Vistas Online Archive, 2014

Inclusion of children in family therapy sessions can be a daunting task without the use of experiential techniques. The use of the Superheroes and Family Shield technique assists families in better understanding their issues, helps to pinpoint individual and family strengths, and works toward cohesive goal setting and provision of support. This technique is adaptable to varying theoretical orientations and multicultural issues.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, unpredictable central nervous system disorder characterized by an attack against the central nervous system (brain, spinal chord, and optic nerves). Variations in physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms, including the potential presence of numbness or tingling, memory loss, depression, and even sexual dysfunction, require family counselors to become familiar with the medical aspects of MS, possible symptoms, and the necessary steps for an individual to receive appropriate psychological treatment. An overview of the medical aspects of MS, gender and cultural factors, prognosis, and individual, couple, and family dynamics, as well as treatment considerations of MS, are presented. An illustrative case study is provided.

Although accurate statistics have been difficult to ascertain, current estimates indicate there are between one and four million same-sex couples raising children in the United States. Many same-sex couples face significant systemic barriers such as laws and policies that may complicate and prolong the process of becoming parents. Even when they are able to successfully navigate such systemic barriers, same-sex couples engage in a series of decisions including biological and non-biological pathways to having a child, identifying support systems, and establishing parental roles and identities. Counselors are in a unique position to support same-sex couples in the decision-making and longer-term process of becoming parents. Common challenges, societal and systemic barriers, and opportunities to inform and advocate for this population are discussed.

The loss of a loved one happens to most every person at some time in their lives. When this loss occurs for children, they may not have the proper skills or life experience to effectively cope and heal their grief. Repressed grief can potentially result in an explosion of pent up, misunderstood emotions. If a child’s repressed or misunderstood grief is not effectively addressed, dysfunction and pathology may plague them into their adult years. Hispanic children may have specific cultural impacts on their grieving process. To address this issue, a grief counseling intervention was designed to help Hispanic children heal the emotions of grief and loss so they may have the opportunity to develop into healthy adults. Each group counseling session is briefly explained, and each concludes with hypothesized objectives. Although the group sessions keep Hispanic children in mind, just as death and grieving are a part of everyone’s life, it is believed most children across cultures can benefit from this program.

It is through our many interactions with both our clients and colleagues that we have become aware of how specific myths and misconceptions about domestic violence may lead to severe implications for the victims. The purpose of this article is to highlight myths and misconceptions that we have encountered in our work with victims of domestic violence and to offer our ideas regarding possible ways of addressing these.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects millions of children in the U.S. every year. Symptoms of ADHD may negatively affect a child’s school, home, and social environments and cause challenges well into adulthood. Professional counselors may play a central role in helping children with ADHD successfully manage this disorder through focusing on three areas of concern including conflict resolution, motivation and self-efficacy, and self-esteem.

A counselor’s relationship skills are required to be exceptional, regardless of his/her therapeutic orientation. Often, counselors can build quality therapeutic relationships, yet struggle in their personal relationships. Review of current research and qualitative experiences of counselors and their partner relationships are presented. The unique experience of the relationship between a counselor and his/her partner is discussed. Strategies are explored for building a healthy relationship, including setting goals to build resilience in the counselor/partner relationship. The implications for graduate counselor programs is introduced, including suggestions that will benefit students in their relationships at the beginning, middle, and end of their graduate counselor training.

Service learning has long been regarded as an instructional tool for educational enhancement. Lacking from the research, however, is the impact of service learning for school counselors-in-training. As school counselors-in-training are charged with the task of partnering in advocacy, leadership, and as agents of change for children, families, schools, and communities at large, the question then becomes, “what impact does service learning have on the developing school counseling professional?” The current study involved 12 graduate school counselors-in-training writing reflective journals following their 10-hour service learning experience. From qualitative data analysis, four overarching themes emerged from the participants’ experiences. Service learning (a) challenged assumptions; (b) supported gaining new knowledge, resources, and networking; (c) was a positive experience; and (d) encouraged self-reflection of the future focused professional. Findings support that implementing service learning into graduate curriculum for school counselors-in-training can lead to meaningful gains in personal and professional development.

Counselor educators are required by both the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2005) as well as the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2009) to serve as gatekeepers to the counseling profession. In this role, counselor educators ensure the safety of future clients and the counseling profession, meaning they have the responsibility to prevent students of concern from entering the counseling profession. While this duty of counseling educators is necessary, it is not often easy. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of five counselor educators from across the country with gatekeeping (terminating) a counselor-in-training for nonacademic concerns.

The data from evaluations of a scholarly writing course in a counselor education program are matched with observations in the professional literature on: (a) a shortage of literature about the nature of the scholarly writing process at the graduate level, (b) the belief that the process of becoming a scholarly writer is complex, time consuming, and developmental, and (c) the idea that an experienced mentor is an important component of the developmental process. An accumulation of shared data from local studies is recommended as a feasible strategy for building a database about the nature and effects of scholarly writing training.

Because of the far-reaching legal, monetary, academic, and public relations ramifications of the sex abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University, campus administrators are reviewing and more strictly enforcing the mandatory reporting requirements of Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments and the Clery Act related to sexual harassment and sexual violence. This creates challenges in didactic and clinical coursework for counselor educators who must balance adhering to university reporting guidelines with the ethical responsibilities to provide informed consent and maintain confidentially of information disclosed by students and their clients during training. Issues involved for counselor educators and student counselors-in-training, the process of securing appropriate exceptions to mandatory reporting, and a sample exception policy are presented. Keywords: Title IX, Clery Act, counselor education, policy

Is it ethical for counselor education programs to require students to participate in personal therapy? We follow the Forester-Miller and Davis (1996) seven-step ethical decision-making model to explore this dilemma.

<p>Faculty within counseling training programs are the gatekeepers of the profession as they regulate the sending of new professionals into practice. The gatekeeping role requires that counselor educators monitor students’ progress academically
    as well as personally, and intervene in cases when a student does not meet the necessary standards. Programs are ethically bound to assess trainees in order to identify any who are not up to par professionally, personally, and/or
    academically for clinical practice. Counselor educators not only uphold the rights of their students, but also uphold the integrity and safety of their program, the profession, and the public (Bryant, Druyos, & Strabavy, 2013; Crawford
    & Gilroy, 2013; Evans, Carney, Shannon, & Strohl, 2012; Glance, Fanning, Schoepke, Soto, & Williams, 2012; Homrich, 2009; Russell, DuPree, Beggs, Peterson, & Anderson, 2007; Ziomek-Daigle & Bailey, 2010; Ziomek-Daigle
    & Christensen, 2010).

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning has emphasized the importance of applying neuroscience research to pedagogy, thus creating the concept Brain- Based Learning. As our understanding of the brain increases, ideas about the best ways to enhance memory and learning certainly follow. This article summarizes key elements of the neuroscience of learning, including a short review of relevant neurochemicals and definitions of concepts vital to a foundational understanding of brain-based learning. In addition, the article applies brain-based learning concepts to the counselor education classroom and training of counselor educators, offering solutions to three common problems graduate students face: information overload, exhaustion, and lack of engagement.

Research supporting the importance of spirituality in counseling has led to development of competency areas for addressing spiritual issues within therapeutic practice. It remains to be determined, however, whether doctoral students, as the future educators and supervisors of counselors-in-training, perceive themselves to be competent in integrating spirituality within their teaching and supervision. This study utilized survey research methods to assess current counseling doctoral students’ perceived abilities to implement spiritual counseling strategies into their practice and teaching. The authors discuss the results and outline implications for further research and practice.

Counseling and counselor education involve complex interactions among clients, counselors, students, educators, and supervisors. Professional ethical standards for counseling provide guidance for how to maneuver these interactions. This paper applies an ethical decision making model to a case scenario that illuminates the potential dilemmas in counseling and counselor education. Dilemmas in this scenario involve multiple relationships, potential impairment, duty to report, and the use of social media in counseling. A thorough discussion of each dilemma is followed by potential courses of action, and means to resolve each dilemma.

Higher education is increasingly facilitated by either full or partial use of Web- based instructional technology. For continuation of quality education, it is essential that educators hear the voices of students who receive instruction through technology. We initiate a discussion on best practices of online teaching by sharing our experiences in online instruction based on theories of adult education and the voices of our students.

As gatekeepers to the profession, counselor educators maintain a responsibility of selecting and training future counselors who possess skills necessary to becoming effective counselors. Typical methods of screening may not reveal personal qualities such as interpersonal style, attitude, self-awareness, and disposition. This paper provides a description of an innovative screening procedure that integrates an introduction of multicultural awareness and competence to assess personal qualities of candidates. Emergent themes from student feedback included reflections on feelings and reflections on process, and implications for counselor educators are given.

International cultural immersion has emerged as an experiential strategy with great potential to develop and enhance counseling students’ multicultural competence. Counselor educators, as immersion leaders, play an integral role in planning and executing successful international cultural immersions; however, counselor educators’ experiences and the corresponding impact of cultural immersion on their multicultural competence have received little focus in the literature. This article describes two counselor educators’ experiences as they led a group of ethnic minority graduate students in an international immersion, discusses the importance of faculty preparedness in facilitating the immersion, and highlights the impact of the international immersion on faculty’s multicultural competence.

Disability is often misunderstood by counseling professionals and society. More often than not, persons without disability perceive it as a negative event and as something undesired, although this is not necessarily the experience or belief of many persons with a disability. Counselors that work with persons with disabilities and their families need to understand the experience and process of disability. Unfortunately, many counseling and psychology programs do not offer extensive training in this area. In an effort to enhance counselors’ understanding and effectiveness when counseling persons with disabilities, the authors provide pertinent and relevant information to help individuals respond successfully and creatively to their disabilities.

This paper offers a critique of the field of counseling from a contemporary psychodynamic and classical psychoanalytical perspective. In particular, accreditation guidelines and mandates are examined. A review of the history of counseling reveals psychodynamic persuasions. Classical psychoanalysis serves as a forefather to counseling in the modern age. Contemporary psychodynamic thought provides insight into the system of counseling, motivational influences, and mechanisms of defense employed by the field of counseling.

Considering professional trends and expectations in academia, the role of a counselor education faculty member is changing. It is important for researchers to explore how counselor educators manage workplace responsibilities in addition to managing personal/familial obligations. This phenomenological study analyzed the electronic reflections of 27 counselor educators regarding their experience with work-life balance (WLB). For this study, WLB is conceptualized as the management of professional and personal responsibilities simultaneously. How counselor educators define, obtain, and maintain WLB was of particular interest. Participants described their roles as educators, defined WLB, and provided strategies for obtaining and maintaining WLB. The themes and subthemes gleaned from this study are important for higher education, WLB and wellness research studies.

Counselor educators and supervisors (CES) have an important role to assist counselors-in-training in their development as professional counselors. As part of this process, educators and supervisors must intervene when they see a trainee who is demonstrating behaviors or attitudes that would inhibit the trainee’s ability to engage in competent and ethical client care. However, some CES are reticent to enter into gatekeeping and remediation practices. The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of CES having an Empathy Veil that impedes their gatekeeping attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, the role of empathy and other components of this veil will be defined, the consequences of allowing counselors-in-training to gateslip will be examined, and recommendations for CES to overcome the effect of the Empathy Veil will be explored.

Inconsistencies in requirements to serve as a clinical supervisor for licensed professionals or counselors in training exist across the United States. This creates questions for students seeking supervision for licensure and can be a source of frustration for those looking to serve as a supervisor. The authors examined supervisor requirements in states utilizing the title Licensed Professional Counselor to explore the inconsistencies. Incongruities in requirements, clinical and practical implications, and challenges towards a unified counselor identity are discussed.

This study investigated whether the frequency of direct observation of clinical skills (live, videotape, or audiotape) that occurs in the supervision experience affects pre-licensed counselors’ self-efficacy and satisfaction with the supervision experience. The results suggest that self-efficacy is affected by more frequent direct observation of clinical skills; however, supervisees did not report significantly higher levels of satisfaction when their clinical skills were directly observed more often during supervision.

The extent that healthy personal adjustment and professional development variables predict counseling self-efficacy was examined. Survey responses were analyzed from 198 students in CACREP programs from 24 universities. An R =.698 was found from six predictors used in the analysis. The three significant variables predicting counseling self-efficacy were counseling experience, completed credit hours, and personal growth initiative. These findings support the incorporation of healthy personal adjustment learning activities into counselor education programs.

Counselors’ countertransference responses may interfere with their abilities to form therapeutic alliances necessary for desired therapeutic outcomes. Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) is a supervision strategy that may be utilized in clinical supervision to address counselor countertransference. IPR entails a focused review of specific sections of recorded clinical material, with attention to using discovery-oriented process questions to reformulate previously unnoticed but significant moments in-session. A brief overview of counselor countertransference is provided, followed by a description of the IPR technique and case example illustrating its application to addressing counselor countertransference within a clinical supervision session. Considerations for clinical supervisors utilizing IPR are also suggested.

Normative ethics is a branch of moral philosophy upon which applied ethics, such as the Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association, is based. This article presents an exercise designed to heighten normative ethics awareness. The exercise should be conducted by a supervisor competent in normative ethics. Participants could include students and counselors-in-training, practicing clinicians, and professionals wanting to increase their understanding of the various theories used to determine what is right and what is wrong.

Although triadic supervision is an accepted and popular supervision format in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs, relatively little is known about effectively facilitating supervision that involves two supervisees meeting with a single supervisor concurrently. This article draws attention to the benefits and challenges of triadic supervision as experienced by both supervisees and the supervisor. A summary of the current literature is presented followed by implications for best practice of triadic supervision extracted from existing research.

The purpose of this study was to explore how one group of school counseling students experienced, as well as was influenced by, solution-focused supervision (SFS) in the context of a supervised practicum course. Following three group supervision meetings, participants were interviewed about their experiences with SFS and their current and anticipated use of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). The authors concluded that the participants experienced increased clinical self-confidence, were interested in learning more about SFBT, and intended to use SFBT in the future, but they had more difficulty identifying instances when they had used specific SFBT techniques over the three week span of the study. These findings support previous research by Koob (2002) and Cunanan and McCollum (2006).

Concordance is the term now utilized to label the relationship between patient and medical professional whereby both work together to develop a medical regimen that best fits the patient’s condition, resources, and needs. The counselor can play a significant role in ensuring concordance by building a strong working relationship with the medical professional, providing supportive education to the client and caregiver regarding the client’s medical condition and the medical regimen as prescribed by the medical professional, supporting the client in adhering to the medical regimen, and encouraging the client to report side effects and symptoms to the medical professional in a timely fashion.

Nothing in training counselors is as significant or difficult as defining and measuring the skills that are being imparted to the next generation of counselors, and the complexity of group work increases this challenge. CACREP and ASGW inform the process, and this article attempts to move from concepts to course activities, actual rubrics, and 5 years of experience using these rubrics. The focus in this study has been on the group skills associated with beginning a group, ending a group, and managing what happens between those events.

The experiential group is a key component of many counselor education programs, with student learning outcomes related to group theory and concepts, personal and professional growth, and leadership skill development. This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological methodology to explore the perceptions of 10 master’s level counselors-in-training who participated in a group experience as a requirement of a group dynamics course. Four primary themes (with corresponding subthemes) emerged from the data including: 1) Affective Dynamics, 2) Personal Growth, 3) Relational Dynamics with Group Members, and 4) Professional Growth. Implications of this study are discussed, along with recommendations based on the findings.

In this study, the authors explored graduate counseling students’ meaning in life and their crisis experiences across age groups. The theoretical framework was based on Frankl’s theory of logotherapy. Today, we can find many parallels to Frankl’s descriptions of suffering in the disasters experienced by graduate counseling students. Discoveries of graduate counseling students’ meaning in life with crisis experiences are outlined with suggestions for future training.

The purpose of this study was to complete an initial exploration of counselor educators’ opinions about the burgeoning field of positive psychology. Eighty- eight counselor educators responded to an online survey pertaining to three major aspects of the positive psychology movement. The participants’ responses pointed toward a consistent interest in training counseling students in studies related to positive subjective experiences, positive emotions, and positive communities and groups. Statistical analysis of the data revealed a significant discrepancy between counselor educators’ current and ideal training practices regarding positive psychology, suggesting that theory and research in this field should be integrated into future counselor education training standards. Implications for the field of counselor education, and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards in particular are provided.

This study explored the pathway that links stress to active coping, which plays a vital role in the process of adapting to stressful situations. Three hundred sixteen college students in Taiwan were involved in this study. Findings showed trait resilience and motivation are two mediators in the pathway that links stress to active coping. Individuals who experience lower levels of stress and present higher levels of self-efficacy tend to have higher levels of motivation and are more likely to become so-called resilient persons. Those who show higher levels of resilience and motivation tend to actively cope with stressful situations. Secure attachment is not involved in the pathway but it directly influences individuals’ selection of coping responses.

It is widely recognized that evidence-based treatments need to be adopted by practicing counselors. The ACA Code of Ethics states that counselors will use empirically supported treatments, yet there is minimal evidence of this practice despite external pressures from health care providers and government agencies. The ACA Code of Ethics (Section C, Professional Responsibility) also states that “Counselors have a responsibility to the public to engage in counseling practices that are based on rigorous research methodologies.” This manuscript discusses the controversies around evidence-based treatments, effectiveness, and efficacy; presents a set of standards often used to identify evidence-based practices; cites three counseling approaches recognized as meeting this criteria; and recommends that future studies examining counseling effectiveness employ single-subject research designs.

Building a comprehensive school counseling program requires an awareness of the myriad of personal and social issues facing students today (American School Counseling Association [ASCA], 2012). One such issue is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and its accompanying behaviors, which are now considered much more common in children and adolescents than previously reported (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], 2010). Yet, information to guide the professional school counselor (PSC) remains largely absent in the counseling literature. Therefore, this paper aims to expand awareness concerning OCD and its behavioral subtypes and provide examples of how these behaviors can manifest themselves in the school environment. Implications for professional school counselors, as well as additional research needs are also provided.

Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT) techniques are utilized to illustrate social skills development for elementary school students. A rationale for CBPT and social skills development in the group setting is examined through a case study and an eight session social skills group developed for elementary school children. The need for social skills development in the elementary school setting is discussed in conjunction with the ASCA model for promoting academic and social success in the school setting through this school-based group counseling model.

The current study explored 112 Latina/o college students’ perceptions of barriers, acculturation, academic goals, and academic performance. Acculturation to the Anglo culture and academic goals were positively related to college performance. Perceptions of career barriers also had a positive relationship with college performance. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings is provided and implications for counselors are offered.

School counselor practices related to informed consent, confidentiality, and duty to warn and protect were examined and compared to the Revised Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct (MECESC). A phenomenological approach was used to examine the experiences of school counselors and a documents review examined documents that addressed informed consent, confidentiality and duty to warn and protect. The results indicated that the documents review did not address both the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors and the MECESC. The findings from the interviews with school counselors indicated that some of the participants addressed informed consent while others addressed parental consent. Practitioners might use these findings to identify ethical issues that school counselors encounter while attempting to comply with a state educator code of ethics.

The current study examined future school counselors’ perceptions of challenges that impede Latina/o students from postsecondary education. Future school counselors cited a complex interplay among individual, interpersonal, and institutional factors regarding Latina/o students’ limited access to postsecondary education. Recommendations for counselor training programs to raise trainees’ awareness of systemic forces in K-12 schools and help future school counselors monitor their beliefs and attitudes toward Latina/o students are provided.

The current study used the School Counseling Program Component Scale (SCPCS) to measure beliefs and attitudes about the ASCA National Model in order to investigate the potential impact that Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) status, graduate preparation, work setting, and years of experience have on school counselors. The study was conducted in Indiana, a state with a high number of RAMP-designated schools. Statistically significant differences were found between the current sample and the original national sample for which the SCPCS was introduced. No statistically significant differences were found in school counselor beliefs based on RAMP status, level of practice, work setting, or years of experience.

Rural students face multiple obstacles to academic and personal success. Rural school counselors can act as social justice advocates in their work with rural students to address these obstacles at the individual student, school/community, and public arena levels. The authors explain how rural school counselors can advocate for students and communities at each of the ACA Advocacy Competency levels. Special considerations related to the rural school setting are included.

Initiating career education in elementary school is developmentally appropriate (Magnuson & Starr, 2000; Wahl & Blackhurst, 2000) and states with comprehensive guidance programs mandate elementary career development in some form (Gysbers, 2005). School counselors play an integral role in coordinating comprehensive career development programming (ASCA, 2012). Program evaluation conducted in conjunction with an elementary school Career Day indicated positive improvements in students’ understanding of “career” and is used to illustrate school counselor accountability approaches. Implications and recommendations are presented.

School climate defines how members of a school’s community perceive the atmosphere of a school, specifically regarding whether or not students and employees feel safe at school, feel comfortable and at ease at school, feel that a learning atmosphere is supported, and can sense whether or not trust and concern for students are discernible. Indications were that perceptions of the quality of the school climate may differ among members of the school community. School counselors were surveyed to determine if there were variances of perception of school climate. Results revealed distinct disparities between school counselors’ and cyberbullying victims’ attitudes toward the quality of their school climate. Discussion includes survey results, suggestions for the role the school counselor could take in creating an optimal school climate, and suggestions for further research.

Given the nature of a fast paced society and the ever increasing stressors affecting students today, the need for research into the prevention and reduction of anxiety within school aged populations also increases. This article highlights and provides information for professional school counselors regarding current research on the effects of anxiety on children, anxiety development, implementation of cognitive-behavioral anxiety interventions, and recent trends in anxiety reduction efforts in school-based settings. Based on this research, recommendations and implications for professional counselors conclude the article.

Twenty-seven prospective teachers provided perspectives regarding challenges that impede Latina/o students from enrolling in higher education. The results indicate that while some prospective teachers mentioned the school system, other teachers mentioned Latina/o students and their parents. Implications for school counselors to help prospective and current teachers understand challenges that Latina/o students face are provided.

Historically, LGBTQIA issues have been both controversial and sensitive topics of conversation in educational settings. School counselors and other educators have a professional responsibility to advocate for LGBTQIA youth, yet many lack the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to do so. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the 2012 Center for Excellence in School Counseling and Leadership (CESCaL) LGBTQIA and Educators Conference. The conference provided attendees with the knowledge of laws and rights of LGBTQIA students, provided extensive educator resources, and encouraged attendees to take personal responsibility to be advocates for LGBTQIA youth and to create safe spaces in schools. Through the use of an anonymous pre- conference and post-conference survey, the perceptions of adult attendees at the conference were investigated to gauge the impact of the conference. Results indicate participants’ perceptions of knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding advocacy for LGBTQIA youth increased as a result of participating in CESCaL’s LGBTQIA 2012 conference.

Bullying behaviors among youth in the United States are epidemic. Professional counselors need effective interventions founded upon evidence-based practices to help truncate perpetrator bullying behaviors. The “Reflecting As If” (RAI) intervention provides a relatively simple to implement, evidence-based intervention that holds significant clinical promise.

Adolescence is a time when the propensity for developing an eating disorder is at its greatest (Le Grange, Lock, & Dymek, 2003; Ray, 2004; Stice, Marti, & Rohde, 2013). Incidences of bulimia nervosa are much higher among adolescent females than males (Ray, 2004), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been found to be the most commonly used intervention in treatment (Lundgren, Danoff-Burg, & Anderson, 2004; Mussell et al., 2000). However, several studies have found that CBT is only effective in treating individuals with bulimia when they are motivated to participate in treatment (Mussell et al., 2000). Creative techniques can be easily implemented and provide new and lasting ways to facilitate change (Adamson & Kress, 2011; Gladding, 2011; Jacobs, 1992). This article will discuss the use of creative techniques in counseling female adolescents with bulimia nervosa from a cognitive behavioral perspective. Particular emphasis will be given to increasing client motivation and facilitating emotional expression.

This article explores the understudied topic of MMORPG addiction in women and associated diagnostic characteristics as articulated by the American Psychiatric Association (2013). It is currently estimated that almost half of video game players are female, and women generally tend to select online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) as their preferred video game due to gender-specific social characteristics. Understanding the motivations for female MMORPG players and specifically identifying these characteristics may help counselors discern leisure play from addiction and will aid in the appropriate formation of treatment strategies and future research.

Learning to live with a disability can be a significant transition, and many individuals struggle with the complex challenge of examining how the disability will affect who they are and what their role is in society. Counseling professionals can play a key role in helping individuals address common psychological and social barriers associated with disability. Focused specifically on promoting resilience among individuals with disabilities, the present article provides the rationale for the development of a resilience intervention for counseling professionals to define and better support how individuals transition to living with a disability. Implications address how counseling professionals can use the intervention to increase resilience among individuals who are struggling to adapt to disability.

A literature review of Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs) and their impacts on student perceptions of safety and well-being in school is presented. The authors also examine how schools with active GSAs feel and function and how the school culture compares to schools without GSAs. Research suggests that the presence of GSAs in schools leads to both short- and long-term benefits to students, for both lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) students and their heterosexual allies. Though GSAs face legal barriers in school settings, this review outlines benefits in detail and conveys that literature promotes the continued support and creation of Gay–Straight Alliances in schools.

This article describes a qualitative study of the coming out process of an adolescent lesbian. The study traces the phases of the coming out process and describes the parallel process of her mother. The study is a phenomenological case study that shows findings consistent with Cass' model of sexual identity formation and identifies the following themes for the individual: (a) feelings of distress, (b) questions about being different and the effects of being different, (c) awareness, (d) certainty and relief, (e) feelings of pride, (f) feeling comfortable with self, and (g) helpful counselor behaviors.

Receiving an HIV positive diagnosis used to be an almost certain death sentence. In recent years, there have been many advances in prevention, detection, and treatment of HIV. Treatments have become more effective at prolonging life, although HIV remains a progressive, incurable disease. Even with the revolutionary advances in the past 30 years, there are many ethical considerations and issues that must be considered when a client makes a disclosure of being HIV positive during a counseling session. Individuals with HIV face many challenges: initial diagnosis, treatment, disclosure of HIV status with others, relationship issues, and adhering to medical treatment. The Duquesne University Master’s Ethics team applied a HIV-specific decision-making model to the case study of Dominique to address the ethical issues presented in the case. This case also presents complexities of counseling a professional athlete and considerations concerning social media. The ethical and legal concerns of duty to warn and duty to protect with an HIV positive client are discussed. The team researched current literature, applied the 2014 ACA code of ethics, and reviewed appropriate legal codes through the application of the HIV-specific decision making model.

This article identifies the signs of student distress and post traumatic stress disorder, provides practical advice and recommendations on how to identify and assist trauma impacted students, and presents suggestions and sample scenarios of dealing with distressed students.

Considering the increasing diversity of our culture and the continued growth of globalization, it is essential to investigate the topic of counseling international students in a collegiate setting. This manuscript will discuss aspects of counseling as they relate to international students. Focus is centered on the counseling theories and empirically supported therapy techniques utilized with international students attending college in the United States. This paper discusses the considerations important to counseling international students, such as demographic information, challenges to service delivery, mental health issues specific to international students, and gaps in the literature. Additionally, a review of current literature reveals how theory and intervention might be used to help counselors integrate existing knowledge into practice. Specifically, person- centered theory and cognitive behavior therapy are discussed as effective approaches when working with international students. This paper concludes with example treatment modalities for this population and implications for further study.

This article offers the tools needed for counselor educators to prepare future counselors for clients who express a post-conventional faith identity. Post- conventional faith is defined as an emerging and/or blended religious and spiritual identity that defies the classically neat categorization of contemporary religious and spiritual identity labels. Data on the landscape of religious and spiritual identity is presented to give a picture of the diversification of religion and spirituality in the United States. A case example of an institution which promotes post-conventional faith development in its members is explored. Two theoretical models are presented which can aid counselor educators in helping their students understand the development of post-conventional faith identities. Lastly, in-class training recommendations are provided which can promote students’ achievement of comfort and competence in working with clients who express post-conventional faith identities.

Society often expects alcoholic women in recovery to quickly move on with their lives. This can be a daunting task since many women experience grief and loss as a consequence of previous addictive behaviors or change in lifestyle. This grief and loss must be treated if alcoholic women are to abstain, long-term, from alcohol use and lead satisfying lives. This article distinguishes between symptoms of depression and addiction-related grief and concludes by detailing a specific model counselors can use to help female alcoholics in the recovery process

Best practices in substance use disorder treatment for adolescents is a focus for treatment providers and researchers. NIDA (2014a) reported that drug use is highest among people in their late teens. With different drugs of use widely available to teenagers, it is important that treatment providers offer appropriate research based treatments that match each client’s drugs of use. These authors review the best practices for adolescent substance use disorder treatment which are outlined by National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and include: family involvement, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral approaches, adolescent brain considerations, and 12-step facilitation. In addition these authors include discussion and review research focused on current trends of mindfulness and spirituality. How these recommended practices are applied to adolescent substance use disorder treatment requires special attention, so implications for treatments providers are provided.

Counselors must be prepared to meet clients’ needs regarding the trauma, coping, and transitions of their working lives. The authors call for training counselors to use updated theories and techniques to conceptualize and address client career concerns in holistic practice. Authors discuss the lineage of the life design paradigm of counseling including career construction theory, the career construction interview, and narrative methods. The article provides a useful lesson plan counselor educators may implement to introduce life design and to enable counseling students to develop career intervention skills through experiential learning.

This research study examined the relationships among three career readiness assessment measures and the relationships among selected readiness variables and personality characteristics in a sample of 120 university students enrolled in a career development class. The readiness assessment measures included the Vocational Identity (VI) scale of My Vocational Situation, the Career Thoughts Inventory, and the Goal Instability Scale. The results showed that all three readiness assessments were significantly intercorrelated in the expected direction. The results also suggest that readiness factors and personality characteristics are separate variables that should be considered when determining how best to assist career clients. The importance of using readiness assessment in the context of career counseling is discussed along with recommendations for future research examining personality variables in relation to career interventions.

Many papers and books have been written detailing the essential components of working with various cultural groups. However, limited (and dated) research has been performed on understanding the Romani culture. Through media, the presence of the Roma American culture has become more prominent; therefore, it is important for counselors to develop cultural competence when working with Romani students and families. This paper seeks to introduce the Romani culture to the counseling field and address the implications for counseling such individuals and their families.

Animal assisted counseling (AAC) has become a more common practice and yet little attention has been paid to cultural diversity considerations with this modality. The purpose of this article is to increase clinicians’ awareness of the cultural differences related to animals within different cultural groups in order to promote culturally sensitive practice of AAC. To increase awareness of cultural diversity issues, the literature describing human-animal interactions within the context of majority and minority cultures, such as racial and ethnic groups, religion, socioeconomic class, and gender, is reviewed. The role of the human- animal relationship and the nature of the counseling process for each of the cultural groups is discussed. Specific implications for counseling with diverse clients based on each group’s unique needs are highlighted. These implications include programmatic considerations, cultural sensitivity, and counselor self- awareness. By being culturally aware, practitioners can more effectively and ethically utilize AAC with a variety of clients.

International mental health is an area of heightened interest, as it represents one of the top 10 research advances for 2012 (Insel, 2012). According to articles cited in Collins et al. (2011), a range of mental disorders—schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy, dementia, alcohol dependence, and other mental/neurological/substance use disorders—represent about 13% of global disease, and, in addition, an estimated 1.5 million individuals will complete suicide globally by 2020. This paper will outline various efforts to address global mental health, including the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health program through the NIMH; the Centre for Global Mental Health in the UK; and the Mental Health Facilitator program through the National Board for Certified Counselors-International.

Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are distinguished and discussed in the context of the counselor's role in helping terminal clients. An aging population coupled with the proposed legislation in many states to legalize physician- assisted suicide could mean these issues will become more paramount to the counseling profession. Potential ethical dilemmas are discussed using the biopsychosocial model, five pillars of ethics, and an existing health-care model as guidance

The ACA 2014 Code of Ethics addresses counselors’ responsibilities to changing technology and the obligation to keep client data confidential. For counselors who work in non-clinical settings, lack of access to HIPAA-compliant tools can present a bewildering set of choices. This document describes state-of-the-art tools that can be used by counselors in any setting to protect the integrity of face- to-face counseling sessions, confidentially maintain sole-possession notes, and practice discretion when searching the Internet for information resources pertaining to client’s needs. Recommendations for ongoing training and awareness are presented.

Preliminary qualitative data was collected for a research study exploring a prevention-based group for preschool children called “well-being groups.” The content of the well-being groups incorporated the five domains from Myers and Sweeney’s (2005) Indivisible Self Wellness Model. Qualitative themes emerged from the data collected from parents, teachers, and counselors involved in the group. The qualitative themes reflected an increase in the children’s awareness of emotions, as well as their ability to communicate emotions. In addition, children seemed to present with an expanded understanding and insight of their own well- being.

Depression may be a debilitating condition. Many individuals turn to antidepressants to treat their symptoms. Research suggests that while many individuals report success and symptom reduction with antidepressant usage, a large portion of individuals with depression do not respond to antidepressant treatment. The etiology of depression for many individuals may be attributed to early life stress (ELS). ELS may lead to a malfunctioning stress response system. For example, stress hormone levels may be elevated in those individuals with a history of ELS. Most antidepressants are designed to affect the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and or dopamine and not stress hormones. For those individuals who are nonresponsive to antidepressant treatment, they may need a medication that alters stress hormones. When counseling clients using antidepressants, counselors should be prepared to serve as a medication manager and liaison between the client and antidepressant prescribing physician.

Graduate students training to be mental health counselors are taught the importance of developing the skills to advocate for clients, especially those from underrepresented groups. This article chronicles one student’s journey from growing awareness of the struggles of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) population in a rural community to making a personal and professional commitment to advocacy by establishing a chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Personal reflections and a case study are included that demonstrate both the emotional and practical steps needed to implement advocacy initiatives.

Sexuality and self-compassion are two concepts which have not been previously considered or combined when discussing the needs of women with disabilities. Sexuality, by itself, is a challenging topic for many counselors to address, let alone in combination with the needs of women with disabilities. Additionally, self-compassion is an emerging area which has rarely been applied to the needs of women with disabilities. In an effort to bridge this gap and to improve the sexual adjustment counseling services offered to women with disabilities, barriers which affect sexual adjustment, sexual concerns, and an illustration of ways to infuse sexuality into the adjustment to disability process are discussed followed by a new model of sexuality and disability.

It is important for counselors to understand refugee children’s fears and coping mechanisms as these children adjust to their new environment. This qualitative study explored the fears and coping strategies of 18 refugee children from the countries of Haiti, Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela, and Vietnam whose families sought asylum in the United States. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the children and their parents. Frequency distributions, content analysis, conclusions, and implications of the findings are included.