietnamand Cambodia, contact a People to Peo-ple delegate specialist at 877.787.2000ext. 8100 or e-mail [email protected]. �
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People to People Continued from page 9
Angela Kennedy is a senior writer at
Counseling Today. Contact her at
Letters to the editor: [email protected]
Some of the delegates took a side excursion to Tibet, where they posed in front of
the Potala Palace, a structure originally built in the seventh century. Destroyed by
war, Potala Palace was rebuilt by the fifth Dalai Lama in 1645. The palace became
a residence for the Dalai Lamas and the political center of Tibet.
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tions. Some want to know why life isunfair; others seek the meaning of life.How to put things together is importantto some, while others want to experienceraising a family or to see how enlighten-ment feels. I want the experience ofbeing a counselor educator who effec-tively conducts quality research andthinks scientifically. I want to know howto best invest myself in students, clients,research and the community. Deep downinside, is it possible that I even want tounderstand statistics?
Finding a passionHow did I discover that a Ph.D. was
the path I wanted to take? I can break itdown into compartments to explain theprocess, but in reality, it was a discom-bobulated mess. Nothing was clear ordefined in the process. The decisionactually seemed to sneak up on me.
I never had high academic goals. Istudied for a bachelor’s degree becausemy family expected it. I worked withjuveniles in a therapeutic residential set-ting, and I pursued a master’s degree togain better hours and pay for what I was
already doing. The decision to pursue aPh.D. arrived in a very different way. Itdidn’t rear its head because of immediatepractical pressures but was instead aresult of wrestling to understand myself.
I once held hopes of being a deep, pro-found, hard-to-understand individual. Inreality, I am a pretty simple human beingwho needs a passion to fire me up. Whatdid I enjoy doing? When did I get lost inwork? What topics did I speak up aboutwith emotion and eloquence? What arti-cles was I drawn to in CounselingToday? These were the questions I need-ed to answer.
Giving demonstrations, conductingrole-plays and making presentations inmy master’s program was great. I love toteach and come by it naturally — mymother taught eighth-grade history for39 years! I feel more alive in front of agroup of people or working in groupsthan when working alone.
Sitting in one class, the instructorbegan discussing the elements of com-
An instructor asked me to speak on apanel for a group of undergraduate stu-dents regarding graduate school. Ipolitely asked if he really wanted me.After all, I had listened to many panelsbut never spoken on one before. Wouldmy thoughts and experiences be of inter-est to any group of students?
Indeed, the instructor wanted my com-munity mental health views represented,so one week later, I entered the class-room with six other panel members.Fear and trepidation were my main emo-tions. Would I single-handedly embar-rass the entire community mental healthprofession by saying something stupid,uninformed or (gasp!) politically incor-rect? Sitting at the end of the stage witha death grip on the chair, I looked for thequickest path out in the event that Iwould need to dart from the treacherousroom to secluded safety. A football play-er sat in the middle row, which immedi-ately raised irrational high school inse-curities of being a “nerd.”
The instructor calmly asked us tointroduce ourselves. The first panelist onthe opposite end of the stage breezilydescribed her experiences. Followingthe other five, I somehow managed todescribe my past experiences withoutvomiting, having no idea of what I actu-ally said. Being the last to introducemyself, it was also my job to ask themembers of the class if they had ques-tions. Of course, it had to be the footballplayer who raised his hand and askedperhaps the most important question —one it too often seemed I had left unan-swered: “What made you decide to get aPh.D.?”
I had wrestled with this question forthe better part of seven months, bothbefore and after becoming a doctoralstudent, and it still lingers. The questionwas there in the morning after spendingan hour on the phone with the printer
help line. It was there again as I stoodover the dumpster looking at the printer,now in pieces. I asked myself the ques-tion in the office after the administrativestaff and most of the professors had gonehome for the evening and again on aMonday after putting in a 12-hour day. Itcame back on Tuesday after I sacrificedlunch to revise a paper. Wednesdaybrought the question up at a statisticsexam. It arose Thursday way past bed-time as I read articles about the benefitsof empirically based research. It re-turned Friday night as I was writing aterm paper.
Rare is the day that I do not ask myselfthis question. One thing I have definite-ly discovered: Getting a Ph.D. is hard!
Where answers appearI know the answer to why I am in a
counselor education doctoral program,but I forget too frequently and need to bereminded. The question is silenced whenlife feels the most fulfilling. It is quietedwhen I sit in Starbucks surrounded byarticles discussing a topic of passion(instructors insist on calling it myresearch topic). When I am workingwith my cohort to put together a posterpresentation for the American Counsel-ing Association, the question disappears.The overall rigor of the process is not ofconcern when I’m pondering the nexttopic to research, sitting in an office witha client, discussing professional matterswith students, sitting in supervision orwriting about a topic of interest. I thrivein those moments, forgetting about otherdemands. I am focused on living in thatinstant. These are the moments I feelmost alive.
Clarity about my decision to continuemy education comes when I realize thatnothing less will satisfy me. A Ph.D. iscertainly not the end-all-be-all. Rather, itis a vehicle to help raise and answerquestions. My colleagues all have ques-
Fighting for a career fit
Continued on page 43
Student Focus – BY K. ELIZABETH MCDONALD
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by family members, physicians, coun-selors and other helping professionals.“Both family members and practitionerstend to look the other way or won’t pressthe issue with older people,” says McAl-ister, a Licensed Professional Counselorand member of ACA. “The thinking goes,‘If mother needs a little nip out of the bot-tle, so be it.’ … Stereotypes (about theelderly) may make caregivers, family orfriends reluctant to upset a loved one orgenerally accept some indicators (ofaddiction) as normal behavior. Falls, con-fusion and excessive sleeping might beviewed as typical of the elderly when thereal cause could be alcohol or misuse ofdrugs.”
According to statistics cited by McAlis-ter, between 12 and 17 percent of acutehospitalizations among the elderly aredue to adverse drug reactions; another 11to 20 percent are alcohol related. Andthose numbers are likely to rise as thebaby boomers age. There is speculation,McAlister says, that because of pastfamiliarity, many baby boomers will turnto alcohol and drugs, whether prescrip-tion, over-the-counter or illegal, to helpthemselves cope with the aging process.
“The baby boomers who led socialupheaval in the sixties will begin to turn65 in 2011, and the result will be 22 mil-lion individuals over the age of 65,” shesays. “With increased age, there is alsoincreased vulnerability due to lifestylechoices. This is a generation that hasgrown up — and grown old — withgreater awareness and exposure to drugs,media advertisements (‘Ask your doctorif _____ is right for you’) and acceptanceof drug use. In addition, older adults aremore vulnerable to the effects of alcoholthan their younger counterparts.”
Greer, also an LPC in Texas, concurswith that assessment. “The baby boomershave always tended to push the envelopeon alcohol and drugs, and, as they age,this is just a way of life. These behaviorstend to be more accepted by family mem-bers because that is just how Dad, Mom,Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary are, and no oneconfronts the behaviors. But as we age,our bodies react differently to various for-eign substances, and although the personmay have used alcohol and/or drugs dur-ing their life, through the aging processand, often, a greater intake of these sub-stances, it becomes a substance abuseissue.”
Getting a handle on the problem“There is an increase of senior clients
having difficulty with substance abuseand other process addictions,” confirmsSimone Lambert, president of the Inter-national Association of Addictions andOffender Counselors, a division of ACA.“Thus, counselors really need to be awareof how prevalent addictions are with theelderly population and broach topicssuch as substance usage and gamblingpatterns with their senior clients. As withmany populations, substance abuse in theelderly may be initially masked by a co-occurring disorder, such as depression, oreven misdiagnosed. It is imperative thatwe explore the role of alcohol or drugs in
the client’s daily functioning. Forinstance, poor appetite or sleep difficul-ties may be the cause of substanceintake.”
While remaining tactful, counselorsshould be vigilant to the possibility ofolder adults struggling with addiction,Greer says. This starts by genuinely get-ting to know the client and asking how heor she copes with physical health prob-lems or traumatic events, she adds. “Theelderly may be self-medicating with alco-hol or prescription drugs to combatdepression, loneliness or a sense ofdespair,” Greer says. “What may havestarted as a prescription for dealing withthe loss of a spouse or other traumaticevent becomes a crutch, but one that isnot readily recognized by others, includ-ing the family doctor. As we age, doctorsreadily prescribe medications to make thepain go away. The elderly often increasethe dosage to ensure the pain goes away,whether it is physical or emotional.”
McAlister says counselors shouldremain particularly alert for specific riskfactors that increase senior clients’ likeli-hood of engaging in addictive behaviors.These risk factors include:� Prior history of alcohol or drug abuse� Family history of substance abuse� New onset of medical problems� Loss of a spouse� Recent retirement� Social isolation� Chronic pain coupled with inadequate
treatmentIn addition, McAlister says, counselors
should educate clients’ family membersabout red flags that may indicate the needto screen for addiction. She cautions thatfamily members, friends and even help-ing professionals may be tempted to sim-ply chalk these warning signs up as natur-al effects of the aging process. Among thered flags:� Poor self-care� Neglect of usual routines� Shaky hands� Symptoms of depression, anxiety or
insomnia� Balance problems� Erratic driving� Loss of memory� Repeated falls� Unexplained bruises or burns� Confusion or disorientation� Mood swings� Financial problems
“When determining the need for assis-tance, the elderly will respond best whenasked about the recent past,” McAlistersays. “Embed alcohol-use questions inthe context of other health behaviors,such as exercise, weight, smoking anddiet. Pay attention to nonverbal cues thatsuggest the client is minimizing use. Forexample, blushing, turning away, fidget-ing, looking at the floor or a change inbreathing pattern.”
Offering treatmentSometimes, senior clients’ problems
with prescription or over-the-counterdrugs are related to a lack of organizationor information, and counselors can play
an important role in teaching them toadvocate for themselves and develop asafe routine for taking medications (seesidebar on page 27). In other instances,counselors must help older adults get tothe root problem of an addiction.
“For some clients, there will be a needto enter a rehabilitation facility and detoxbefore other interventions can be used,”Greer says. “Some recent research showsthat the number of those with addictionsover age 60 are increasing but, likewise,they tend to respond quickly to recovery.Also, for some elderly clients, it is impor-tant for them to recognize who they areand their accomplishments as opposed towhat they are not — to do away with thedeficit model.”
“We must always treat all clients withrespect, but this becomes increasinglyimportant with the senior client,” shecontinues. “For so many seniors, lifebecomes about loss — loss of hair, teeth,eyesight, loved ones, friends — and thecounselor can help the senior client retainor gain a sense of belonging and beingneeded by others. To help combat alco-holism, drug addiction and other addic-tive behaviors, seniors need an emotionalretirement plan so they feel worth, digni-ty and a reason to be.”
ACA member Merry Evenson, profes-sor emeritus at Texas Woman’s Universi-ty, lists several tasks for treatment inworking with elderly clients who are con-fronting an addiction. These include:� Instilling a sense of accountability� Instilling a sense of responsibility� Helping them develop alternative
ways of self-motivating and delay-ing gratification
� Helping them develop an ability toself-soothe in healthier ways (such astaking the dog for a walk, taking abath, listening to music)
� Helping them identify cognitive distortions
� Helping them recognize how theiraddiction seduces them
Among the approaches she has foundeffective are cognitive behavioral treat-ment and motivational interviewing.“Treatment needs to focus on both thesenior client and their family wheneverpossible to be the most effective,” addsEvenson, an LPC and Licensed Marriageand Family Therapist who maintains aprivate practice. “Because of the level ofdenial and shame, the more sides to thestory that are involved, the better.”
Lambert agrees. “Obtaining a release tospeak with family members and medical
doctors can strengthen the treatment planand increase the level of support theclient has throughout the recoveryprocess,” she says. “And when referringsenior clients to a self-help group as anadditional source of support, counselorsneed to inquire about the demographicsof the group to ensure that elderly clientscan feel comfortable with others of simi-lar age, preventing further isolation.”
Because isolation and loneliness oftenlend themselves to addictive behaviors,socialization plays an integral role intreatment, counselors emphasize. “Astheir world shrinks — their spouse orfriends die, they’re no longer working —it becomes really important to them tohave that social outlet,” McAlister says.
Colliding trendsOf course, the catch-22 is that some
social outings tailored specifically forseniors can likewise encourage addictivebehaviors. As examples, McAlisterpoints to wine-tasting nights at assistedliving communities, retirement seminarsthat offer free drinks and bus trips thattake senior adults to casinos.
The last example, in particular, hasgrabbed Evenson’s attention. “It’s thecolliding of two big trends — grayingand gambling,” she says. While the over-all popularity of gambling has explodedin the past three decades, Evenson citesstatistics that show retirees now accountfor 34 percent of all casino gamblers.According to stats provided by the Amer-ican Gambling Association in 2001, shesays the number of casino visits by seniorcitizens has doubled since 1975, a ratethat far surpasses any other age group.
And Evenson contends those numbersdidn’t happen merely by chance. Thegambling industry recognized that olderadults were a growing segment of theU.S. population, she says, and set out tocapitalize on that trend.
Evenson explains that casinos use avariety of marketing techniques to enticethe elderly, including hiring performersfrom the “Golden Oldies” era and offer-ing perks such as free drinks, cheap mealsand coupons for popular medications.Many of the promotions coincide withdates when Social Security or pensionchecks arrive, she says, and casinos some-times offer kickbacks to retirement centeremployees who organize bus trips forsenior citizens to these gambling meccas.The casinos also do whatever they can tomake themselves readily accessible tothose with limited mobility, she says.
Senior Addiction Continued from page 1
iSto
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magazine salespersons or telephone solic-itors or offers of false sweepstakes win-nings, no one wants the elderly to be luredinto settings that appear harmless — areeven referred to as ‘day cares for the elder-ly’ — but eventually lead to losses of theirlife savings and full-blown addictions.”
Men are more likely to get addicted togambling, says Evenson, who points outthat a gambling addiction is determinednot by the frequency or the amount ofmoney wagered but rather the continu-ance of the behavior despite repeated neg-ative consequences. At the same time, shesays, “Gambling is one of the most high-ly addictive of the activities or substancesbecause it offers intermittent reinforce-ment. The thing that makes gamblingexciting is the money involved and theplayer’s hope for gain. One of the secretsof gambling is that it combines chancewith risk.” On top of this, she says, manyelderly persons are lonely and view gam-bling as “cheap” and safe entertainmentthat provides a social outlet, making themparticularly vulnerable to addiction.
More health care professionals need tostart screening clients — young and old— for gambling addictions, Evensonsays. Beyond that, counselors should takesteps to help older adults identify socialoutlets, promotions and pleasure-seekingalternatives of a healthier nature, she says.More counselors should also considerproviding services and groups to theelderly to assist them in dealing with theproblems that make them long to“escape” through gambling or the use ofalcohol and drugs, Evenson says. Thesecounseling services should addressseniors clients’ loneliness, financial con-cerns, unresolved grief and issues fromtheir past, she advises. �
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Jonathan Rollins is the editor-in-chief
of Counseling Today. Contact him at
Letters to the editor:
Likewise, Evenson says, slot machinesand other electronic gaming machines(EGMs) tend to be set up with the elderly— particularly elderly women — in mind.The machines are designed for ease of use,allowing gamblers to play by pushing abutton instead of pulling a lever and allow-ing them to insert credit cards instead ofcoins. According to Evenson, femaleproblem gamblers have described EGMgambling as a way to “escape,” numb theiremotions and manage their moods, muchlike with the use of alcohol or drugs.
On the surface, organized bus trips tocasinos seem like a “safe way to be bad”for many senior citizens, but if you digdeeper, Evenson says, the truth is oftenmore sinister. “These look like great tripsthat provide a social outlet and freemeals,” she says, “but they can lead togambling and alcohol addictions and cancost these individuals their nest eggs. …Counselors need to be aware of this infor-mation, and they need to actually be advo-cates for the elderly. Just as no one wantsthe elderly to be taken advantage of by
In conducting research, LicensedProfessional Counselor Gay McAlisterhas found that the elderly consume 25to 30 percent of all prescription drugsin the United States. Approximately 85percent of elderly Americans take atleast one prescription daily, and sepa-rate studies have indicated that, onaverage, those 65 and older take any-where from five to 11 different pre-scription medications daily.
Likewise, 87 percent of elderlyAmericans use at least one over-the-counter remedy daily, with almost 6percent saying that they use five ormore over-the-counter drugs. Accord-ing to McAlister, a counselor educatorat Southern Methodist University,among the drugs most frequentlyabused by the elderly are analgesics,cardiovascular medications, laxatives,vitamins and antacids.
While McAlister tries to draw atten-tion to the increasing numbers of olderadults becoming addicted to prescrip-tion and over-the-counter drugs, that isnot her only concern. As she pointsout, 90 percent of elderly individualsexperience adverse effects from takingdrugs, often because they’re mixingand matching medications or trying toself-medicate to save money. “Thisalso means they’re self-diagnosing,”she says. “And (mixing drugs) oftencancels out the good effects of theirother medications.”
Many older adults are at risk of mis-using over-the-counter and prescrip-tion drugs for a number of reasons,McAlister says, including:� Seeing multiple specialists� Hoarding expired medications � Sharing medications with a spouse
or loved one � Mixing medications� Incorrectly following directions for
taking the drugs� Forgetting that they’ve already
taken their daily dosage (or haveyet to take it)
� Being misdiagnosed by medicalprofessionals
Adverse reactions related to misuse(or abuse) of drugs may go unnoticedby family members or be wronglyattributed to the aging process,McAlister adds.
Here again, counselors can play acritical role in helping elderly clients.McAlister recommends that counselorsuse the “brown bag” approach to moreaccurately determine medication use.“Ask the client to bring a brown paperbag containing all prescribed and over-the-counter medications, including anyherbal treatments, that they are current-ly taking,” she explains. “This providesan opportunity to assess the numberand types of medications, the numberof prescribing providers who workwith the client and the need for discus-sion among care providers and thefamily.” McAlister also suggests that counselors:� Encourage elderly clients to use a
single pharmacy for all prescrip-tions and to engage the pharmacyin dialogue
� Encourage clients to have one primary care physician review alltheir medications, including over-the-counter and herbal remedies
� Encourage clients to keep a med-ical log or journal and share it withtheir physician
� Encourage clients to advocate for themselves by staying in-formed and asking questions aboutmedications
� Encourage clients to take medica-tions coinciding with daily activi-ties (such as watching the eveningnews)
� Stress the need for pill organizers(organized by day or by week)with clients and their families
� Solicit more family support forthese clients
� Obtain a thorough medical historyand assessment of these clients
� Show genuine care and interest andlisten carefully to pick up on issuesthat may push these clients toengage in addictive behaviors
Counselors should also raise overallawareness about drug misuse andaddictions among the elderly by edu-cating the general public, caregivers,other mental health professionals andphysicians, McAlister says. “Aware-ness, communication and a teamapproach is critical,” she emphasizes. �
— Jonathan Rollins
Concerns other than addiction
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Attendees of the 2008 AmericanCounseling Association Annual Confer-ence & Exposition, taking place March26-30 in Honolulu, will have the oppor-tunity to earn as many as 35 hours ofcontinuing education (CE) credits byattending both days of the preconferenceLearning Institutes and all three days ofthe main part of the conference.
How does this work? The preconfer-ence Learning Institutes are offered dur-ing daytime sessions as well as in theevenings, allowing attendees to earnnine hours of CE credits daily. Forexample, if you attend one daytimeLearning Institute (which will run from8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) and then go to anotherone that evening (from 4:30-7:45 p.m.,)you would earn nine hours for the day.Daytime Learning Institutes offer sixhours of CE credit, while the eveningsessions offer three hours. With two fulldays of Learning Institutes March 26-27, you can earn 18 hours of CE creditsbefore the conference even begins.
Then, if you attend Education Ses-
sions throughout the day on each day ofthe main part of the conference (March28-30), you can earn as many as 17hours of additional CE credits. In lessthan one week’s time, you may be ableto earn all or most of the credits youneed for licensure renewal, dependingon your state’s requirements. Of course,many counseling professionals who donot need CE credits enroll in LearningInstitutes simply for the professionaldevelopment and skills building thatthese intensive, in-depth sessions offer.
The complete schedule for LearningInstitutes is posted on the ACA websiteand included in the Advance Registra-tion Brochure, which members willreceive in early October. Attendees canchoose from 39 Learning Institutes attwo levels — Introductory and Ad-vanced — and from more than 500 Edu-cation Sessions.
ACA offers the preconference Learn-ing Institutes to enable attendees to earnadditional CE credits while gaining in-depth knowledge in a particular area.
ACA Conference & Expo is a bonanza of CE credits
ACA advises prospective registrants toregister early because sessions do fill upand sometimes get closed out.
A separate registration fee for the pre-conference Learning Institutes rangesfrom $70 to $135 for ACA memberswho register before Nov. 30. Nonmem-ber general attendees pay $185 for day-time sessions and $145 for evening ses-sions. Reduced rates apply for students,new professionals and retirees. AllLearning Institute fees, as well as regular
conference registration rates, willincrease Dec. 1.
To view the complete list of preconfer-ence Learning Institutes, visit www.counseling.org/convention and click on“About Conference.” Inquiries about pre-conference Learning Institutes should bedirected to ACA Professional Learning at800.347.6647 ext. 306.
For general inquiries about the confer-ence or to register by phone, call800.347.6647 ext. 222. �
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Is there anyone who doesn’tface each new season by open-ing the closet door and trying todetermine what they have towear for the impending chang-ing weather? Similarly, is thereanyone who has never stressedout — even a little bit — aboutwhat they’re going to wear?
Take a couple of minutes toassess your current wardrobe.At this very moment, do youhave in your closet an outfit thatwould be appropriate for:� A job interview� Lunch or dinner with a
business associate� A funeral� A cocktail party� A sports outing (either as a
participant or a spectator)with colleagues
Stacy and Clinton, Trinny andSusannah, and Mr. Blackwell allhave their opinions about whatwill get you on the best-dressedlist. Thanks to cable television,there are entire networks —with accompanying websites —that provide hourly input on thelatest trends in Paris, Milan,New York and L.A. In this era ofinformation overload, often-conflicting fashion advice canbe overwhelming and leavethose who are seeking directionfeeling confused instead.
Dressing for success is lessabout fashion and more aboutdressing appropriately for yourrole and setting. In many set-tings, those in positions ofauthority came of age when the“old rules” regarding appropri-ate business attire were still inplace. Many of those in chargeare still scratching their headsand wondering how “businessattire” became “business casu-al.” And this was before the“business” element was aban-doned almost entirely and the“casual” side evolved into out-fits that wouldn’t have beenworn outside the comfort of thehome in previous generations.
Thankfully, because of to-day’s more relaxed rules, dress-ing for success no longer meanswearing a navy blue uniformwith a starched white shirt and asilk tie or bow at the neck. Somerules still exist, however, and areworthy of consideration by up-and-coming professionals.
Your Counseling Career – BY AMY REECE CONNELLY
Dressing for success: Some rules never change
Dress for the position towhich you aspire. John Molloy,who is often credited with coin-ing the phrase “dress for suc-cess,” advised his followers topattern their wardrobes afterthose worn by supervisors twoor more levels up. Although hisbest-selling publication is nolonger in the mainstream, it’sstill good advice. Professionalappearance invites professionaltreatment.
Dress for your audience. It isa given that counselors need torelate to their clients on manylevels. So it follows that itwould be insensitive to dress in$1,000 suits for sessions if yourclients are struggling to hoverabove the poverty line. But nei-ther does that mean you shouldwear torn jeans, rocker T-shirtsand flip-flops to relate to yourteenage clientele. Projecting a
subtle air of authority throughyour appearance can enhancethe success you achieve withclients because it reinforcesyour credibility.
Dress the body you have now,not the one you had in highschool. Shapes and sizes changeover time (as do jacket cut, tiewidth, skirt length and pantrise). If you are legitimatelywearing the same size you didwhen you walked across thestage in your cap and gown,congratulations. But the rest ofus are better off wearing cloth-ing that genuinely fits. If youfall into that latter category, takecomfort in knowing that you’llbe more comfortable, and you’lllook better too.
Avoid the ‘toos.’ If it’s “too”anything, adjust. Too muchcolor or pattern, too manyaccessories, too tight, too short
or too much cleavage (somewould say any visible cleavageis too much) can distract froman otherwise professional en-semble. And unless your job ismodeling for the Sports Illus-trated swimsuit edition, toomuch skin — a bare midriff, forexample — is a no-no in theworkplace.
Invest in the classics andupdate with trendier pieces.Some clothing, such as wooltrousers, blazers and A-lineskirts in neutral colors (black,gray, tan or navy), withstandsthe test of time. The navy suitand the little black dress remainreliable wardrobe workhorses.High-quality pieces such asthese that will endure for sever-al seasons are at the center of aflexible, professional wardrobe.Buy seasonal accents to com-plete your look.
A little attention to detailgoes a long way. You don’thave to spend a small fortune topresent a professional appear-ance. Maintaining a neat hair-style, keeping nails groomedand making certain your cloth-ing is in good repair will pro-vide the polish expected of professionals.
Finally, if you want to knowwhether your casual ensembleis too casual for the office,try adding a navy blazer. If itdoesn’t look out of place,you’re probably OK. �
Amy Reece Connelly is the
manager of ACA Career Ser-
vices. E-mail questions to her
Telephone consultation is
available to ACA members
by appointment.
Letters to the editor:
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Interviews with theauthors of books for counseling professionals
Assessment in Counseling: AGuide to the Use of PsychologicalAssessment Procedures, fourth edition, by Albert B. Hood and Richard W. Johnson
Today’s counseling professional has awide range of psychological assessmenttools to use in working with clients.Indeed, most schools and many busi-nesses have become highly dependenton academic achievement and psycho-logical testing for a variety of uses.
Assessment inCounseling is apractical hand-book that pro-vides informa-tion not only onmany of the lat-est and mostused assessmenttools but also onthe proceduresthat will enable
counselors to make the most effectiveuse of them.
Albert Hood is emeritus professor ofeducation and former chair of the Uni-versity of Iowa Division of CounselorEducation. He is the author of more than100 books, monographs and articlesconcerning counselor education, psy-
Behind the Book – BY JOHN LOUGH
chological assessment and related fields.He has won numerous awards, includingthe American Counseling AssociationExtended Research Award and the Uni-versity of Iowa Alumni Association’sDistinguished Faculty Award.
Co-author Richard Johnson is the for-mer director of training for Counselingand Consultation Services, a unit of Uni-versity Health Service at the University ofWisconsin-Madison, where he alsoserved as adjunct professor of counselingpsychology. He has also taught and coun-seled at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of NorthDakota. He has contributed to numerousjournals in the field of counseling psy-chology and served on the editorialboards for three ACA journals.
Counseling Today: Is Assessment inCounseling meant to be a textbook forcounseling students or a practical hand-book for practicing counselors?
Albert Hood: We’ve tried to write thebook so that it fulfills both purposes. Itserves as the principal text in a numberof graduate counseling courses, provid-ing students with the basic knowledgeand skills necessary to make effectiveuse of many assessment instruments.
Richard Johnson: But we also knowit is a valuable part of the workinglibrary for many counseling profession-als. It’s a handbook that can help them inthe communication of test results in aninterview or case report. It also providesspecific information about the more pop-ular tests and other assessment proce-dures used by counselors.
CT: What are the major changes in thefourth edition of this popular handbook?
RJ: There have been changes and newdevelopments in many areas of assess-ment that counseling professionals needto be aware of. Recently, there have beena number of changes in the SAT andACT academic aptitude tests, as well asin school achievement tests, especiallyin view of the No Child Left Behind leg-islation. The Stanford-Binet, Wechslerand other intelligence tests have alsoundergone numerous revisions. Therehave been updatings of the Strong,Kuder and Department of Labor’sO*NET vocational inventories, as wellas changes in personality instruments,such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Per-sonality Inventory (MMPI) and the Cali-fornia Psychological Inventory.
AH: We’ve also updated and put addi-tional emphasis on a number of sections,including the assessment of counselingoutcomes, high-stakes testing and theuse of assessment procedures for specialpopulations, including minorities, clientswith disabilities and older adults.
CT: Do counselors sometimes over-rely on the various types of testing avail-able to them?
AH: At times, some counselorsundoubtedly do. But it’s also true thatsometimes counselors fail to use teststhey should be using or dismiss testresults that have the potential for givingthem useful and important informationfor decision-making. That’s why we’vetried to emphasize throughout the booknot just basic information about variousassessment procedures but also informa-tion about how to best interpret and usethese procedures within a counselingprocess.
CT: This book provides counselorswith a number of basic assessment pro-cedures. Are counselors usually familiarwith such procedures and using themadequately?
RJ: While a solid sequence of gradu-ate courses in assessment certainlyshould make a counselor familiar withsuch procedures, the reality is thatassessment procedures vary in theamount of training and experiencerequired for them to be used effectively.Our book provides, for example, intro-ductory material on the use of theMMPI and projective techniques, butwe also make clear that advanced train-ing is needed before counselors areready to use these assessment proce-dures effectively. This book, however, isa good avenue for counselors to be cur-rent on the assessment tools and proce-dures most commonly in use and toidentify when more training and experi-ence are needed.
�
Assessment in Counseling can beordered directly from ACA (Order#72846). The book is available to ACAmembers for $44.95 and to nonmembersfor $62.95. Order at the ACA onlinebookstore (www.counseling.org) or bycalling the ACA order line at 800.422.2648 ext. 222. �
John Lough is a communications
consultant for ACA. Contact him at
Letters to the editor: [email protected]
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BY PAUL NELSON
What is the ACA Insurance Trust,and how does it relate to the Amer-ican Counseling Association?
The best way to describe theACA Insurance Trust, sometimesaffectionately referred to simply as“the Trust,” is through its missionstatement. The Trust’s mission is tooffer the highest quality insuranceproducts that are responsive to theneeds of practitioners (counselors).These products are to be offered atcompetitive rates and with a timelyresponse. To enhance and supportthe profession, protect the insuredand improve effectiveness, theACA Insurance Trust offers educa-tion in risk management, ethicalstandards and practices, and legalaspects of practice. The Trust pro-vides this support through directeducational efforts as well asthrough financial support of ACA.
Who makes up the ACA Insur-ance Trust? The Trust is a separate-ly incorporated entity in partner-ship with ACA. Separate incorpo-ration was deemed important toshield the association from possibletax and legal liabilities. ACA has astrong voice in the governance ofthe Trust because four of the fivevoting trustees are active ACAmembers. Each year, the ACA pres-ident appoints one trustee to re-place another trustee who is rotat-ing off the board and also appointsthe chair of the Trust. The sittingpresident has a vote on the Trust.An independent insurance expertfills the remaining seat on theboard.
ACA President Brian Canfieldhas appointed Bernal Baca chair ofthe Trust for the current fiscal year.“Stability is a key objective forACAIT in its programs,” Bacasays. “There was a significantproblem in our recent history withthe financial strength of the insur-ance company for the professionalliability program. Our currentprovider brought in a new insur-ance company and took care of therelated concerns. We now enjoystability in rates with accompany-ing good service through Health-care Providers Service Organiza-tion (HPSO).”
The ACA Insurance Trust alsoaggressively pursues other types ofinsurance appropriate for ACAmembers and asks those providers
to offer discounts that applyonly to ACA members. Todate, we have established dis-counted term life insuranceand are working with medicalproviders to offer better ratesand features for dental and dis-ability policies writtenthrough the ACA InsuranceTrust sponsorship. Discountsalso apply to ACA memberswho buy auto and homeown-ers insurance. The savings canbe especially significant whenACA members apply for autoand homeowners insurancetogether through the samecompany.
The ACA Insurance Trustalso provides collateral bene-fits to ACA members. Forexample, ACA members whoparticipate in the sponsoredprofessional liability insuranceprogram also receive access to
the risk management helpline.The helpline offers membersthe opportunity to discusspotential claims, receive ad-vice and decrease the possibil-ity of lawsuits. The risk man-agement helpline is staffed byattorneys who are experiencedin the mental health field. Theservice provides not onlypeace of mind but also practi-cal information that protectscounselors.
The ACA Insurance Trusthas a long history of commit-ted support to ACA and itsmembers. Recent examples ofthis support include work-shops in risk management, afree CD titled Risk Manage-ment Strategies for Profes-sional Counselors (2007) andthe new ACA publication TheCounselor and the Law: AGuide to Legal and Ethical
Practice, which ACA Insur-ance Trust staff collaboratedon with authors Anne Marie“Nancy” Wheeler and BurtBertram.
The effectiveness of the pro-fessional liability insuranceprogram and other sponsoredprograms enables the Trust toprovide payments to ACA andparticipate in branch, divisionand leadership conferences asexhibitors. In addition, theACA Insurance Trust has beenable to provide assistance tothe counselor licensing effortsin California.
The Trust’s efforts to foster agood working relationshipwith the insurance administra-tors have also provided accessto professionals who are po-tential ACA members. In addi-tion, because of this relation-ship, HPSO offers ACA free
ads in its risk managementnewsletters.
The ACA Insurance Trusthas two licensed professionalstaff members available toassist you at any time withissues concerning insurance orto discuss your particular situa-tion. Additional informationabout the insurance products isavailable on the Trust websiteat www.acait.com. Commentsor questions are always wel-come. Call 800.347.6647 ext.342 or contact the ACA Insur-ance Trust executive directorby e-mailing [email protected]. �
Insurance Trust continues efforts to provide benefits to ACA members
Paul Nelson is the executive
director of the ACA Insur-
ance Trust. Contact him
Division, Region & Branch News
Join ARCA in Tampa for 50th anniversary educational conferenceSubmitted by Patty Nunez
The American RehabilitationCounseling Association willhold its 50th anniversary educa-tional conference, “Counselingand Crisis Interventions forIndividuals With Disabilities inCritical Times,” in Tampa, Fla.,Nov. 8-10.
The ARCA conference agen-da promises unique, innovativesessions designed to addresscritical issues pertaining to cri-sis intervention. We will also berecognizing ARCA’s 50th an-niversary. Join us for outstand-ing educational sessions andgreat networking opportunities!
We are also offering a six-hour preconference workshopon the “Foundations of DisasterMental Health” free to all con-ference registrants. Licensedcounselors will be eligible forRed Cross certification uponcompleting this workshop.
In addition, a unique panel atthe conference will addresscounseling and disability inter-nationally. Speaking on “TheStatus of Rehabilitation Coun-seling Services Across theGlobe” will be Nicholas Buys,Griffith University-Australia;Kane Hattori, Kobe City Collegeof Nursing-Japan; Qiu Zhuoy-ing, China Rehabilitation Re-search Center-Beijing; Li JianJun, China Rehabilitation Re-search Center-Beijing; Hal Cain,Canadian Rehabilitation Coun-seling Association; Gail Kovacs,vice chair, Vocational Rehabili-tation Association-United King-dom; Ming Hung Wang, presi-
dent, Taiwan RehabilitationCounseling Association andNational Kaohsiung NormalUniversity-Taiwan; Jun Yaeda,University of Tsukuba-Japan;and Dal Yob Lee, Taegu Univer-sity-Korea.
Our conference strands aredisaster relief, crime and indi-viduals with disabilities, griefcounseling, forensic rehabilita-tion, ethical issues in criticaltimes, multicultural issues andrelated counseling issues.
General session topics willinclude “Disaster Relief for Peo-ple With Disabilities: PreparingCounselors for Response andStress,” “Differences in LawEnforcement Officer AgreementWith Bias Categorization ofCrimes Committed Against Per-sons With Disabilities,” “Emer-gency Communication Systemsfor People With Disabilities,”“Service and Leadership on aDisaster Action Team,” “SpecialIssues in Rehabilitation Coun-selor Ethics in Disasters,” “Dis-placed With a Disability: OnePerson, Two Perspectives,”“Current Treatment Interven-tions for Offenders With Dis-abilities,” “Abuse of WomenWith Disabilities,” “ApplyingMedical Crisis Counseling toGroup Counseling for CrimeVictims Diagnosed With MentalIllness,” “A Study of FactorsThat Affect RehabilitationCounselors’ Willingness to Dis-cuss Sexuality With Con-sumers,” “The Danger of Disas-ter Myths,” “Trauma, Post-traumatic Growth and Spirituali-ty,” “A Cross-cultural Study ofEmployers’ Concerns AboutHiring People With Mental Ill-ness,” “Critical Connections:
Research Findings, EthicalAwareness and RehabilitationCounselor Preparation” and“Prototypical Views About Indi-viduals With Disabilities in theU.S. and Russia.”
Additional topics will include“Multicultural Crisis Interven-tion,” “A Framework for Plan-ning: Moving From Inmate toCitizen,” “Preparedness for FirstPreventers and Next Respon-ders: A Framework of Mini-mum Competencies for Reha-bilitation and Related ServiceProviders,” “Dealing WithLong-Term Aftermath of a Del-uge: Personal and ProfessionalReflections on Life Since theKatrina Floods,” “An Examina-tion of Sexual Abuse of 100Women,” “Crisis-ResolutionProblem-Solving Training forPersons With Psychiatric Dis-abilities” and “Effective Strate-gies to Implement When Work-ing With an Individual WithDisabilities in Crisis.”
Contact Conference ChairMichelle Pointer at [email protected] or ARCA PresidentPatty Nunez at [email protected].
Visit ARCA’s website atwww.arcaweb.org for detailedinformation on the conferenceagenda and registration.
ASGW now accepting applicants for annual Peg Carroll ScholarshipSubmitted by Lorraine J. Guth
The Association for Special-ists in Group Work AwardsCommittee invites applicantsfor the $2,000 scholarship given
annually to honor Marguerite“Peg” Carroll, former ASGWpresident and pioneer in groupwork. The purpose of the awardis to support the study of groupwork and further the under-standing of group dynamics.Any student interested in thefield of group work is eligiblefor consideration by the ASGWAwards Committee.
Applicants are requested torespond to each of the followingquestions:
1. There are many types ofgroup experiences, such astherapeutic and/or counseling,decision-making, task-orient-ed, psychoanalysis, quality cir-cles, classroom meetings, etc.What area interests you themost and why?
2. Where would you obtaintraining in your area of interest?Be specific in respect to trainers,institutions, workshop sponsors,etc. In addition, describe yourintended degree program, if itapplies.
3. In what setting(s) and withwhat population do you hope touse your expertise?
4. How do you plan to assessif you and your groups are mak-ing progress? Have you had anyexperience with these evalua-tion tools? Explain fully.
5. List the types of groups inwhich you have participated.Describe their duration and thepositive and negative aspects ofeach experience and your role(participant, leader, intern, etc.).
6. Describe your participationin professional organizationsrelated to group work.
The application should in-clude a cover sheet with name,address, home and work phone
numbers, e-mail address, So-cial Security number and thenames and contact informationof those writing letters of recommendation.
Letters of recommendationshould be solicited from threeprofessionals in the field whoare familiar with the applicant’swork. These letters may be fromsupervisors, mentors, majorprofessors or other individualswho are knowledgeable aboutthe applicant’s work withgroups. These letters should beforwarded directly from the rec-ommendation source to theaddress listed below and mustbe received by Jan. 31, 2008.Recommendation letters shouldaddress topics such as groupcounseling skills of the appli-cant, evidence of ethical behav-ior and evidence of professionalcommitment and potential.
Electronic submissions arepreferred and may be submittedvia e-mail (attachment) [email protected] via regular mailshould include three typed anddouble-spaced copies of theapplication sent to KellyMcDonnell, Ph.D., WesternMichigan University, Depart-ment of Counselor Educationand Counseling Psychology,3102 Sangren Hall, Kalama-zoo, MI 49008.
Applications must be receivedby Jan. 31. The scholarship win-ner will be announced at theASGW Luncheon at the Ameri-can Counseling AssociationConference in Honolulu. Recip-ients must be (or become) mem-bers of ASGW.
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� Be AMCD members for a year ormore
� Forward a letter of support from acurrent AMCD member
� Submit a 1,000-word essay (double-spaced) outlining how their currentresearch/professional interests fit themission and goals of AMCD
Applications should include a coversheet with full name, institutional affilia-tion and applicant status (either graduatestudent or early-career faculty member).Graduate students must also submit a let-ter from their adviser verifying graduatestudent status. Application materials mustbe received by midnight (Pacific time)Oct. 31. Send materials to the attention ofDr. Kimberly N. Frazier, chair of theAMCD Mentoring Program, via e-mail [email protected] or via ground mailat The Eugene T. Moore School of Edu-cation, Counselor Education Department,318 Tillman Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634.
Check the AMCD website (www.amcaca.org) for updates on this program.
EB-ACA’s 48th Annual Conferenceis just around the cornerSubmitted by Rebecca Brickwedde
The European Branch of the AmericanCounseling Association will once againhost its Annual Fall Conference at theTreff Hotel in Bad Herrenalb, Germany,
Nov. 1-4. The conference theme is“Advocacy and Professional Counseling:Celebrating the Counseling Profession.”
There is still time to register for thisupcoming training event. Participantsmay fax/e-mail the conference registra-tion form to preregister by Oct. 28 orcomplete the registration process onsite.
Visit the EB-ACA website at www.online-infos.de/eb-aca/main.htm or www.eb-aca.org for details about the annualconference program, as well as registra-tion forms, directions and hotel informa-tion. Please also download the August2007 issue of EB-ACA’s award-winningnewsletter, Neues Perspectives for theEuropean Counselor, which containsinformation about the conference, as wellas informative articles for counselors.
Additional questions about EB-ACAand our annual conference can be directedto Zena Bowen, president-elect and 2007conference chair, at [email protected].
We hope you will join us in Germany!
NECA presents Life/Work Institute in FloridaSubmitted by Kay Brawley
The National Employment CounselingAssociation charts its course for Daytona
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Continued on page 42
C-AHEAD offers Make a Difference Grant to studentsSubmitted by Marjorie Adams
The Counseling Association for Hu-manistic Education and Development ispleased to announce the 2007-2008Make a Difference Grant. One $500 grantwill be awarded to a student in a master’sor Ph.D. counseling program. This grantis designed to support research with ahumanistic philosophy that will make adifference for the population under study.The awarding of the grant will be basedon the humanistic characteristics andquality of the project as described in theapplication.
Applicants should complete and submitthe electronic application along with allsupporting documentation by Nov. 15,midnight EST. The recipient of the 2007-2008 grant will be announced by Dec. 30,and the grant will be presented at the2008 ACA Conference in Honolulu.
To qualify for the grant, individualsmust be graduate status in a master’s orPh.D. program in counseling and proposeresearch that:� Is based on humanistic values or
principles� Will make a difference, or result in
counselors making a difference, inthe lives of the population understudy
� Is approved by the applicant’s grad-uate faculty supervisor.
The application process involves anapplication, a 1,000-word summary, aproposed budget, a description of howthe proposed research promotes human-istic philosophy and will make a differ-ence for the persons represented in thestudy, and a curriculum vita. For moreinformation, see the C-AHEAD websiteat www.C-AHEAD.com and go to the“Make a Difference Grant” link.
Applications being accepted for AMCD Mentoring ProgramSubmitted by Cirecie A. West-Olatunji
The Association for MulticulturalCounseling and Development is accept-ing applications for its 2007-2008 Men-toring Program. Graduate counseling stu-dents (master’s or doctoral level) andcounseling faculty early in their careers(untenured) are encouraged to apply.
Selected applicants will receive freeregistration for the ACA Conference inHonolulu in 2008 and a ticket to theAMCD Luncheon. Applicants will alsobe paired with a mentor throughout thecurrent program year. Graduate studentswill serve as volunteers for the variousAMCD-sponsored events at the ACAConference.
For consideration, applicants must:
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some time for themselves to balance outtheir lives and regroup, re-energizingthemselves for whatever task/job is athand. Yet when it comes to following myown advice, I remain dedicated anddetermined for a period of time, but justlike my families, I forget and fall backinto the same old routines. I fall into thepattern of putting others ahead ofmyself.
As I consider these patterns, I realize Iam driven by the sense of accomplish-ment and reward I feel when I make adifference and help others. The allure isso strong that perhaps part of me figuresthe more I put into my job, the more Ican help people and, thus, the morerewarded I will feel. Does that increasemy sense of self-worth, I wonder? Dothe families I work with feel this too? Dothey feel more accomplished and in con-trol with each additional task they try toget done?
The reality, though, is that the more Itry to give all of myself, without savingtime for other areas of my life, the less Iactually help others. My stress increases,which then decreases my active listen-ing, compassion, creative problem solv-ing and understanding. I am giving with-out being given back to; nothing isreplenishing my “giving well.” The samegoes for the families with which I work.The more things they try to “take careof,” the less they are able to do anything
to their satisfaction, continually leavingthem with feelings of disappointment,helplessness, failure — “just notenough.”
Self-care is not an easy lesson formany of us to embrace and embody. Icontinue to struggle with keeping my lifein balance. Despite repeated personallessons, I still have times when I take ontoo much, either at work or at home, andfind myself trying to do more than I canhandle. Luckily, I am learning to recog-nize the signs of stress more quickly andrealize when things are getting off-kilterso I can correct them. I have learned toaccept that as my stress level rises, mytolerance for frustration lowers, so it isbetter for me, all around, to get the bal-ance back. This self-recognition ensuresthat I can continue to help clients to thebest of my ability. �
There were no restrictions on schedulinghome visits because all my nights werenow free.
Once again, before I knew it, myentire day was filled with mental health.I did not go to the gym. I did not spendtime with friends. I came home late mostnights after appointments. Again, I hadforgotten about my self-care and thatwhen my life is out of balance, I becomemore stressed. Again, I had forgottenthat when I am more stressed, I am notas caring a clinician, which then causesme even more stress. Again, I was trulysurprised I had let this happen.
How ridiculous that I continuallyencouraged my clients to take time forthemselves to ensure that they didn’tspread themselves too thin, and, yet,here I was disregarding my own guid-ance. And how easily it seemed to hap-pen, without me even realizing it.
Sometimes, in the interest of wantingto care for my families and help them in
any way that I can, I forget that part ofcaring for them is to make sure that Icare for myself too. I must care formyself so that I can listen, be presentand have tolerance, patience and under-standing. When I am not balanced, thesetraits tend to diminish. I am a perfection-ist, always wanting to learn more and bebetter, but part of that necessarilyincludes making sure I don’t do toomuch. As I explore this realization inmyself, it also helps me to better under-stand how my clients get to this place.How easy it is to put our needs aside inthe name of helping others, giving ourall to make things better for the ones welove. I help my clients see that takingsome time to help themselves will alsohelp the ones they love — and I trulyspeak from experience.
I have often counseled my familiesthat trying to do everything sometimesmeans that nothing gets done well. Mysuggestions have included scheduling in
Lori Myles is a home-based clinician
with Wayside Youth & Family Support
Network in Framingham, Mass. Contact
her at [email protected].
Jeffrey A. Kottler is the column
coordinator for Finding Your Way.
Submit article ideas or manuscripts
Letters to the editor: [email protected]
Finding Your Way Continued from page 11
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Bulletin Board
OCTOBER
ACES National ConferenceOct. 10-14Columbus, Ohio
The Association for Counselor Educa-tion and Supervision will hold its bienni-al national conference at the EastonTown Center. The theme of the confer-ence is “Vanguards for Change: ACESand Social Justice.”
Courtland Lee, a renowned leader inthe counseling profession and a power-ful advocate for social justice, will deliv-er the keynote address.
Go to www.aces2007.net for completeinformation and to register.
WVCA Annual ConferenceOct. 12-13South Charleston, W.Va.
The West Virginia Counseling Associ-ation will hold its annual state confer-ence, “Helping You Help Others,” at theRamada Plaza hotel. The keynote speak-er will be William Glasser. Completedetails for the conference are availableon the WVCA website at www.wvcounseling.org.
National Conference on Correctional Health CareOct. 13-17Nashville, Tenn.
The National Commission on Correc-tional Health Care will hold its annualconference at the Renaissance Nashville.Join more than 2,000 correctional healthprofessionals from the United States andabroad for professional development thatwill prepare you to meet current chal-lenges, improve performance and shapethe future. Continuing education credit isavailable. For more information, go towww.ncchc.org.
ORCA Fall ConferenceOct. 19-20Seaside, Ore.
The Oregon Counseling AssociationFall Conference will be held at the BestWestern Oceanview Resort. This year’stheme is “Our Cultures and Communi-ties: The Ties That Bind.” For moreinformation, contact Dina Yerec [email protected] or RachelStarck at [email protected].
COMING EVENTS
EB-ACA Fall ConferenceNov. 1-4Bad Herrenalb, Germany
The 48th Annual European Branch-American Counseling Association Con-ference will carry the theme “Advocacyand Professional Counseling: Celebrat-ing the Counseling Profession.” Theconference will be held at the TreffHotel.
For more information, contact Confer-ence Chair Zena Bowen at [email protected] or visit the EB-ACA websiteat www.eb-aca.org or www.online-infos.de/eb-aca/main.html.
ArCA ConferenceNov. 7-9Hot Springs, Ark.
The Arkansas Counseling AssociationConference, “Counseling Toward Solu-tions in a Changing World,” will be heldat the Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa.
For complete details, visit www.arcounseling.org or contact Nola Chris-tenberry at [email protected].
ARCA 50th Annual ConferenceNov. 8-10 Tampa, Fla.
The American Rehabilitation Counsel-ing Association’s 50th Anniversary Edu-cational Conference, “Counseling &Crisis Interventions for Individuals WithDisabilities in Critical Times,” will beheld at the Hilton Tampa Airport West-shore. For more information, e-mailPatricia Nunez at [email protected].
National ACCA ConferenceFeb. 6-9, 2008Savannah, Ga.
The Fourth National American Col-lege Counseling Association Confer-ence, in conjunction with the 15th Geor-gia College Counseling AssociationConference, has the theme “OpeningNew Channels in College Counseling.”The registration form and list of pro-grams are available on the ACCA web-site at www.collegecounseling.org.
Register by Nov. 1 to receive the early-bird rate of $170 (for members). Theregistration fee includes two lunches andan opening reception. There is also agraduate student reception and mentorprogram. ACCA encourages graduatestudents to attend. The early-bird rate forAACA graduate student members is$120.
Six hours of ethics continuing educa-tion credits and 16 hours of total CEUswill be available at the conference. Theexcellent preconference workshops willoffer an additional six hours of CEUseach. The keynote speaker is RichardKadison of Harvard University, coauthorof the book College of the Over-whelmed: The Campus Mental HealthCrises and What to Do About It.
The conference will be held at theHyatt Regency-Savannah; reservationinformation is available on the website.The hotel is located on River Street inthe middle of Savannah’s historic dis-trict. E-mail Sylvia Shortt at [email protected] for more information. Con-tinue to watch the website for updatedconference information.
ACA Legislative InstituteFeb. 23-26, 2008Alexandria, Va.
Registration is now open for the Amer-ican Counseling Association 2008 Leg-islative Institute. The three-day, inten-sive learning workshop, offered exclu-sively to ACA members, will demystifythe policymaking process and prepareattendees to become advocates at thestate and federal levels.
While participating in the Legislative
Institute, members will have the oppor-tunity to visit the Capitol, meet withcongressional staff, hear from severalexperts and lobby their members of Con-gress. Institute attendees will earn con-tinuing education credits and will have arare chance to work closely with con-cerned, active counseling leaders fromacross the country.
Attendees and/or their sponsoringorganizations will be required to pay a$339 conference registration fee to coverhotel meeting room space, in-towntransportation, presenters and resourceproduction costs. Advance registration isavailable at a rate of only $239 throughNov. 15. Get an additional $40 off theregistration fee if you are an ACA stu-dent member. The final deadline for reg-istering for the institute is Jan. 15, 2008.
For more information, contact ChristieLum at 800.347.6647 ext. 354 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Behavioral Healthcare ConferenceMay 1-3, 2008Boston
The National Council for CommunityBehavioral Healthcare’s annual confer-ence, “Simply the Best, Better Than Allthe Rest,” is an opportunity to learn frominnovative, cutting-edge thinkers, beinspired by world-renowned speakersand connect with colleagues fromaround the globe.
From scientific advances to leadershiptraining, there will be a robust curricu-lum featuring an array of tools andinsights to help community behavioralhealth providers enhance business oper-ations and revenue and improve clinicaloutcomes.
The organization is currently calling forpapers and presentations. The deadline torespond is Oct. 31. Call the NationalCouncil at 301.984.6200 or visit www.TheNationalCouncil.org/Boston for moreinformation.
FYI
Call for papers, manuscripts
Counseling and Values, the journal ofthe Association for Spiritual, Ethical andReligious Values in Counseling, whichis published by the ACA, is seekingapplicants for its editorial board. Theterm will last from 2008-2011.
All members of ACA who are interest-ed in serving on the editorial board areencouraged to submit application mate-rials by Feb. 15, 2008. Notification ofstatus will occur in late April 2008.
Primary responsibilities include anony-mously reviewing manuscripts and sub-mitting the reviews to the editor within 30days of receipt. Editorial board membersshould be familiar with the content andaims of Counseling and Values andASERVIC, have sound opinions on whatis relevant to readers and be able to offerconstructive feedback to authors. Typical-ly, editorial board members/reviewers are
assigned one manuscript per month. Sev-eral openings are available for the three-year term. Those selected must be willingto join ASERVIC. Please send electroniccopies of your résumé or vita and coverletter highlighting your qualifications tobe a reviewer, including ACA member-ship, areas of expertise and knowledgelevel of the journal, to Christopher Sink,Editor, Counseling and Values, SeattlePacific University, School of Education,3307 Third Avenue West, Seattle, WA98119-1997 or via e-mail [email protected].
The New Jersey Journal of Profession-al Counseling, an online and limitedprint, peer-reviewed journal publishedby the ACA state branch in New Jersey,invites manuscripts addressing research,practice and theoretical constructs relat-ed to the practice and training of profes-sional counselors. Submissions must bein electronic form as Word attachments.
The deadline is Dec. 1 for the Spring2008 edition. For further informationabout editorial policy, consult the websiteat www.njcounseling.org or e-mail theeditor, J. Barry Mascari, at [email protected].
The Counseling Association forHumanistic Education and Development,a division of the American CounselingAssociation, invites submissions for itsnext special issue of The Journal ofHumanistic Counseling, Education andDevelopment. This issue will focus onstrength-based approaches to counselingacross diverse settings, includingschools, mental health agencies and col-leges and universities. Submissionsshould focus on one of the followingareas: (1) application pieces that includenew or innovative strength-based ap-proaches or techniques, (2) researchpieces introducing new findings or (3)conceptual pieces that introduce newideas or perspectives on strength-basedcounseling practice. The submissiondeadline is Dec. 31.
All submissions should be:� Prepared according to the Publica-
tion Manual of the American Psy-chological Association
� No more than 26 pages in length� Sent as an e-mail attachment with
an accompanying cover letter iden-tifying the manuscript for use inthe “Special Issue on Strength-Based Counseling”
� Written in Microsoft WordSend submissions to Mark Scholl, edi-
tor, The Journal of Humanistic Counsel-ing, Education and Development [email protected].
All special issue submissions will beconfirmed via e-mail and forwarded toour guest editor. �
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A revealing study concerning coun-selors’ language use and their clients’emotional expressiveness is reported inthe July 2007 Journal of MulticulturalCounseling and Development.
Researcher Lucila Ramos-Sanchezpaired 65 Mexican American bilingualcollege students with counselors for one45-minute session to discuss stressors forMexican American students on campus.The counselors, who were EuropeanAmericans and Latino Americans, wereinstructed to conduct the session eitherentirely in English or in mixed Spanishand English (40 to 50 percent Spanishoverall). Students were randomly as-signed to European American counselorsspeaking English, European Americancounselors speaking both Spanish andEnglish, Latinas speaking English orLatinas speaking both Spanish and Eng-lish. Judges watched videotapes of all thesessions, rating the level of emotionalexpression they saw.
European American bilingual counsel-ing elicited more client expressivenessthan any of the other types of counseling.Ramos-Sanchez speculates that the use ofSpanish by the European American coun-selors was a pleasant surprise and bol-stered the therapeutic alliance.
Potentially, counselor trainees canenhance their effectiveness with a largesegment of the U.S. population by learn-ing Spanish. Two training programs inthe United States have already addedcourses with a Spanish component totheir curriculum. And, naturally, manyopportunities exist for trainees to developsecond-language skills on their own.
What does it all mean?The Life Regard Index (LRI) is a fre-
quently used measure of meaning of life,a construct of great current interest that
has blossomed with the positive psychol-ogy movement. The creators of the scale,John Battista and Richard Almond, builtthe instrument with two subscales inmind: “Framework,” meaning knowledgeof one’s purpose in life, and “Fulfill-ment,” the sense of realizing this purpose.
Often, the Framework subscale is con-sidered the cognitive part of meaning inlife, and the Fulfillment subscale is con-sidered the affective part. However, theconstruct of meaning in life easily over-laps with other constructs such as pas-sion, energy, happiness and clarity ofgoals, and researchers have had difficultyuntangling these concepts. In the July2007 issue of Measurement and Evalua-tion in Counseling and Development,Michael F. Steger takes on confirmatoryand exploratory factor analyses of theLRI. Researchers using the LRI and otherwell-being measures can benefit from hisefforts. Steger did not find evidence fordistinct Framework and Fulfillment fac-tors, for a model separating positivelyworded and negatively worded items orfor a unidimensional conceptualization ofmeaning in life.
From exploratory factor analysis, threeLRI factors emerged. One factor reflecteda conglomeration of content pertaining tomeaning in life, passion and general con-tentment. The second reflected people’slack of clarity about their own values.The third factor reflected people’s lack ofclarity about their own goals.
Factor No. 1 mostly captured the posi-tive items, while factors No. 2 and No. 3captured negatively phrased items. Stegerconcludes that the subscales are unclearin their exact meaning. He advises cau-tion in interpreting LRI scores forresearch or psychotherapy.
ACA Journal Spotlight – BY SUSAN X DAY
Giving more than lip service to multiculturalism
Training for a job changeA longitudinal study of people who
became unemployed when their companyclosed provides important insights forcareer counselors and workers. Re-searchers Mary A. Gowan and DavidLepak (September 2007 Journal ofEmployment Counseling) analyzed pre-job-loss compensation and post-job-losscompensation to investigate what factorsaffected the workers’ new situations twoyears after the closing of their company(an airline).
Salary at the end of the previous job,managerial training and administrativetraining significantly raised the level ofsalary on the workers’ new jobs. Howev-er, school education level, nonspecifictraining (such as time or stress manage-ment) and technical training did notraise starting salary at the new job. Theauthors suggest that workers who wantto enhance marketability seek out general and portable types of training,
such as management, clerical skills andadministration.
In their study, individuals with job- orfirm-specific technical skills were leastlikely to be re-employed two years afterjob loss, indicating that these skills maybe less transferable, more quickly outdat-ed or not required on the current marketwith the reduced number of tech jobs.Seeking out general, transferable trainingand certification is the best protection inan unstable job environment. �
Textbook author Susan X Day teaches
research methods and advises graduate
students in counseling education at the
University of Houston. Contact her at
To subscribe to any of the journals men-
tioned in this article, call 800.633.4931.
Letters to the editor: [email protected]
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ACA Call to Action – BY SCOTT BARSTOW, CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL AND PETER ATLEE
Service members and their families are experiencing high levels of mental and emotional problems and disorders as a result of the ongoing wars in Iraq andAfghanistan, and all too often, their mental health treatment needs are not being adequately addressed. One factor exacerbating this problem is TRICARE’s policy ofrequiring physician referral and supervision of services provided by licensed TRICARE mental health counselors. Licensed TRICARE mental health counselors are theonly master’s-level providers required to operate under physician referral and supervision. Although the House of Representatives twice has approved legislation to allowcounselors to practice independently — just like all other covered providers — Senate Armed Services Committee staff members continue to believe that physiciansknow best. Please contact your senators and let them know how important this issue is to you and to our troops.
New Education Bills Introduced
Independent Practice Authority for TRICARE Mental Health Counselors
Who to ContactYour Senators
Capitol Switchboard202.224.3121
www.senate.gov
Suggested Message
“I am calling to ask the senator to support letting licensed TRICARE mental health counselors practice inde-pendently under the program, just like other master’s-level mental health professionals. The House defenseauthorization bill would do this but, unfortunately, the Senate version does not. A RAND study has shown thatgranting independent practice to counselors is a no-cost way of increasing the access to and quality of mentalhealth care for our troops. Please work to support independent practice authority for licensed TRICARE mentalhealth counselors in the conference report on the defense authorization bill.”
ACA ResourcePeter Atlee800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Internet briefing paper:www.counseling.org/publicpolicy
Capwiz “Contact Congress!” site:http://capwiz.com/counseling
In August, members of Congress introduced several bills seeking to increase the federal investment in school counseling and related school-based mental health services andsupports. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) has introduced H.R. 3439, the Put School Counselors Where They’re Needed Act, to create a $12 million demonstration project tofund additional secondary school counselors in troubled Title I schools to help reduce dropout rates. Rep. David Loebsack (D-Iowa) has introduced H.R. 3419, the ReducingBarriers to Learning Act of 2007, which would establish an office of specialized instructional support services in the U.S. Department of Education, provide grants to stateeducational agencies to reduce barriers to learning and clarify conflicting terminology, definitions and roles of pupil services personnel. The American Counseling Associationsupports both of these bills and is working to gain their incorporation into legislation to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act.
Who to ContactYour Representative
Capitol Switchboard202.224.3121
www.house.gov
Suggested Message
“I am calling to ask that the representative sign on as a cosponsor of two important education-related billsfor school counselors. The first, H.R. 3439, the Put School Counselors Where They’re Needed Act, wouldcreate a $12 million demonstration project to support school counseling services in Title I schools to helpreduce dropout rates. The second, H.R. 3419, the Reducing Barriers to Learning Act of 2007, would estab-lish an office of specialized instructional support services in the U.S. Department of Education and providegrants to state educational agencies to reduce barriers to learning. Thank you for your consideration.”
ACA ResourceChris Campbell800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Internet briefing paper:www.counseling.org/publicpolicy
Capwiz “Contact Congress!” site:http://capwiz.com/counseling
The House of Representatives is soon expected to vote on legislation to require health plans to cover mental health and substance abuse treatments on the same terms andconditions as other types of care. Health plans routinely use discriminatory copayment requirements and arbitrary limits on inpatient and outpatient coverage to restrict accessto mental health care. Although most states have enacted mental health parity laws, these laws vary from state to state and don’t apply to self-insured health plans. Separatebills are pending in both the House and the Senate to establish strong federal parity protections.
Although the House Education and Labor Committee has approved the legislation — H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, introducedby Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) — two other committees need to endorse the legislation, and it then must be passed on the House floor. ACAis joining a wide array of other mental health advocacy organizations in pushing for swift House approval of the parity legislation to increase its chances for enactment withinthe next year.
Please call or write your representatives to ask them to vote for the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act when it comes before them and to vote againstamendments to weaken the bill.
Parity of Insurance Coverage for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment
Who to ContactYour Representative
Capitol Switchboard202.224.3121
www.house.gov
Suggested Message
“I am calling to ask the representative to vote for H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addic-tion Equity Act. For far too long, mental health and substance abuse insurance coverage has been limitedthrough the use of arbitrary and discriminatory copayment requirements and coverage limits. I’d like the rep-resentative to vote for H.R. 1424 and to vote against any amendments to weaken the bill’s requirements.”
ACA ResourceScott Barstow800.347.6647 ext. [email protected]
Internet briefing paper:www.counseling.org/publicpolicy
Capwiz “Contact Congress!” site:http://capwiz.com/counseling
should have indicated how they wish tobe contacted. If they did not give youpermission to contact them at home,then no letter can be sent.
If clients have granted you permissionto contact them at home, then a phonecall or letter advising them of the missedor canceled appointment and inquiring ifthey wish to reschedule would be appro-priate. If, in your clinical judgment, theclient needs ongoing counseling or youthink a referral to another professional isappropriate, then you can send a certi-fied letter outlining your concerns(again, if HIPAA compliant).
�We will be presenting our workshop
“Starting, Maintaining and Expanding aSuccessful Private Practice” on Dec. 1 in
Illinois. The Illinois Mental HealthCounselors Association is sponsoringthe workshop. For more information,contact IMHCA at 800.493.4424 or visitwww.imhca.org/. �
We were surprised and gratified byreaders’ response to the informationabout using a superbill in our August2007 column and have received almost100 requests to date for examples of oursuperbill.
With the superbill option, the coun-selor can collect the fee at the time of thesession. The client then sends the super-bill directly to his/her managed care orinsurance company to be reimbursed.Many insurance companies accept thesuperbill for reimbursement, but somemay not.
Q: I have a question about a certainmanaged care company. I recently goton their panel, but they keep referringEAP clients to me. I don’t reallyunderstand the difference between anEAP client and a regular counselingclient, other than the fact that I don’tget paid nearly as much to see theEAP clients. Is this sort of a scam, oris there something I don’t understandabout this system? How can I get paidthe full counseling fee for seeing theseclients?
A: First, let’s start by defining terms.EAP stands for employee assistance pro-gram. Most major employers offer EAPsas a benefit to employees and their fami-lies. EAP is essentially a counselingassessment and referral service paid forby the employer. Employees can confi-dentially access counseling services (orbe referred by the employer) for mentalhealth, marriage/family, substance abuse,elder care, legal or financial issues at nocost to the employee.
In the past few years, managed carecompanies began offering EAP servicesbundled in with the insurance package.Most of these bundled packages offer afew “no cost” sessions for the insured,meaning they do not have a copay orfees applied to their deductible. Theinsured can see any counselor, not just
the EAP counselor, and be covered bythe managed care company to use theEAP benefit. Typically, EAP sessionreimbursements are at a slightly lowerfee than the regular insurance contractrate. However, after the EAP sessions,and if clinically appropriate, the coun-selor can continue treating the client andaccess the regular insurance benefit.
We don’t recommend signing up witha couple of managed care companiesdue to their horrible EAP rates (theirregular fees are not much better) and theextensive paperwork involved. Contractsfor getting on managed care panels caninclude participation in both the EAPand regular insurance program. Read thecontract before you sign it. You canchoose not to participate in the EAP andstill be a provider. If you decide not toaccept EAP clients, look at your contractand see how to terminate participation.Don’t, however, just refuse to acceptEAP clients, because you have a signedagreement, and they could come backand hold you to the letter of the law.
Q: I am a therapist in private prac-tice. What is the appropriate timeframe for sending a termination letterto a client who has dropped out oftherapy but has not officially notifiedthe therapist that they do not wish tocontinue?
A: We don’t know of any standardprocedure that addresses what to doshould a client “drop out” of therapy.The 2005 ACA Code of Ethics addressestermination and referral issues in Stan-dard A.11. However, there is no exactreference either to method of contact ortime frame should a client discontinuetherapy without notifying the counselor. Still, while there are no hard and fastrules, there are other considerations. Inthe Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act documentation (or inthe informed consent document), clients
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Private Practice in Counseling – BY ROBERT J. WALSH AND NORMAN C. DASENBROOK
Superbill gets super response
Robert J. Walsh and Norman C.
Dasenbrook are coauthors of The Complete Guide to Private Practice forLicensed Mental Health Professionals(www.counseling-privatepractice.com). ACA members can e-mail their
questions to [email protected] and
access a series of “Private Practice
Pointers” on the ACA website at
www.counseling.org.
Letters to the editor:
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Beach for its first Life/WorkInstitute in collaboration withthe Florida Counseling Associa-tion Conference, Nov. 28-30.The institute features tracks forcounselors dealing with mar-riage/family plus career issues.NECA’s focus stems from abelief that “the most significantissues in people’s lives have todo with work, work-relatedinvolvement or relationships.”
Participants attending the per-sonal and career counselingcompetency-based sessions mayreceive a Life/Work Institutecertificate. The certificationprocess will be available at theconference.
Sue Pressman will present“Thriving Among the Sharks:Counselor as Business Owner.”Pressman’s story about “clientsas customers” will be shared,along with tools and techniquesfor combining counseling com-petencies with basic businessskills to prosper in family coun-seling or a career managementbusiness in public/private sec-tors. Skills transferability willbe demonstrated to help partici-pants broaden their knowledgeof establishing capabilitiesstatements, teaming, partnering,contracting, developing techni-cal and cost proposals and
understanding the importance ofknowing your bottom line.These are basics for thrivingamong the sharks.
NECA President CarolynKalil will present “What ColorIs Missing on Your Team orRelationship?” Without the con-tributions of all personalitytypes, the team, whether it’sfamily or work, is incompleteand usually not as successful asit could be. Kalil utilizes theTrue Colors Personality Systemto teach how to identify thecharacteristics of a successfulteam and what role each person-ality plays in that effort. Work-ing together, these personalitiescan create the ideal team andaccomplish collective goals,whether in an organization or apersonal relationship. Kalil isthe author of Follow Your TrueColors to the Work You Love.
Robert Chope, chair of thecounseling program at San Fran-cisco State University, will pre-sent “Multicultural Family In-fluence in Career Counselingand Employment Decisions.”The ways in which familiesinfluence employment decisionsare often related to culturallyspecific factors. Families are im-mersed in a cultural context thatshapes aspirations and choices.
Exploring the relationships be-tween cultural diversity and fam-ily influence helps counselorsunderstand their clients’ unique-ness. In an era of increasedimmigration, legal and other-wise, this topic is of great impor-tance to everyone. Chope is theauthor of Dancing Naked:Breaking Through the EmotionalLimits That Keep You From theJob You Want and Family Mat-ters: The Influence of the Familyin Career Decision-Making.
Michael Lazarchick, directorof the Burlington, N.J., OneStop Career Center, will present“A Nation at Work 2007: TheLatest, Best Facts on Change inthe Workforce, Workplace andFamily Systems.” He will alsolead participants in an exerciseon the beach. Each person willexplore the concept of our uni-verse composed of interactiveforms of energy. The exercise isdesigned to help balance thestresses of life-work issues.
Registration for the FCA Con-ference, including the Life/Work Institute, is available atwww.flacounseling.org.
After the FCA Conference, anNECA Leadership Retreat willbe held at the Harbour VillageBeach Club, Nov. 30, 1-5 p.m.and include a sailing opportuni-
ty. Retreat registration is $35.For details, e-mail [email protected].
ACCA supporting researchwith awards, grantsSubmitted by Kevin Gaw
The American College Coun-seling Association has an-nounced two research awardopportunities for 2007-2008.The Funded Research Awardprovides a cash award of asmuch as $5,000. This award isdesigned to recognize and honorindividuals who are seeking tocomplete a comprehensive re-search study. The purpose is tofund research efforts supportingoutcome research that high-lights the effects of collegecounseling practices on collegestudent retention.
Additionally, ACCA willaward two $500 grants forresearch in the area of collegecounseling. Research couldfocus on counseling at commu-nity, vocational and technicalinstitutions as well as four-yearcolleges and universities. Thepurpose of the grants is to sup-port research that increasesunderstanding of professionalcounseling as it relates to col-lege student populations and the
professionals who serve thosepopulations.
The submission deadline forresearch proposals and support-ing material is Dec. 15. Foradditional information, contactRoxane L. Dufrene at 504.280.7434 or [email protected] orDr. Deborah L. Jackson at330.941.7273 or [email protected].
ACCA is also seeking inputfor the selection of officers forthe 2009-2010 ACA/ACCAelections. We will be voting forpresident-elect, treasurer andmember-at-large. We stronglyencourage you to nominate acolleague whom you knowwould be an asset to our excit-ing organization. You may alsonominate yourself, and we en-courage you to consider doingexactly that! So if you or one ofyour colleagues has the dedica-tion and determination to roll upyour sleeves and help make ouroutstanding association evenstronger that it already is, thenlet us hear from you!
Contact Paul Fornell, immedi-ate past president of ACCA, forinformation on the nominationsand elections process. [email protected] orcall 562.997.9194. �
Division, Region & Branch News Continued from page 35
Letters Policy
Counseling Today wel-comes letters to the edi-tor. Only letters fromindividuals will be pub-lished. Individuals maywrite as often as they like,but Counseling Today willprint only one letter perperson per topic in each365-day period.
Counseling Today will publish letters anticipatedto be of interest to read-ers. Because of time andspace limitations, letterscannot be acknowledgedor returned, and Counsel-ing Today reserves theright to edit letters.
Include your home and e-mail addresses for con-tact purposes. If you wishto have your e-mailaddress listed with yourpublished letter, pleasespecifically note that inthe body of your letter.
Opinions expressed in letters do not necessarilyreflect the views of ACAor the Counseling Todaystaff. Send letters andcomments to:Counseling Today,Letters to the Editor,5999 Stevenson Ave.,Alexandria, VA 22304-3300Fax: 703.823.0252E-mail: [email protected]
Addiction or post-traumatic stress disorder:Which do we treat first?
More than ever, the world is incrisis. Anyone with the courageand integrity to look willobserve an abundance of pain,suffering and widespread vic-timization in many quarters ofhuman life, with some tragicallyclose to home. While traumaticevents happen on multiple lev-els, most of us can view thesekinds of experiences as beingpart of life’s journey. We usethese experiences for personalgrowth.
However, other individuals —often those who seek treatment— have difficulty making thatmeaning and coping with trau-matic events of a societal or per-sonal nature. In these cases,these individuals, women in par-ticular, may turn to substanceabuse as a form of maladaptivecoping. Research studies sug-gest that upward of 75 percentof women in substance abuseprograms report a history of
trauma. Therefore, clinicians inthe field of addiction cannotneglect treating this prominentunderlying issue in substance-abusing women.
We no longer live in a societyin which counselors are present-ed with one condition or anoth-er. Rather, we now see morecomplex blends of addiction,psychological disorders andinvalidation. Therefore, if coun-selors assume that the medicalmodel is the predominant expla-nation for addiction, we fail toacknowledge the importance ofthe environment and the impactof trauma on the psyche. As aresult of this failure, counselorswill be busy treating relapse butwill neglect the core issue.
Women suffering from sub-stance abuse and post-traumaticstress disorder are at higher riskof being repeatedly victimizedby relying on substances to“numb” their emotional experi-encing (Covington, 2003).Counselors should not labelthese women “treatment fail-ures” because they continually
relapse. Rather, it would be ben-eficial to acknowledge that sub-stance abuse does not have tooccur in isolation. Instead, theremay be a cause, such as trauma,that leads an individual to mal-adaptively cope with unbearablestressors and symptoms.
Addiction counselors maybelieve that by medically treat-ing the symptoms of addiction,PTSD symptoms will subside.However, in many cases thereverse occurs and these clientsself-medicate to desensitizethemselves from traumaticevents. Ultimately, through val-idation and teaching effectivecoping skills, counselors helpto eliminate or drasticallyreduce the need for substanceabuse by attacking the eventsthat trigger the clients’ per-ceived need to embrace theescape mechanism that sub-stance abuse provides.
Counselors should acknowl-edge the strong associationbetween trauma and substanceuse and prioritize treatmentaccordingly so clients and
Letters Continued from page 4
women in particular do not haveto experience the repeated inval-idation of relapse. As coun-selors, we adhere to the fiveunderlying ethical principles toguide our behavior. If addictioncounselors fail to acknowledge
the strong association betweenPTSD and substance abuse, andwe fail to treat PTSD symptomsin addiction treatment facilities,we are failing our clients. Elizabeth VenturaPittsburgh �
munity counseling, such as edu-cating the public, advocating forclients outside the classroom andpotentially giving presentationsto educate institutions. I remem-ber sitting up straighter, openingmy eyes wider and directing allmy attention to the professor. Hewas describing my dream job!Afterward, a number of myclassmates grumbled about whatthey perceived as extra work,while I listened in disbelief. Theinstructor had described my pas-sion so clearly that I had a hardtime understanding why anyonewould not be excited by whatwas said in class. I understoodthen that finding a way to incor-porate both counseling andteaching would be the culmina-tion of a dream I had not previ-ously known existed.
Energy level was another keyto my career equation. In a pro-fession with such a high burnoutrate, to continually become bet-ter with experience rather thanexhausted without the energy tohelp clients effectively, peopleneed to preserve themselves.How long would I be able tokeep my passion for counselingby working with clients full
time? I knew that continuing towork with sex offenders, sexual-ly reactive youth, inmates andclients with addiction issueswould burn me out quickly. It isironic that the very clients I findthe most rewarding to work withalso tend to be the ones who eataway at my energy level. Iwished for the strength andendurance to remain just as ener-getic after 10 years of counsel-ing as in the beginning, but deepdown I knew I would be the bestpotential counselor over the longterm only if I diversified myenergies early in my career.
Another critical career devel-opment piece was how othersperceived me. The dean of mymaster’s program thought I wasa leader and asked me to reacti-vate the school’s Chi Sigma Iotachapter. He encouraged me topresent at conferences and men-tioned my name when speakingof individuals who might enjoygiving large-scale presentations.Peers came to talk with me aboutmy presentations, which theysometimes found fascinatingdespite knowing little about thetopics beforehand. I also foundclassmates who wanted to work
with me on class presentationsbecause they thought my teach-ing methods were interestingand entertaining. I needed thisfeedback to understand myselfas an educator, and it created inme a desire to build on thesestrengths.
I was very anxious about myprofessional weaknesses, includ-ing understanding research andstatistics. Only as my confidencegrew that I was on the right pathdid my fear of these weaknessestransform into a challenge. Irealized that stagnating — witheither strengths or weaknesses— was not an option, so I usedone of my strengths (facinguncomfortable situations headon) to challenge my weaknesses.I started by applying to research-focused institutions. Perhaps themost elemental answer to how Idecided to pursue a Ph.D. is this:I took stock of myself andaccepted all the parts, includingthose that needed changing.
Today I am giddy when I’mable to follow the statisticsinstructor’s lectures, and I findmyself gleeful when all six peo-ple with whom I share an officeare there in the room at the same
time. There is camaraderie inthis academic experience that Ican only hope readers will alsoexperience.
When I still become paralyzedwith the question of why I am ina Ph.D. program, colleagueshelp me mobilize the answeronce again. If I have learned onething these last eight months, itis that the delicate balance inacademe can be steadied only byfriendships. The question of whyI am in a doctoral program isabsent when sledding down ahill on a snow day with mycohort. The question seemsridiculous when being driven tothe doctor by a colleague or eat-ing supper with fellow confer-ence presenters. I can callfriends when I experience acade-mic desperation or when I ques-tion my sanity. And they listen asif I were sane. Over the phone, Ican ask old friends why I am in adoctoral program. They answersimply, “Because you weremeant to be.”
I feel incredibly fortunate tohave found a career that willenable me to use my strengthsand improve on my weaknesseswhile also providing a calling
that drives my efforts. I hope youtoo can identify your calling —one that is worth fighting for.When others ask about your pro-fessional path, I hope you areable to answer confidently thatyou have a calling that will getyou through both the best andthe most difficult of times.
I am forever indebted to thefootball player in the middle ofthe front row who asked, “Whatmade you decide to get aPh.D.?” He was the one whochallenged me to simplify mythoughts: I did it because I wasmeant to do it. �
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K. Elizabeth McDonald is a
graduate student at Penn
State University. Contact her
Richard Hazler is the column
coordinator for Student Focus.
Submit columns or ideas for
consideration to [email protected].
Letters to the editor:
Student Focus Continued from page 25
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Reese M. HouseKey player in transforming
school counseling, renowned
social justice advocate
Reese M. House, retireddirector of the National Centerfor Transforming School Coun-seling at the Education Trust,died from head and neck cancerat his Washington, D.C., homeSept. 10, 2007, at the age of 69.
House was a professor emeri-tus at Oregon State University(OSU) and, prior to the programconsolidation at OSU, taughtcounseling at Western OregonUniversity for 19 years. Alongwith his colleagues at OSU,House developed a counseloreducation degree program cen-tered on the principles of socialjustice and advocacy. He wasalso the author of numerouscounseling-related textbooks,book chapters and professionaljournal articles.
In the late 1990s, Houseretired from OSU to work withthe Education Trust, a nonprof-it education advocacy organiza-tion in the nation’s capital. Hisstrong belief in the importanceof closing the achievement gapbetween students of color andlow-income students and theirmore advantaged peers hasbeen instrumental in transform-ing the field of school counsel-ing at the local, state andnational levels.
A dedicated social justiceadvocate, House was a founderand the first executive directorof the Cascade AIDS Project inPortland, Ore., in the early1980s. He also served on theboard of Right to Privacy, anOregon gay-rights advocacygroup. In addition, he served aseither president or as a boardmember of several national,state and regional counselingorganizations and was active inthe creation and implementa-tion of both professional licen-sure and accreditation standardsand reviews.
The American CounselingAssociation honored House ear-lier this year with the Arthur A.Hitchcock Distinguished Pro-fessional Service Award for hisefforts in promoting and en-
hancing the well-being of thecounseling profession.
“Reese House will always beremembered for his accomplish-ments as a counselor educatorand leader in the profession,”said David Capuzzi, a past pres-ident of ACA and affiliate pro-fessor with the Department ofCounselor Education at ThePennsylvania State University.“He blazed trails that most of uswere afraid to traverse, and hiscontributions to the social jus-tice movement in the professionand the transformation of schoolcounseling had a major impacton counselors in all settings.Most importantly though, hewill be remembered for his per-sonable communication style,his wonderful sense of humor,his ability to stay focused on themost important things in life andthe caring and supportive wayhe extended his friendship toothers. Reese’s death creates avoid that will be difficult to fill.”
House served as the master’sdegree graduate adviser forDonna Ford, who went on tobecome ACA president in 1999-2000. “It was through his influ-ence that I became activelyinvolved in ACA,” she said.“I’m very proud to have beenone of his graduate students. Hehas always been an excellentrole model and leader in thefield of counseling. His ongoingsupport was a very positive partof my life. Sometimes we don’tknow that we are being support-ed when, in fact, we are. He hasalways been a rock for a lot ofus. His commitment and sup-port to his students over theyears really makes him an out-standing individual.”
Stuart Chen-Hayes was a doc-toral student at Kent State Uni-versity when he first met Houseat an ACA conference in theearly 1990s. “I was amazed tofind a gay counselor educatorcomfortable with himself andout of the closet. I hadn’t metany out gay counselor educatorsprior, and his sense of humorwas most engaging,” recalledChen-Hayes, past president ofCounselors for Social Justiceand associate professor of coun-selor education/school counsel-ing at Lehman College of theCity University of New York.“(His) wisdom, humor, grace inthe midst of drama, advocacyand playfulness have been anextraordinary gift to me andcountless others, professionallyand personally. … I know that(his) spirit and words and gentlelaughter will be advocating and
dancing with all of us for manygenerations to come.”
House received his bachelor’sof science degree in 1960 andhis master’s in 1961, both fromBall State University. He wenton to earn a doctorate of educa-tion from OSU in 1970.
House worked to transformschool counseling in 23 statesand Washington, D.C. He hadthe broadest impact through hisefforts at the National Center forTransforming School Counsel-ing. His actions were vital in theevolution of the role and func-tion of school counselors, bothin supporting changes to thenature and practice of schoolcounseling and to state-levelrules and regulations related tothe profession. He is acknowl-edged for developing the Na-tional School Counseling Train-ing Initiative, which trainedschool counselors from everystate in the country, and workedclosely with the AmericanSchool Counselor Associationin designing its national modelfor school counseling programs.His ability to work effectivelywith schools, school counselors,counselor educators, universityadministrators and state depart-ments of education resulted inexceptional contributions to theprofession.
“Reese House was the bestprofessional colleague I everhad in the 43 years I spent in theeducation profession,” saidBrooke Collison, another for-mer president of ACA. “He wasalso the kind of friend thatevery person would be fortu-nate to have.”
The passion House exhibitedin his professional life wasmatched by his enthusiasm forspending time with friends andfamily, gardening, traveling, piemaking and playing bridge. Heattained Bronze Life Master sta-tus with the American ContractBridge League, traveling toduplicate bridge tournamentsacross the country.
“Whether colleague, teacher,mentor, model or friend, thereare countless persons whomourn his death,” Collison said.“If he were here, we would like-ly hear one of his well-knownphrases — ‘Just get over it.’Sorry, Reese, we choose to not‘get over it’ so fast. You weretoo important in our lives forthat. You will be missed, and, tochange some Shakespearianwords from Julius Caesar, thegood you have done will liveafter you — for a long, longtime.”
House is survived by his part-ner, Ted Guthrie; his daughterKelly House and son-in-law BillDunn; grandchildren Joseph andElizabeth Dunn; brother and sis-ter-in-law, Wendell and YvonneHouse; sister, Annabel Moore;and his former spouse, SallyHouse. He was predeceased byhis daughter Karen House.
Plans are being made formemorial gatherings in bothWashington, D.C., and Portland.A scholarship fund is also beingestablished to honor House’sdedication to the transformationof school counseling. Contribu-tions can be made to the ReeseHouse Scholarship Account atany branch of Bank of America.
Robert L. BetzLongtime educator at WMU and
counseling leader in Michigan
Robert L. Betz, professoremeritus of the Western Michi-gan University Department ofCounselor Education and Coun-seling Psychology, died Aug.16, 2007, at the age of 75.
Betz was born and raised inYoungstown, Ohio, and gradu-ated from South High School in1949. He graduated fromAlbion College in Michigan in1953 after having lettered forfour years in two sports: base-ball and basketball. He complet-ed his master’s degree in 1956from the University of Illinoisand earned a doctorate in coun-seling in 1963 from MichiganState University. He marriedDiane Tanas in 1960.
Betz was employed as ateacher, counselor and adminis-trator in the Battle Creek Lake-view, Mich., schools before tak-ing a position as an assistantprofessor at Western MichiganUniversity in 1963. He spent hisentire career in higher educationat the university.
During his tenure at WesternMichigan University, he directedthree National Defense Educa-tion Act Institutes, two Educa-tion and Professional Develop-ment Act Institutes, severalMichigan Judicial Institute pro-grams and other workshops andprograms sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Education. Hewas also the first director of theCenter for Counseling and Psy-chological Services at WesternMichigan University.
He was cofounder (and firstpresident) of the KalamazooCounseling Association, pastpresident of the MichiganCounseling Association, pastpresident of the Michigan Asso-ciation for Counselor Educationand Supervision, editor of theMichigan Counseling Associa-tion journal and Midwest sena-tor for the American CounselingAssociation.
Betz authored 26 articles and20 technical reports and invitedpapers during his career. He wasa consultant to 12 businessesand organizations and the chair-person for 57 doctoral gradu-ates, including the first person toreceive a doctoral degree fromWestern Michigan University.
He received several awardsduring his career, including theMichigan Counseling Associa-tion’s Distinguished Profession-al Services Award, the WesternMichigan University-State ofMichigan Teaching ExcellenceAward, the Western MichiganPsychological Association’sPsychologist of the Year Awardand the Michigan PsychologicalAssociation’s Master LecturerAward.
Betz was acknowledged byhis friends and colleagues as anoutstanding teacher, mentor,leader and visionary and a manof unquestioned integrity andcharacter.
He was a veteran of the U.S.Army and also served as presi-dent of the Phi Kappa PhiHonor Society.
Betz was preceded in death byhis wife, Diane, in June 2006.He is survived by his daughter,Caroline Betz, and his grand-son, Nicholas Betz-Thorn.
Betz was interred with mili-tary honors in Fort CusterNational Cemetery. Memorialcontributions may be sent to theWestern Michigan UniversityFoundation-Betz ScholarshipEndowment Fund in care of theDevelopment Office, WalwoodUnion, WMU, Kalamazoo, MI49008, or to Gryphon Place,1104 S. Westnedge Ave., Kala-mazoo, MI 49008. �
Obituaries
Guthrie added one of thefinal posts to the website onSept. 11, shortly after mid-night:
“Quietly, gently and unex-pectedly, Reese left us … as theday turned toward evening. Itwas a day of restful sleep, with-out apparent pain. Thoughthere was nothing we could do
but stroke his arm, his shoulder,his brow, he needed nothingmore from us … just to be therewith him, witnesses to his calmdeparture.
“Over the last four hours Iwatched him, his brow wouldoccasionally furrow. Once, hegave his best ‘pleased’ smile.But my mind’s eye will forever
picture his look of serenity. Hiswork was done. No moreappointments, duties or itemsto be checked off the list. Hecould rest.
“It was a fitting end to a mostfitting and accomplished life.We will all carry a piece of himalong our own journeys andtravel far better for it.” �
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notified by CaringBridge whenI make a new post. That featureseems to be appreciated.”
Not all of House’s Caring-Bridge entries were about med-ical reports or test results. Manyof the entries were pepperedwith House’s sense of humor ormentioned weekend plans.Often his friends replied, wish-ing him a happy birthday orteasing him about attending his50th high school reunion. Asidefrom the many well wishes andprayers, several messages fromfriends and colleagues con-veyed gratitude, thanked himfor being an inspiration andeven expressed hopes of futurehappy hour gatherings.
“I think the tool has helped inmany ways, but the opportunityfor people to know what isgoing on, to respond if theywant to and to be able to hearfrom folks in so many differentplaces is quite amazing,” Housesaid. “Somehow, there is somepeace of mind for me that I amable to put the information outto folks and let them decidehow to process, what to do, howto respond.”
When asked how the Caring-Bridge website might beviewed as beneficial from acounselor’s perspective, Housereplied, “This is an interestingquestion and takes me differentplaces. But I think what theblog does is allow people to usethe site in ways that they neverthought of, to go in new direc-tions, to think in ways perhapsthat haven’t been exploredbefore.”
The intentional act of writingabout one’s experiences cancause a person to reevaluate andrethink their perceptions andviewpoints when they see theirwords on paper or, in this case,on the computer screen, Housenoted.
When House wasn’t feelingwell enough to write the posts,his daughter, Kelly, or his lifepartner, Guthrie, would updatethe blog. They also shared theirgratitude for all those readingand replying to the entries. Theblog also allowed House andhis daughter to spend some spe-cial time together in his finaldays, when she would print outthe words of comfort fromfriends and share them with herfather. In closing, House said of CaringBridge, with a hint of hiswell-known and somewhat drysense of humor, “I do reallybelieve this is an effective tool,and I’m promoting it, or some-thing similar.”
CaringBridge Continued from page 13
Angela Kennedy is a senior
writer at Counseling Today.
Contact her at [email protected].
Letters to the editor:
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The Committee for Education Funding(CEF) held its 38th Annual LegislativeConference and Gala on Sept. 20 inWashington, D.C. CEF is a coalition of104 organizations, including the Ameri-can Counseling Association, workingtogether to increase support for the feder-al government’s investment in all areas ofeducation. The CEF Gala is the educationcommunity’s premier event and bringstogether hundreds of education profes-sionals and members of Congress, staffand the presidential administration to cel-ebrate the benefits and accomplishmentsof federal education investment.
This year’s Legislative Conference washeld on Capitol Hill and featured severalmembers of Congress, including Rep.Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Rep.Mike Castle (R-Del.), Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).
During the conference, Reps. DavidObey (D-Wis.) and Jim Walsh (R-N.Y.),the chair and ranking member, respective-ly, of the House Appropriations Commit-
tee, were awarded the William H. Natch-er Distinguished Service Award for theirefforts this year to “elevate the priority foreducation funding to ensure better oppor-tunities for our nation’s citizens.”
At this year’s gala dinner, former pres-idents Bill Clinton and George H.W.Bush were honored with the Charles Wil-son Lee Citizen Service Award for theirefforts to help students and families inthe states affected by Hurricane Katrinain 2005.
In addition, Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.)was presented with the Outstanding NewMember Award.
Among the 500 guests at this year’sCEF gala dinner were ACA PresidentBrian Canfield, ACA Chief ProfessionalOfficer David Kaplan, ACA AssistantDirector of Public Policy and LegislationChris Campbell and ACA lobbyist PeterAtlee. �
Education funding group holds annual gala and awards dinner
Among those attending the CEF Gala were, from left, Ted Feinberg (National Asso-
ciation of School Psychologists), David Kaplan (ACA), Brian Canfield (ACA), Susan
Gorin (NASP) and Chris Campbell (ACA).
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Nominations now open for ACA committees in 2008
American Counseling AssociationPresident-Elect Colleen Logan is seek-ing nominations for ACA committeeappointments. She will be appointingregular members to each committee toserve a three-year term and a studentrepresentative to each committee for aone-year term.
Positions on the following commit-tees will be available beginning July 1,2008: Awards, Branch Development,Bylaws and Policies, Cybertechnology,Ethics, Human Rights, International,Interprofessional, Professional Stan-dards, Public Awareness and Support,Public Policy and Legislation, Publica-tions, Research and Knowledge, andStrategic Planning.
ACA members may nominate them-selves or be nominated by other ACAmembers. Nominations are due Dec. 1and must be sent to ACA headquarters,c/o Holly Clubb, 5999 Stevenson Ave.,Alexandria, VA 22304-3300. Nomina-tion packets are available from ACA.To receive a packet or for more infor-mation about the nominations process,call Holly Clubb at 800.347.6647 ext.212 or e-mail [email protected] sure to indicate whether you arerequesting an application as a regularcommittee member or as a student rep-resentative. The packets are also avail-able on the ACA website at www.counseling.org.
Survey says world’s mentalhealth needs largely unmet
According to the Global Burden ofDisease and Risk Factors published in2006, mental disorders rank among thetop 10 illnesses causing disabilityworldwide, with depression the leadingcause of disability among individualsages 15 and older. But based on resultsof a new survey of 17 countries con-ducted as part of the World HealthOrganization’s World Mental HealthSurvey Initiative, the world’s mentalhealth care needs are going largelyunmet. That is especially true in lessdeveloped countries, but high-incomenations are far from immune to theproblem. Results of the initiative, par-tially funded by the National Institutesof Health’s National Institute of MentalHealth, were published in the Septem-ber 2007 issue of The Lancet.
“Good treatments are available formany mental disorders,” said NIMHDirector Thomas R. Insel. “Yet theworld continues to struggle with thevery real challenge of providing theseservices to the people who most needthem. The WHO survey unmistakablyreinforces the urgency that we must dobetter.”
Philip S. Wang, director of theNIMH Division of Services and Inter-vention Research, and his colleaguesanalyzed data from face-to-face inter-views on mental health service usewith 84,848 adults across all economic
spectrums in countries around theworld. Respondents were asked aboutanxiety, post-traumatic stress, moodand substance abuse disorders. Theywere also asked if they had receivedany services in the past year for mentaldisorders and, if so, what types of ser-vices they had used, such as generalmedical professionals, mental healthprofessionals, religious counselors ortraditional healers.
Overall, fewer people with mentaldisorders in less developed countriessought services in comparison withthose in developed countries. In addi-tion, the survey found that people incountries spending more of their grossnational product on health care usedservices more often. The U.S. popula-tion used services more than any othercountry, at 18 percent. By comparison,11 percent of France’s population usedservices, whereas Nigeria’s rate of ser-vices was lowest at 1.6 percent.
In all countries surveyed, womenwere more likely than men to seekmental health services. Among otherfindings:� Middle-aged people were more
likely to receive services thanthose younger or older
� People with more education weremore likely to seek services formental problems
� Married people were less likely touse mental health services thanunmarried people
Most of those who sought care formental disorders received help from thegeneral medical sector (primary caredoctors, nurses) rather than specializedmental health services (psychiatrists,psychologists), religious and commu-nity counselors or complementary andalternative medicine providers (includ-ing traditional healers). Among thosereceiving services, a substantial num-ber of survey respondents reported thatthey did not receive minimally ade-quate services. The survey definedminimally adequate services as at leasteight visits to any service sector, orbeing in ongoing treatment at the timeof the interview, or receiving a medica-tion for at least one month with four ormore visits to a medical professionalover a 12-month period.
Inadequate services were most com-monly found in low-income countries,but even in some high-income coun-tries, people received inadequate ser-vices. For example, in the UnitedStates, only 18 percent received mini-mally adequate services — much lowerthan any other high-income country.The next lowest level of minimally ade-quate services in a high-income coun-try was 32 percent, in Japan. Franceand Germany had the highest levels ofadequate services at 43 percent each.
“Although people sought and usedservices more in the United States,most did not receive adequate care —
evidence of a striking disconnect in theU.S. mental health care system,” Wangsaid. “We need to help developingcountries implement more effectivemental health care services, but we alsoneed to do a better job at home. Theglobal mental health care situationappears dire.” For more information onthe survey results, visit www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/index.shtml.
ACA attends U.N. conference onglobal warming, mental health
ACA Chief Professional OfficerDavid Kaplan represented the associa-tion at the 60th Annual United NationsDepartment of Public Information/Nongovernmental Organization Con-ference, “Climate Change: How ItImpacts Us All,” Sept. 5-7 at U.N.headquarters in New York City.
The conference, attended by approxi-mately 3,000 delegates, marked ACA’sfirst official U.N. action since beingdesignated a nongovernmental organi-zation (NGO) of the United Nationslast December. The United Nationsselects certain nonprofit organizationsfor NGO partnership status based ontheir involvement in U.N.-related workand because they have been deemed tohave effective information programs inplace. NGO status allows ACA to havegreater recognition in speaking out onthe needs of counseling around theworld.
Kaplan, along with delegates frommental health-related NGOs fromaround the world, discussed the mentalhealth aspects of global warming. Helearned that drought is the most com-mon global natural disaster, surpassingtornadoes, floods, hurricanes and fires ,which often receive greater attention.
“Unlike floods and storms, droughtsare long, ongoing and chronic,” Kaplansaid, adding that families and commu-nities continue to struggle to find cleandrinking water worldwide. Further-more, he added, many are forced torelocate because there are no crops tobe sold or eaten.
“There are significant emotional andpsychological issues not being ad-dressed,” he said, “one being the con-tinuous stress of not being able to meetthe basic needs of living. In agricultur-al societies, farmers are facing dyingcrops and are being displaced becauseof financial stress.”
Among the presentations that reflect-ed mental health concerns at the U.N.conference on global warming:� “Climate Change and the Mind-
Body-Spirit Connection: Chal-lenges for Holistic Health andEducation,” sponsored by theArmenian International Women’sAssociation. The session high-lighted the interdependent rela-tionship between individuals andthe environment. Panel members,
many of which were from Africa,Armenia and Indonesia, addressedthe physical, emotional, mentaland spiritual effects of climatechange. Speakers illustrated howtaking care of oneself takes care ofthe earth.
� “Partnerships to Mobilize Commu-nity Health and Mental Health Re-sources for Recovery, Resilienceand Risk Reduction of Climate-Related Disasters,” sponsored bythe International Association ofApplied Psychology. Panelistsdescribed practical ways NGOscan form partnerships with othercommunity agencies for risk reduc-tion and psychosocial responses toclimate-related disasters.
� “Climate Crisis – Fighting to Sur-vive,” sponsored by the U.N. Asso-ciation of Finland. The presenta-tion was given from a social justicestandpoint and directed attention tomarginalized voices from aroundthe world. The goal was to enhancedialogue about building a globalcoalition on the climate crisis.
“This was really a new take on disas-ter mental health for me and I think forACA,” Kaplan said. “I’ve been to sev-eral workshops and conferences on thesubject of disaster mental health, andno one is talking about the mental heathissues of those living in drought-effect-ed areas, including those in the UnitedStates. Global warming is only going toexacerbate current drought-strickenareas, so this is something counselorsreally need to consider. We need toaddress the mental health issues of notonly citizens of the U.S., but also citi-zens of the world.”
Said ACA Executive Director RichardYep, “NGOs are often the most effec-tive voices for the concerns of ordinarypeople in the international arena. NGOsinclude the most outspoken advocatesof human rights, the environment, socialprograms and women’s rights. NGOsmay also address broader or relatedissues such as poverty, hunger andhumanitarian aid.”
Time to prepare for NationalFamily Caregivers month
ACA is proud to join the NationalFamily Caregivers Association in nam-ing November as National FamilyCaregivers month. NFCA speaks formore than 50 million Americans whocare for loved ones with a chronic ill-ness or disability or struggling with thefrailties of old age. The organizationaddresses the common needs and con-cerns of all family caregivers.
To learn how counselors can partici-pate in this public awareness program,visit www.thefamilycaregiver.org or call800.896.3650. �
In Brief
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� Ads are subject to CounselingToday approval; however, Counsel-ing Today cannot screen or evaluateall products or services advertisedin the classified section and doesnot guarantee their value or authen-ticity. The publication of an adver-tisement in Counseling Today is inno way an endorsement by ACA ofthe advertiser or theproducts or services advertised.Advertisers may not incorporate insubsequent advertising orpromotion the fact that a product orservice has been advertised in anyACA publication. ACA endorsesequal opportunity practices and willnot knowingly accept ads thatdiscriminate on the basis of race,sex, religion, national origin, sexualorientation, disability or age.
� Counseling Today reserves theright to edit all copy, request addi-tional documentation where indi-cated and to refuse ads that are notin consonance with these practices.ACA is not responsible for anyclaims made neither inadvertisements nor for the specificposition title or working of anyparticular position listed inemployment classified ads.
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SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITYTwo PositionsThe Counseling Department atSonoma State University invitesapplications (deadline: Dec. 19,2007) for up to two faculty posi-tions at the Assistant Professorlevel, beginning mid-August2008. We are seeking applicantswho have primary identificationin either community counselingand/or school counseling. Mas-ter’s level graduate courses to betaught will require a breadth ofcounseling/clinical knowledge,including counseling interven-tions for diverse populations, the-oretical perspectives on effectivedelivery of counseling services,evidence-based counseling skills,and supervision, consultation,and evaluation skills. In additionto teaching, advising and scholar-ship, all faculty are expected toassist with program assessmentand administrative tasks. TheDepartment is CACREP-accred-ited in Community Counselingand in School Counseling andfurther accredited by the Boardof Behavioral Science for gradu-ate training leading to Marriageand Family Therapy (MFT)licensure in California and byNCATE and the CaliforniaTeacher Commission for thePupil Personnel Services Creden-tial. Candidates must have anearned doctorate in CounselingPsychology/Counselor Educa-tion or a closely related clinicalfield. Candidates should havestrong teaching and supervisionskills as well as significant coun-seling experience; for the Com-munity Counseling/MFT posi-tion, eligibility for Californialicensure is preferred, and for theSchool Counseling position,experience in school counselingis necessary. For a complete jobdescription, including salaryrange and application process,see http://www.sonoma.edu/aa/fa/tenure_track.shtml#socsci.SSU, situated 50 miles north ofSan Francisco, is an AffirmativeAction/Equal OpportunityEmployer, encouraging excel-lence through diversity.
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CONNECTICUT
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT3 Faculty Positions- 2 HDFS & 1 MFTDepartment of Human Development &Family StudiesHuman Development and Family Studies- Assistant/Associate ProfessorsThe Department of Human Development& Family Studies at the University ofConnecticut invites applications for threetenure-track positions at the Assistant orAssociate Professor levels for Fall 2008.We anticipate being able to hire at leasttwo, possibly three individuals. Examplesof the research focus for the two HDFSpositions (Search #2008018, 2008019)include, but are not limited to, adult devel-opment and aging, early childhood educa-tion, family interaction processes, familypolicy, life-span development, and parent-hood/parenting, and prevention. Appli-cants must be able to teach one or more ofthe following core undergraduate courses:Close Relationships; Individual & FamilyDevelopment; Diversity Issues; ResearchMethods; Human Development: Infancythrough Adolescence; Human Develop-ment: Adulthood and Aging; FamilyInteraction Processes. TheAssistant/Associate Professor’s (Search #2008015 ) responsibilities for the Depart-ment’s COAMFTE-Accredited Master’sand Doctoral programs in marriage andfamily therapy include, but are not limitedto, undergraduate and graduate teaching,scholarship, service, and clinical supervi-sion.For further information includingminimum requirements and applicationdetails please see our website: www.fam-ilystudies.uconn.edu/.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
LA CLINICA DEL PUEBLOMental Health Therapist – Level II(Full-time) BilingualPosition Emphasis: Collaborates withthe Mental Health & Substance AbuseDepartment Director in the programdevelopment and overall program organi-zation to provide individual, couples,family and group counseling services asneeded to a diverse population with issuesincluding HIV and other chronic illnesses,substance abuse and domestic/sexualabuse, among others. To participate in theplanning and implementation of the “MiFamilia” program, as well as the facilita-tion of the adolescent group. Qualitypatient care, patient satisfaction and team-work toward the enhancement of the pro-gram are the primary goals. MinimumEducation Requirement: Masters degreein Social Work, Counseling, or Psycholo-gy from accredited university. MinimumQualifications: Licensed in Social Work,Counseling, or Psychology in the Districtof Columbia. Two years prior experiencein related work. Knowledge of a variety of
therapeutic approaches, including. Cogni-tive Behavioral and Psychodynamic Ther-apies. Two years prior work providingtherapy to Latino immigrants. Fluent inSpanish and English. Excellent writingskills. Computer literate. SalaryRange: $43,150 – $47,465 (full-timeequivalent), plus benefits. Closing Date:Until Filled. EOE. Application Proce-dure: Interested candidates should sendletter of application and resume to: [email protected] or Fax to: (202) 332-0085.
FLORIDA
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDATwo Assistant or Associate Positions UNF, in Jacksonville, Florida near theAtlantic Ocean, has a faculty opening inboth the mental health track and schooltrack. Both positions are for an assistantor associate professor in a tenure-track,full-time faculty appointment. The schoolcounseling track is one of six “Transform-ing School Counseling” programs in thenation. This innovative program preparesschool counseling students in courses spe-cially designed for them. The qualifica-tions for the position include an earneddoctorate in counselor education or close-ly-related field from a regionally accredit-ed institution; strong teaching andresearch skills; and successful prior expe-rience as a school counselor, supervisor ofguidance, and/or state department guid-ance director. The preferred candidatewill be someone who demonstrates a pas-sion for school counseling and social jus-tice with evidence of scholarly productiv-ity and publications. Responsibilitiesinclude teaching, research, advising, cur-riculum development, and professionalservice. Eligible candidates for the mentalhealth counseling position are expectedto provide instruction for Mental Healthcourses and common core coursesrequired of both tracks. Qualifications forthe position include a doctorate from aregionally accredited university in coun-selor education or a closely-related field;a minimum of two years counseling expe-rience in a community mental health set-ting; license or eligibility for licensure asa Mental Health Counselor in the state ofFlorida; and a strong research agendawith evidence of scholarly productivityand publications. Preference will be givento candidates with experience and exper-tise in the area of diagnosis and integra-tion of counseling theories into treatmentplanning, clinical practice, and supervi-sion. Responsibilities include teaching,research, advising, curriculum develop-ment, and professional service. The salaryrange is negotiable, depending upon qual-ifications and experience. The startingdate is August 11, 2008, with the possibil-ity of an earlier start date. Initial review ofapplications will begin on October 22,2007. The position is open until filled.
Applicants must apply online athttp://www.unfjobs.org and must submitall required documents to be consideredfor this position. Applicants who do notapply online or do not mail all therequired documentation will not be con-sidered for this position. UNF is an EqualOpportunity/Equal Access/AffirmativeAction Institution
LOUISIANA
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTEAssistant Professor of Counselor Education, Tenure TrackJOB DESCRIPTION: Responsibil-ities: Teach Counselor Education coursesin CACREP core areas and area of spe-cialization (program offers three areas ofconcentration including communitycounseling, school counseling, and reha-bilitation counseling); supervisepracticum/internship students; partici-pate in research and grant writing; pro-fessional service; involvement in ACESand ACA, and other relevant profession-al organizations; service on universitycommittees; participation in communityservice; CACREP liaison. Area of spe-cialization is open; additional summerteaching assignment is possible. QUAL-IFICATIONS: Required: Doctorate inCounselor Education from a CACREPaccredited program OR a Doctorate inCounselor Education or a closely relatedfield AND teaching experience in aCACREP accredited program; NCC cre-dential; Louisiana LPC licensed or eligi-ble; clear indication of experience andinterest in participation in ACES andACA. Preferred: Experience with thepreparation of a CACREP self-study; rel-evant experience in the profession; evi-dence of teaching effectiveness and clin-ical supervision; scholarly ability or evi-dence of potential for the developmentthereof. UNIVERSITY: UL Lafayette isa state-supported university with approx-imately 16,200 undergraduate and gradu-ate students, located in Lafayette,Louisiana. It currently offers 79 bache-lors, 26 masters, and 9 doctoral degreeprograms with approximately 550 facul-ty members. Carnegie Status; RU/H(Research university with high researchactivity).SALARY RANGE: Competitive; depen-dent on experience and qualifications.STARTING DATE: August 2008 (Earli-er Start date possible for qualified appli-cants)APPLICATIONS: Please submit a letterof application, curriculum vitae; and thename, address and telephone number ofthree reference persons to: KathrynElliott, Ph.D., Chairman QSN SearchCommittee, Program in Counselor Edu-cation, University of Louisiana atLafayette, P.O. Box 43131, Lafayette,LA 70504. EEO: LA 18-06.
NEW JERSEY
MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITYTwo positions in a vibrant and growing graduate program in CounselorEducation, with a proposed doctorate inCounselor Education to begin in 2008-09. Faculty members participate indepartment, college, and university com-mittees and activities. We are seekingcandidates who demonstrate the abilityto work collaboratively in and withsocially, culturally, and economicallydiverse communities; have a commit-ment to education for social justice.Counselor Education (V-F8). Associ-ate/Full Professor. Teaching and advisingdoctoral and master’s students in school,community agency, student affairs,addictions counseling, and in LPC andschool counseling post-master’s certifi-cate programs. Earned doctorate inCounselor Education (CACREP pre-ferred), established research agenda, andevidence of scholarly accomplishmentsconsistent with faculty rank required.Ongoing affiliation with the AmericanCounseling Association required. Expe-rience teaching and advising in CACREPdoctoral and master’s programs, doctoralcommittee participation as chair and/orcommittee member, and grant experiencepreferred. Counselor Education (V-F9).Assistant Professor. Teaching coreCACREP courses at master’s and doctor-al levels and advising graduate studentsas stated above. Earned doctorate inCounselor Education (CACREP pre-ferred) required, school counseling con-centration and experience preferred. Awell-defined research agenda and evi-dence of scholarly activities/potentialrequired. Graduate teaching experiencepreferred. Screening begins immediatelyand continues until position is filled.Send letter of application, current vita,and three letters of reference to: Dr.Tamara Lucas, Associate Dean; Collegeof Education and Human Services;Montclair State University; BOX C316,(indicate position # as either V-F8 OR V-F9); Montclair, NJ 07043
NEW YORK
JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, CUNYTenure Track PositionPsychology Department, anticipated forFall 2008 pending budget approval:ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE PROFES-SOR with strong teaching/research/clini-cal record in COUNSELING or COUN-SELING PSYCHOLOGY, for new M.A.Program in Forensic Mental HealthCounseling. Ph.D. in counseling orcounseling psychology required. Sendcover letter, C.V., statements of teaching& research interests, 3 reference lettersto: Dr. Maureen O’Connor, Chair, Psych.
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Department, John Jay Collegeof Criminal Justice, CUNY, 445W. 59th Street, New York, NY10019. For more information:[email protected] Jay College is an EqualEmployment Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Immigra-tion Reform and ControlAct/Americans with Disabili-ties Act Employer.
NEW MEXICO
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENTCENTERClinical Director and Program Directors Masters level clinicians orabove needed for a residentialtreatment center for substanceabuse and eating disorders inChattanooga, TN. Extensiveexperience with eating disor-ders, addictions, family sys-tems, team management, pro-gram development, intake,aftercare, business develop-ment, utilization review anddual diagnosis required.CEDSpreferred. Those trained inEMDR, psychodrama, art ther-apies and DBT will be givenspecial consideration. Sendresume and cover letter to AmyLashway Cisneros at [email protected]
OHIO
KENT STATE UNIVERSITYGraduate Assistantships orTeaching FellowshipsA limited number of graduateassistantships or teaching fel-lowships for full-time studentsin a CACREP accredited Ph.D.counselor education and super-vision program are anticipatedfor Fall of 2008. Currently itappears that all positions willpay a stipend of at least $10,500for nine months in addition to atuition waiver and require 20hours a week of work. In part,faculty interests include teach-ing, supervision, and scholarshipas well as family, group, andindividual counseling along withschool and community counsel-ing. For further information con-tact: Marty Jencius, Kent StateUniversity, College and Gradu-ate School of Education, Health,and Human Services, Counsel-ing and Human DevelopmentServices Program – 310 WhiteHall, Kent, Ohio 44242-0001(office telephone 330-672-0699,email [email protected]).Kent State University is anEqual Opportunity/AffirmativeAction Employer.
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATIAssistant/Associate ProfessorUC’s Counseling Program,emphasizing an ecologicalapproach to counseling, seeksto fill a full-time, tenure-trackposition – Asst. or Assoc. Pro-fessor. Responsibilitiesinclude: (a) teaching/advisinggraduate counseling students;(b) research, publishing, andgrant writing (c) collaboratingwith local community and uni-versity colleagues, and (d) com-munity, professional and uni-versity service. Rank andsalary based upon backgroundand experience. Doctorate incounseling (degree must becompleted by Aug. 2008) orclosely related field and compe-tence in research and grant writ-ing required. Expertise in men-tal health counseling inschool/community settings, eli-gibility for Oho counselorlicensure, and training from aCACREP accredited counsel-ing program are highly desired.Women, persons of color, andpersons with disabilities arestrongly encouraged to apply.UC is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.Send application letter, vita,graduate transcripts, and threeletters of recommendation to:Dr. Mei Tang, CECH Divisionof Human Services, ML 0068,University of Cincinnati,Cincinnati, OH 45221-0068.Applicants also must completean online application at Https://www.jobsatuc.com/applicants/js/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1184607715527. Appli-cations will be considered untilthe position is filled.
WALSH UNIVERSITYTwo PositionsClinical Director MentalHealth Counseling / Counsel-ing & Human DevelopmentProgramRank: Assistant Professor,tenure track / 11 month posi-tion. Responsibilities: Coordi-nate clinical experiences inCACREP approved MentalHealth Counseling program,and the development and man-agement of CHD Training Clin-ic. Teach 4-5 courses, both coreand clinical (including individ-ual supervision for Practicumstudents and interns), in MentalHealth Counseling program.Develop and manage grants forCHD Training Clinic. Positionto begin as early as January2008 but no later than August2008. Requirements: Ph.D.,Counselor Education; PCC-S in
Ohio required for considera-tion; at least 3-5 years experi-ence in community mentalhealth, including program man-agement, clinical supervision,and clinical counseling servicedelivery. Experience in grantwriting preferred. Applicantsshould forward cover letter out-lining interest and experience,vita, three letters of reference,evaluations, and transcript.Send application materials toDr. Penny Bove, Chair – Clini-cal Director Search, Walsh Uni-versity, 2020 East Maple, NorthCanton, OH 44720. Review ofapplications continues untilposition is filled.
Assistant Professor (Tenure-track) in Counseling &Human Development Mas-ter’s Program to begin as earlyas January 2008 but no laterthan August 2008. Teach coreand clinical courses in MentalHealth counseling; advising;grant development; activescholarship program. Qualifi-cations: earned Ph.D. in Coun-selor Education with strongcommitment to counselor iden-tity; at least 3 years clinicalcounseling experience in com-munity mental health; PCC-Seligible in Ohio; teaching expe-rience in core and clinicalcourses. Send vita and letter ofapplication; 3 letters of refer-ence; teaching evaluations; andtranscripts to: Penny BovePh.D., Chair, Social and Behav-ioral Sciences Division, WalshUniversity, 2020 East MapleNW, North Canton, OH 44720
OREGON
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY –CASCADES CAMPUS (Bend, OR)Instructor, Counselor EducationThe Department of Teacher andCounselor Education, Collegeof Education, seeks a counseloreducator for a full time, 12-month, fixed-term position toteach in their graduate programin Counselor Education at Ore-gon State University - Cascadescampus located in Bend, Ore-gon. Reappointments are at thediscretion of the CEO of OSU-Cascades. The Instructor will be responsi-ble for teaching core courses incommunity & school counsel-ing in a Master’s degree pro-gram, and for supervising prac-tica and internships in commu-nity and/or school settings. TheCounselor Education programoperates on a twelve-month
basis with summer teachingrequired. A Doctorate in Coun-selor Education, CounselingPsychology, Clinical Psycholo-gy or a closely related field isrequired. (ABD applicants willbe considered if doctorate isobtained by 12/31/07 or prior tonegotiated start date). Requiredqualifications also includeTeaching experience at the col-lege level; experience providingclinical supervision; and experi-ence working with multicultur-al concerns.Preferred Qualifica-tions include Teaching experi-ence at the graduate level;Experience working in theschools and school counselorcertification and/or communitycounseling setting and licenseas a professional counselor;Experience with practica andinternship supervision of com-munity and/or school counsel-ing students; Experience withCACREP accreditation and ademonstrable commitment topromoting and enhancing diver-sity. Please electronically sub-mit the following:1) A coverletter including a statementabout commitment to and pro-motion of cultural competenceand social justice; and 2) Aresume/vita including thenames and contact informationof five academic references to:http://oregonstate.edu/jobs.The location is “Bend” and theposting number is 0001353.Questions? Please call Susan@ 541-322-3106. OSU is anAffirmative Action/EqualOpportunity Employer.
SOUTH DAKOTA
DAKOTA COUNSELING INSTITUTEWould you like to join our teamof dynamic and innovative pro-fessionals?Dakota Counseling Institute islooking for a licensed QMHP/eligible Mental Health Profes-sional to work in our outpatientprogram. We offer an excellentwork environment with com-petitive salary and benefit pack-age. Please send inquiries to:Roswitha Konz, M.A. ATTN:QMHP Clinical Director 910West Havens Mitchell, SD57301
TENNESSEE
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITYMental Health Faculty Position(#120070)The Department of Psychology,with 45 faculty members and 6graduate programs (seewww.mtsu.edu/~psych), invitesapplications for a tenure-trackposition (#120070) Mental HealthCounseling - MHC at the Assis-tant/Associate Professor levelbeginning January or August,2008; to join a four-person profes-sional counseling faculty in aCACREP-accredited program.Ph.D. or Ed.D required. Ph.D. orEd.D. from a CACREP (coun-selor education) program pre-ferred. License-eligible in Ten-nessee also preferred. Graduateteaching opportunities willinclude MHC internship withother options including groupcounseling, multicultural counsel-ing, research, practicum, and/orinternship supervision. Under-graduate teaching opportunitiesinclude general psychology,developmental psychology, semi-nar in careers in psychology andothers. Teaching excellence (bothundergraduate and graduate) andan active research program areexpected. Formal training or expe-rience in the supervision of stu-dent counselors and experienceworking in a mental health settingare preferred. Application proce-dures: To apply for this, go tohttp://mtsujobs.mtsu.edu and fol-low the instructions on how tocomplete an application, attachdocuments, and submit yourapplication online. If you havequestions, please contact Acade-
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mic Affairs at 615-898-5128. Review ofapplications begins October 8, 2007 andwill continue until position is filled. Rankand salary commensurate with educationand experience. Proof of US citizenshipOR eligibility for US employment will berequired prior to employment (Immigra-tion Control Act of 1986). Cleary Actcrime statistics for MTSU available athttp://police.mtsu.edu/crime statistics.htmor by contacting MTSU Public Safety at615-898-2424. EO/AA Employer.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITYSchool Counseling Faculty Position(#120150)The Department of Psychology, with 45
faculty members and 6 graduate programs(see www.mtsu.edu/~psych), invitesapplications for a tenure-track position incounselor education for our School Coun-seling (SCCO) Program at the Assis-tant/Associate Professor level beginningJanuary or August, 2008; to join a four-person professional counseling faculty ina CACREP-accredited program. Ph.D. or
Ed.D. required. Ph.D. or Ed.D. from aCACREP (Counselor Education) Pro-gram preferred. License-eligible in Ten-nessee also preferred. Graduate teachingopportunities will include foundations ofschool counseling and organization andadministration of school counseling pro-grams. Group counseling, multiculturalcounseling, research, practicum, andinternship supervision are additionaloptions for the applicant. Undergraduateteaching opportunities include generalpsychology, developmental psychology,adolescent development, seminar incareers in psychology and others. Teach-ing excellence (both undergraduate andgraduate) and an active research programare expected. Formal training or experi-ence in the supervision of student coun-selors and experience working in a schoolsetting are preferred. Excellence in teach-ing, research/creative activity and serviceis expected for all positions. MTSU seekscandidates committed to using integrativetechnologies in teaching.
Application procedures: To apply for thisposition, go to http://mtsujobs.mtsu.eduand follow the instructions on how tocomplete an application, attach docu-ments, and submit your applicationonline. If you have questions, please con-tact Academic Affairs at 615-898-5128.Review of applications begins October 8,2007 and will continue until position isfilled. Rank and salary commensuratewith education and experience. Proof ofU.S. citizenship OR eligibility for U.S.employment will be required prior toemployment (Immigration Control Act of1986). Cleary Act crime statistics forMTSU available ath t t p : / / p o l i c e . m t s u . e d u / c r i m estatistics.htm or by contacting MTSUPublic Safety at 615-898-2424. EO/AAEmployer. Minorities are encouraged toapply.
TEXAS
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY – SAN MARCOSTenure-track Faculty PositionThe Professional Counseling Program atTexas State University-San Marcos iscurrently seeking to fill a tenure-trackfaculty position. The position involvesteaching, research, service and programsupport in a CACREP approved, masters-level Professional Counseling Program inCentral Texas. Specific responsibilitieswill include teaching courses leading tocertification/licensure in professionalcounseling, an active, productive pro-gram of research, student advisement,and service to the program, department,and university. The successful candidatemay teach courses on both the main uni-versity campus in San Marcos and at theRound Rock Higher Education Center inWilliamson County.The successful can-didate for this position will have the fol-lowing: REQUIRED - earned doctoratein counseling by employment date of fall2008; demonstrable evidence of scholar-ship (Associate) or potential for scholar-ship (Assistant) (as evidenced by publica-tions, presentation, grants, etc.); universi-ty teaching experience in a graduate pro-gram; and licensed, or eligible for licen-sure, as a LMFT in the state of Texas.PREFERRED – demonstrated leadershipin program, university and professionalservice activities (as evidenced by servicereflected on vita); experience supervisingpracticum/internship; experience teach-ing courses in Marriage/Family (theoryand/or technique) and Abnormal HumanBehavior; licensed as a professionalcounselor (LPC) in the state of Texas;clinical experience with diverse popula-tions; and an earned doctorate from aCACREP accredited program.Review ofapplications will begin on November 15,2007 and continue until the position isfilled. To apply, send a letter of interest, acompleted university application form,curriculum vita, names and contact infor-mation of five references, and reprints ofrecent publications to E. A. Schmidt,
Ph.D., Search Committee Chair, TxState-EAPS, 601 University Drive, San Mar-cos, TX 78666. Employment with TexasState University-San Marcos is contin-gent upon the outcome of a criminal his-tory background check.
VIRGINIA
LYNCHBURG COLLEGETenure Track PositionWe invite applications for an anticipatedfull-time, tenure track position in ourCACREP accredited Counselor Educa-tion master’s program for the 2008-2009academic year. Appropriate candidateswill possess a generalist backgroundpreparing them to teach introductory andadvanced level Counselor Educationcourses and to supervise students at thepracticum and internship levels. Addi-tional responsibilities include meetingprogram expectations in the areas of pro-gram development, scholarship, and ser-vice. Selected candidate must success-fully pass a background check. Qualifica-tions: Earned doctorate in CounselorEducation. ABD candidates may be con-sidered who are in the final stage of theirdefense. Preference given to candidateswith teaching experience at the graduatelevel. Application review begins immedi-ately and will continue until position isfilled. Salary, rank, and tenure track statusare commensurate with experience andeducational credentials. Interested candi-dates should send a letter of application, acurrent vita, sample of syllabi of coursesapplicable to position, graduate tran-scripts, and three letters of references toDr. Jan S. Stennette, Dean, School ofEducation and Human Development,Lynchburg College 1501 Lakeside DriveLynchburg, Virginia 24501-3199. Lynch-burg College is an Equal OpportunityEmployer.
WISCONSIN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN –MADISONDepartment of Counseling PsychologyThe Department of Counseling Psycholo-gy at the University of Wisconsin-Madi-son invites applications for a tenure-trackAssistant Professor position beginningAugust 25, 2008. The Department ofCounseling Psychology is dedicated tothe scientist-practitioner model in whichstudents are trained to effectively serve inacademic, clinical, institutional, or policysettings. The successful candidate willhave demonstrated a commitment todiversity and multiculturalism as appliedto one or both of the following areas: (a)vocational psychology and (b) schoolcounseling. As well, the successful can-didate will be expected to contribute as ascholar and teacher to our APA-accredit-ed doctoral program in counseling psy-chology and our master’s program incounseling, which includes training inschool and community counseling. Desir-able candidates will (a) have demonstrat-
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ed competence in counseling, teaching,and/or clinical supervision with diversepopulations in education and/or mentalhealth settings; (b) have completed a doc-torate in counseling psychology or aclosely related discipline by start date; (c)have evidence of the potential for a sig-nificant research program sufficient fortenure at a major research university; and(d) be eligible for licensure in Wisconsinas a psychologist, professional counselor,or school counselor. We are seeking acandidate whose scholarship, teaching,and service in the areas of vocational psy-chology and/or school counseling willbenefit the department, the university,and the community, as well as under-served populations. By January 10, 2008,send a letter of application, vita, and sam-ples of scholarly work. Have three lettersof recommendation sent directly toStephen Quintana, Ph.D., Search Chair,Department of Counseling Psychology,321 Education Building, 1000 BascomMall, University of Wisconsin - Madison,
Madison, WI 53706-1398. Directinquiries to Dr. Stephen Quintana at (608)262-6987 [email protected]. For gen-eral information about The Departmentof Counseling Psychology, our websiteis: http://www.education.wisc.edu/cp/.Unless confidentiality is requested inwriting, information regarding applicantsand nominees must be released uponrequest. The University of Wisconsin isan Equal Opportunity/Affirmative ActionEmployer.
WASHINGTON
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITYTenure-Track Faculty Position:Counseling/Clinical Psychologist orCounselor Educator for CACREP-Accredited ProgramThe Department of Psychology, WesternWashington University, is seeking candi-dates for an assistant professor, tenure-track position in the area of
Counseling/Clinical Psychology orCounselor Education to begin Septemberof 2008. Applicants must have a doctor-al degree by September 2008. Candi-dates will be expected to teach graduatelevel courses in School and MentalHealth Counseling and undergraduatecourses in abnormal psychology andareas specific to the candidate’s area ofexpertise. In addition, candidates will berequired to demonstrate a commitment toexcellence in teaching at the graduate andundergraduate level, to have an activeresearch program in an area related tocounseling that can involve programand/or undergraduate students, and be eli-gible for licensure as a psychologist ormental health counselor or hold currentcertification as a school counselor. A spe-cialty in one of the following is alsorequired: group counseling, chemicaldependency, mental health practiceand/or multicultural counseling. Appli-cants should send a cover letter thataddresses all qualifications, a detailed
vita, a statement of teaching philosophyfor graduate and undergraduate teaching,evidence of skill as a teacher, a statementof research interests that addresses howstudents may be involved, copies of pub-lications, graduate transcripts mailed bythe institution(s), and three letters of rec-ommendation. Review of applicationswill begin November 1, 2007 and willcontinue until the position is filled. Sendapplication materials to Dr. Arleen Lewis,Chair, Counseling Search Committee,Department of Psychology, WesternWashington University, 516 High Street,Bellingham, WA 98225-9089. For a fullposition announcement and informationabout Western Washington Universityplease see the Psychology Department’sweb page: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~psych. AA/EOE. For disability accom-modation call (360)650-7410 (V) or(360)650-7696 (TTY). �
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