VISTAS Online, 2017

Believing that one can be successful in postsecondary education endeavors and have a meaningful career are important goals for all students, and school counselors are well positioned to enhance these beliefs. Evidence of construct validity and reliability and recommendations for using the Career and College Readiness Self-Efficacy Inventory (CCRSI) is presented. The CCRSI appears to have potential for core curriculum and individual student planning interventions delivered by professional school counselors to enhance these self-efficacy beliefs.

he ability of mothers in the criminal justice system to obtain stable employment upon release has been shown to be a crucial aspect for successful reentry into society. Stable employment is a key predictor of mothers’ success in their transition from the criminal justice system back into society. Levinson’s theory was used to determine if life eras predicted mothers’ (N = 1,040) career needs related to education, employment, and counseling. This study failed to support Levinson’s theory. Specifically, mothers in the criminal justice system did not differ, by age, on their education needs, employment needs, or career counseling needs.

The impact of a career course intervention on students’ career decision and affective states was examined. Participants were 108 undergraduate students enrolled in a credit-based career development course at a large university. Two factors were identified; the career decision state, as measured with the Occupational Alternatives Questionnaire and Satisfaction with Choice Question, and the career affective state, as measured with the Goal Instability Scale and Career Thoughts Inventory. Findings revealed that the career course had a significant positive effect on both factors. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

The use of early memories continues to be a technique used across many counseling specialties. Career counseling is experiencing a re-emergence in the use of early recollections based on their application to narrative approaches. The purpose of this article is to review the uses of early recollections in career counseling and highlight their use in narrative approaches. The article includes a description of collecting and using early recollections to help clients identify strengths and adaptability, develop identity and meaning, and promote understanding of the individual’s unique approach to work.

In this article, the qualitative research literature pertaining to Chinese international students’ transition to higher education institutions in the United States is reviewed. This review of the literature has several implications for career counselors, campus-based counseling professionals, and counselor educators at host universities in the United States. The implications are presented in relation to the literature review process and are further synthesized to reflect the development of a more cohesive student-oriented campus culture.

Researchers suggest that the current generation of college students, who fall within the broader generational group known as “Millennials,” demonstrate lower levels of empathy, higher levels of narcissism, increased use of technology, and decreased time spent outdoors, which may impact the overall functioning of these individuals. This correlational design study of 140 undergraduates explores the relationship between the constructs of empathy, narcissism, and nature relatedness among the Millennial generation. Data analysis suggests that there is a statistically significant relationship between nature relatedness and empathy, which offers an empirical rationale for the use of community-based and nature- oriented approaches among clinical mental health counselors who work with Millennials.

High rates of physician and medical student suicides occur yearly. Being in the medical field itself can be considered a risk factor for depression and suicide. Therefore, the medical field is beginning to seek an interdisciplinary approach to assisting helpers in need, and the counseling field can play an important role. Understanding the unique occupational stresses, hidden curriculum, stigma, and pressures these individuals face is crucial. Aiding this population also provides the opportunity to address the considerable incidence of medical errors attributed to physician depression and distress. Populations such as females and sexual minority individuals face additional challenges. Counselors are in a prime position to address physician suicide and depression, which helps improve patient safety. Proactively educating future medical students on the occupational stresses of burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation could prevent them from experiencing these conditions.

Disordered eating (DE) and body dissatisfaction are common among diverse women across the lifespan and similar in prevalence and nature to findings from studies of adolescents and young adults. Given the historic focus on adolescents and young adults, clinicians may lack awareness and knowledge of DE among all ages of women. This is vital given that treatment seeking is increasing for women beyond emerging adulthood. Early detection and intervention are important given the prevalence and progressive nature of DE. The prevalence, trends, patterns, and predictors of DE are discussed along with clinical considerations regarding the unique inte

Four primary themes regarding counseling BDSM clients are addressed: popular culture, mental health contexts and the DSM, parallels with now-defunct homosexual paraphilias, and resources for counselors. The authors present an introduction of commonly used BDSM terms based on field research and supported by a case study. Attention is given to challenges BDSM clients face, paraphilic disorder codes used to clinically define BDSM activities, and how diagnostic codes pathologize nontraditional sexuality, which can create a disjunction between counselor education and clients’ lived experiences. This disjunction is emphasized by popularizations of BDSM, such as E. L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy, which expand social acceptance while also solidifying misrepresentations of the kink lifestyle.

Individuals diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) experience both challenges and advantages in their intrapersonal (e.g., relationship to self) and interpersonal (e.g., relationship to others) relationships. However, limited research focuses on survivors of DID and their subjective experiences of their relationships with self and others. Thus, this study examined individuals diagnosed with DID (n = 12) and their perspectives on symptomology, self- disclosing their diagnosis, and the impact of surviving DID in relationships. Results identified several areas describing the DID phenomenon including symptoms, abuse and trauma history, consequences of diagnosis disclosure, and coping mechanisms.

Rural populations have certain characteristics and cultural patterns requiring sensitivity and understanding. This study examined child sexual abuse in one rural community by surveying parents of children who were brought into a child advocacy center in a rural county in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Several factors were found that might have impacted the experience of child sexual abuse in this rural community. This research provides information to better inform professionals working with child sexual abuse in rural areas.

The current paper examines sexual health as it relates to types of intimate partner violence, self-esteem, partner support of birth control, and pressure to have sex and/or a baby among emerging adult young women ages 18–25. Differences across racial/ethnic categories as well as between pregnant/parenting and non- pregnant/non-parenting categories are considered. Results highlight differing sexual health experiences of pregnant/parenting and Hispanic/Latina young women, specifically. Pregnant/parenting young women reported higher levels of psychological aggression which has additional consequences. Hispanic/Latina young women reported lower levels of partner support for birth control and greater pressure from significant others to have a baby. Implications include a need to particularly integrate skills to recognize and combat psychological aggression into counseling prevention and intervention programming as well as culturally-specific interventions, particularly for Hispanic/Latina young women.

The aim of this article is to provide information and treatment suggestions to mental health services providers who work with couples with trauma-related problems. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment dropout rates, evolutionary perspective of PTSD, emotion-focused therapy (EFT), emotionally focused couples therapy, and psychoeducational strategies are discussed. A hypothetical case example is provided to illustrate how psychoeducation and information pertaining to trauma responses and evolution can be integrated with emotion-focused therapy to work with traumatized persons/couples in a private practice setting.

This paper examines the nature of ethics and the processes involved in ethical decision making. The ethical decision-making model created by Corey, Corey, and Callanan is applied to multiple ethical dilemmas present in a fictional case example. Principles of the ethical-decision making model are applied to matters of counselor aggression, the breach of confidential information, counselor role transitions, mishandling of supervisee training by counseling faculty, and provision of counseling by a counselor educator to a student. A brief summary recounts the complexity and reasoning involved in deconstructing the case example’s ethical dilemmas.

An estimated 21.7 million people need treatment for their substance use problem. As barriers to treatment are removed with health care reform, this number will continue to grow. Simultaneous to this need for treatment, a workforce crisis is occurring in the addiction counseling field due to high turnover rates, an aging workforce, worker shortages, and lingering stigma about substance abuse. Given this climate, counselor education programs are challenged to develop programs that adequately train future counselors to address the unique needs of clients who are struggling with addiction and to better understand how students construct their knowledge regarding addictions and addiction counseling. The purpose of this study was to explore and qualitatively examine the development of counseling students’ thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs about addiction and treatment that may help educators understand how to better design addiction counseling curriculum to address attitude and self-awareness competencies. Themes identified in the study are explored as well as the implications for counselor educators.

The purpose of this article is to define the role of secondary school counselors and to define comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCPs), as well as to examine factors that affect implementation of a CSCP in secondary schools. Factors included in this paper are administrative support, role ambiguity and conflict, inappropriate job duties, and caseload.

As the diverse needs of children and adolescents expands and the field of school counseling continues to evolve in response, it is important that the training and supervision of school counselors foster the specific knowledge, skills, and demeanor needed to appropriately serve all students in the school setting. Over the past 15 years, there appears to be a concentrated effort to examine the development of school counselors and the construct of self-efficacy through dissertation research. The results of many of these studies, however, often sit unpublished in university libraries and dissertation archives and are never widely distributed to scholars and practitioners. This manuscript serves to highlight and disseminate these valuable dissertation findings in an effort to support the efficacy development of school counselors-in-training. Recommendations for counselor educators and supervisors, as well as future research, are discussed.

The concept of grit has emerged as a significant predictor of success in a variety of fields in psychological and educational research. The literature distinguishes the concept of grit from resilience. Resilience is a characteristic of overcoming adversity and having the ability to bounce back, whereas grit is the tendency for an individual to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. The purpose of this article is to discuss how the concept of grit may be beneficial in the supervising and mentoring of counselors-in-training during their field site experiences. Further, the article illustrates ways counselor educators can integrate the concept of grit into a practicum and internship course curriculum. The adoption and benefits of multimedia, experiential, and bibliotherapeutic approaches are also discussed.

Many Americans have sexual dysfunction or behavioral concerns and are seeking assistance from mental health clinicians. Unfortunately, there is limited curriculum on sexuality counseling and sexual behavior in clinical mental health counselor education programs. This lack of education and discussion can result in counselor bias and lack of self-efficacy in therapeutic sessions. Researchers have found that medical assistance alone does not offer effective results when discussing sexual dysfunction or non-normative sexual behavior. Individuals engaged in various counseling interventions alongside sexuality counseling found reduction in sexual dysfunction and comorbid symptoms, such as anxiety or depression. This literature review seeks to highlight the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and different sexual behaviors facing possible clients, the existence of counselor bias and its effect on sexual topics in counseling, and the need for sex and sexuality to be integrated into counseling programs.

This study explored the relationships between measured levels of dogmatism, openness, and empathy in master’s-level counselors-in-training enrolled in CACREP-accredited programs. Results suggested that dogmatism is negatively related to openness, and openness and empathy scores are positively correlated. Implications for gatekeeping and counselor education are offered.

A major component of counselor education is preparing counselors-in-training to navigate the legal and ethical pitfalls of the field. As the profession evolves, however, those pitfalls can change. This article provides an analysis of the most common legal and ethical issues associated with disciplinary actions against licensed counselors over the course of five years across 28 states. These states were used in the study specifically due to their disciplinary action data being provided online. Implications are addressed as they pertain to counselor education and training.

As counselor educators and field placement coordinators are all too aware, the supervision provided in the field by site supervisors is an essential component of a quality counselor training program. This article describes problem situations in the provision of training to field-based site supervisors housed in multiple locations; a potential solution to this logistical problem; content guidelines for site supervisor training; sample learning management system module content for training; and a summary discussion and call to the profession.

Cultural competence development, values imposition, respect for diversity, discrimination and multiple related issues have been increasingly pressed to the forefront of discourse in the counseling field and society at large. As social, legislative and academic agendas related to diversity, value-conflicts, religious freedom, discrimination, and protection of rights continue to develop, counselor educators must assume the task of guiding counselors-in-training in making sense of and engaging the discourse as part of their cultural competence development. This article discusses the development of intentional plans for providing feedback in social and cultural diversity courses as an effective pedagogical approach for increasing cultural competence development for counselors-in- training. Through personal anecdotes and experiences in the classroom and professional field, the case for using a multi-dimensional model for guiding the definition of cultural competence will be discussed. Two primary discussions focus on the role of feedback as a pedagogical tool in diversity courses, and strategies for effectively utilizing feedback in the inherently highly-charged learning environments where diversity discussions occur.

Training clinics are integral to comprehensive preparation within counselor education programs. This article will describe counselor education training clinics, review research that guides the development and growth of clinics, and detail experiences to rebuild a clinical mental health counseling presence within two university-supported clinics. Efforts such as interdepartmental collaboration, social justice programming, and practical strategies to revitalize the clinic will be discussed.

The purpose of this article is to better understand the role of multicultural self- efficacy in school counselors’ development. To achieve this goal, a review of multicultural self-efficacy is broken into three subsections: (a) school counselor multicultural competency training, (b) school counselor self-efficacy, and (c) school counselor multicultural self-efficacy. After the review of each subsection, the author concludes with implications for school counselor educators, school counselors-in-training, and school counselors.

This article presents the Theoretical Conceptualization, Assessment, and Documentation Course Model (TCAD-CM). This pedagogical method helps trainees translate theory into practice by actively engaging in the process of assessment, case conceptualization, and documentation in a context-driven constructivist learning environment. Exploration of potential benefits and implications of implementation in graduate-level counseling coursework are presented.

Nearly every day, news reports cover new major local, state, national, and international crisis situations. A purposeful sample of 171 master’s-level counseling students was administered the Counselor’s Crisis Self-Efficacy Scale (CCSES) prior to and following the completion of a crises intervention preparation course for mental health responders. The purpose of this research study was two-fold: (a) validate the CCSES and (b) examine the influence of a course in crises intervention on the preparedness of beginning counselors’ perceived self-efficacy. Findings indicated that the CCSES was a valid and reliable instrument and counseling students had greater levels of crisis self- efficacy following participation in the crises intervention course.

While most counselors have knowledge about self-care and the ability to articulate its importance to clients and others, a disconnect between knowledge and counselor self-care action remains. Expressive arts therapy techniques and creativity in counseling may provide answers to this problem. The same types of techniques used with clients could be useful for counselors in managing their own career stress and for creating more balance in their lives. Creative self-care helps the counselor by providing therapeutic value in the process of creation, increasing self-awareness, externalizing the problem, and symbolically containing the problem. The authors offer a seven-part model for creative self- care: 1) create a consistent plan to engage in mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually nourishing activities; 2) schedule restorative rejuvenation when anticipating stress; 3) prepare a list of emergency strategies for unanticipated stress; 4) meet regularly with peers or colleagues for support; 5) evaluate counselor-specific professional, perceptual, and personal challenges to self-care; 6) record and review successes; and 7) include self-compassion as an essential element of healthy self-care.

The ETHICS model is a theoretical grounded ethical decision-making model that draws from the latest relevant literature in ethics and integrates multiple theoretical perspectives. Specifically, the model is comprehensive and accessible, and can be used with a wide range of cases. This model organizes a decision- making process for new and seasoned practitioners. The steps of the model are: Evaluate the dilemma, Think ahead, Help, Information, Calculate risk, and Select an action.

Eastern meditative approaches have existed since time immemorial in traditional cultures, predating Christianity. That these disciplines are still being practiced today indicates that these traditional practices were and still are beneficial to humankind. Although their integration with counseling is still foreign for some, many in the West have embraced these practices as a way of life for their health and well-being. This trend has encouraged many counselors to follow suit in order to cater to the varied and ever-changing needs of their clients. Falun Gong is one such mind-body, spiritual meditative system that holds promise for counseling integration. The practice’s beneficial effects and integration possibilities remain relatively unknown and undocumented. The main purpose of this paper is to present case examples illustrating the benefits of the practice and the feasibility of integrating Falun Gong with counseling—to help people toward self-healing and realizing their purpose in life.

The information presented in this article intends to assist clinicians in developing effective treatment goals for clients with bipolar disorder by integrating interpersonal social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The information in this paper focuses on aspects of this diagnosis such as research associated with treatment options, advocacy suggestions for this population, and a fictional case study with a treatment plan that integrates IPSRT and EMDR. Due to the complexity of this diagnosis, its resemblance to other disorders, and its frequent comorbidity with other mental disorders, making accurate assessment of a bipolar disorder diagnosis is important in determining effective courses of treatment. In sum, a multifaceted approach may be needed when treating this disorder. Additional research needs to be conducted to determine the usefulness of psychotropic drugs as well as psychotherapies with and without the combination of medication.

Military spouses face unique concerns and challenges during wartime and at peacetime. Because of the distinct stressors military spouses encounter, the need for accessible mental health services is imperative. However, self-care and self- growth are often low priorities for this population. Group counseling provides a milieu for military spouses to support one another and to work through common issues. In particular, Gestalt group counseling provides an opportunity for creating connections, fostering self-growth, and learning coping skills. Gestalt group counseling may offer a space where military spouses feel supported and connected to other military spouses, as well as a venue to explore relational difficulties and foster self-growth. The purpose of this article is to describe a promising group counseling approach for military spouses. The authors will examine therapeutic factors of group therapy and specific Gestalt therapy interventions within the context of counseling this population.

One requirement by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) is for counselors-in-training (CITs) to be able to perform group counseling sessions. Further, CACREP suggests a 10-hour group counseling facilitation experience. In order to assist students in improving their group counseling skills, novice CITs must practice being group facilitators and are asked to explore their skills through personal reflection Thirteen CITs in a master’s-level group counseling course at a historically black college and university (HBCU) explored and wrote their personal reflections after conducting a group session. Through using a grounded theory method, empathy was a recurring theme among the CITs. Implications for novice group counselors and future research are discussed.

This article explores the commonalities across the personal and professional characteristics of resistant influentials (RIs) and makes a case for their need for community, accountability, and, specifically, group therapeutic counseling interventions. Research is presented on group counseling, specifically types of group counseling, recent scholarship, theoretical approaches of group psychotherapy, and practitioner-based intervention strategies. Research is discussed on the nature and unique challenges of RIs, specifically attorneys and faith leaders. Finally, the authors make a case made for the need of group counseling for RIs and provide specific reasons why this is a uniquely challenging commitment for these individuals.

This paper focuses on addressing issues in advocating for clients whose native languages are not English. As immigrants and other English language learners continue to come to the United States, counselor educators and supervisors have opportunities to encourage their bilingual or multilingual counselor education students to become professional clinical mental health interpreters to better serve the needs of such individuals. The authors argue that counselor education programs have opportunities to prepare students and provide the knowledge, abilities, and skills necessary to work successfully with language diverse clients.

Recent research indicates that there is an increase of lesbian-headed families who are choosing to start families. As a result, lesbians are increasingly more visible in maternity health care services. There is limited research available regarding lesbian family formulation and even more scarce is research on implications of practice for counselors working with lesbian-headed families. As lesbians increasingly opt to start families, there will be a growing need for lesbian- affirmative counselors that can address various concerns and challenges specific to lesbian-headed families. The purpose of this article is to enhance counselors’ cultural competency when working with lesbian-headed families to better facilitate discussions surrounding family formation, conception, pregnancy, and birth.

Providing counseling services to gay men is considered an ethical practice in professional counseling. With the recent changes in the Defense of Marriage Act and legalization of gay marriage nationwide, it is safe to say that many Americans are more accepting of same-sex relationships than in the past. However, although societal attitudes are shifting towards affirmation of gay rights, division and discrimination, masculinity shaming, and within-group labeling between gay men has become more prevalent. To this point, gay men have been viewed as a homogeneous population, when the reality is that there are a variety of gay subcultures and significant differences between them. Knowledge of these subcultures benefits those in and out-of-group when they are recognized and understood. With an increase in gay men identifying with a subculture within the gay community, counselors need to be cognizant of these subcultures in their efforts to help gay men self-identify. An explanation of various gay male subcultures is provided for counselors, counseling supervisors, and counselor educators.

This research analyzed the most widely used multicultural textbooks (MCTs) in CACREP-accredited programs for content that specifically addressed the cultural competence of counselors of color in training (COCITs). Due to current status of race relations in the United States, which includes racism, oppression, and violence that persons of color may experience, there needs to be unique training for COCITs that addresses possible emotional distress, biases, and ill-feelings toward Whites and other persons of color. Cultural competence is not only for White counselors-in-training, but also for COCITs; therefore, the authors hold that it is imperative to analyze MCTs for content that focuses on preparing COCITs. Twenty-two MCTs were reviewed and only five met criteria, albeit at varying degrees. Examples of content themes included the impact of internalized oppression, assimilation, and acculturation, as well as challenges related to voicing true feelings to White faculty and supervisors, and their cultural competence and skill level in handling COCITs preparation.

This phenomenological study explored the coming out experiences of individuals who identify as lesbian or gay. The phenomenon of coming out was examined in an effort to better understand the complexity of the coming out process. Participants shared their general experiences in addition to what was helpful and unhelpful through their journey. The findings revealed a complex definition of coming out that includes two major components: personal development (intrapersonal) and layers of disclosure (interpersonal). The data included what was helpful and difficult in the coming out process in addition to recommendations for counselors and clients.

Counseling teenagers can be difficult when traditional talk therapy may serve as a barrier in communication. A great deal of resistance may exist when working with teens because of their internal and external developmental transition from child to adult. In order to combat this, counselors must equip themselves with a variety of creative techniques that promote both verbal and nonverbal expression in a way that is therapeutic rather than stigmatizing. This article provides five creative and developmentally appropriate techniques for assisting counselors in increasing engagement while also allowing teenage clients to communicate their thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in a non-traditional way.

During practicum and internship experiences, school counselors-in-training may engage in counseling activities with diverse populations, including English language learners. High levels of need and limited training with this student population may result in low levels of resilience and self-efficacy for school counselors-in-training. Strategic and intentional support by counselor educators may bolster resilience in school counselors-in-training and yield needed counseling services for English language learners.

A qualitative grounded theory study was conducted to examine the perceptions and needs of eight novice school counselors beginning their first or second year. An emergent model (i.e., starting over, relying on previous knowledge and experiences, gaining/learning new knowledge and experiences, integrating previous and new knowledge and experiences, and looking forward) describing the mentoring process in relation to novice school counselors is presented. Recommendations are offered to enhance county or district student services or counseling programs, school counselor mentors, and school counselor education programs. In conclusion, suggestions are offered for future researchers.

In response to the call for more crisis intervention training from the American School Counselor Association and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, the authors explored the experiences of professional school counselors (PSCs) with students who have experienced border violence. This was a small exploratory study of a local situation: six PSCs were interviewed in a small city on the United States/Mexico border. The study revealed student themes of family loss, trafficking, and fear, as well as PSCs’ impressions of the impact of border violence.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Latinos represent the second largest racial/ethnic group enrolled in public K–12 schools (25%). Yet, little is known about how school counselors see their ability to work with Latino students. Thus, we asked school counselors to tell us how they view their ability to work with Latino students on 16 different tasks. Using these same tasks, we asked them about their inservice needs. The top task in terms of ability was: conceptualize Latino students’ cultures as different rather than deficient. The top three training needs were: (a) use functional Spanish to work more effectively with the Latino population, (b) understand how the students’ Latino cultural heritage impacts their education values, and (c) interpret Latino students’ nonverbal body language and its significance in counseling. The school counselors also identified the training modalities they would be willing to use: “anytime Web” (71%), “in person” (70%), and “live Web” (50%).

There are educational techniques that can positively impact teaching in the counseling profession. This paper describes an educational technique using Wordle. Wordle is word cloud visualization of text and is used in research and education. We present the use of Wordle in counselor ethics education to show how it can illustrate change in thinking and, ultimately, learning.

Over the last 50 years, several conceptual metatheories of grief have emerged. In chronological order, these metatheories focused on: (1) stage-based models, (2) task-based models, and (3) idiographic models. This article reviews the grief counseling literature and traces the development of the three metatheories. All three metatheories influence current clinical practice. This review suggests how certain outdated models may be impacting the effectiveness of grief support and what is needed to enhance the support being given to those in need.

This review of literature provides a comprehensive account of the instigative factors, history, and evolution of threat assessment teams (TATs) for target-based violence in institutions of higher education (IHEs). Through examining diverse approaches to threat assessment, this review investigates the most effective criteria for creating protocols to identify and manage threats of target-based violence. The objective is to provide a greater understanding of the precursors and warning signs to threats of violence, including an understanding of what psychosocial factors impel students to enact mass murder, so that TATs can implement preventative strategies to school violence. The generalized findings of the majority of studies point to the necessity for a multi-disciplinary team referencing fact-based predictors of violence, yet applying an individualized and preventative approach to each case of suspected violence.

Chronic pain is a highly prevalent condition in adults in the United States, commonly treated with pain relief medication. Long-term use of opioid treatment increases the risk of opioid use disorder. Integrative health treatments, which include cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based therapies, have the potential to lower the intensity of chronic pain in these patients. Replacing medication with these two therapies or combining these therapies with opioid substitution therapies, such as buprenorphine, could provide a more effective approach and can prevent opioid use disorders. This paper will review literature examining the efficacy of these two therapies, with or without opioid substitution, in treating co-occurring chronic pain and opioid addiction.

Confidentiality is a fundamental principle of the counseling profession. Recent events and initiatives, however, have led to a variety of efforts to infringe upon this principle by requiring mandated reporting of a number of issues, including domestic violence, infectious disease, animal abuse, professional impairment, and criminal activity, particularly sexual assault. This erosion of confidentiality needs to be examined by the helping professions, and further changes should not be implemented without thorough consideration of the unintended effects they could produce.

Animal welfare is a component that is largely absent in the dialogue surrounding the emerging field of animal-assisted therapy. This article will promote a deeper understanding of animal-assisted therapy, provide a guide to understanding canine behavior in the therapy room, and offer tools that counselors can use when working with therapy dogs. Further, methods of selecting and training an appropriate therapy dog will be discussed.

Transgender students often feel unsafe in schools and experience harassment, depression, and other mental health issues. School counselors play a vital role in supporting and advocating for all students, especially students who identify as transgender. The purpose of this article is to discuss recent literature related to working with transgender youth and to outline the best practices for school counselors when working with transgender students based upon a multiculturally competent framework. School counselors should be aware of and explore their attitudes as they relate to transgender students. Knowing ethical and legal obligations and using sensitive and inclusive language are imperative in working with transgender students. Additionally, developing skill sets and utilizing best practices that are supportive and inclusive are crucial in working with transgender students. With the growing transgender population and the continual development of legislation concerning transgender individuals, it is important that school counselors be competent and prepared to work with transgender students.

Almost 50 years ago, scientist and clinical psychologist Alfred Barrios inquired as to why hypnosis was not widely used as a clinical intervention. Today, this question continues to be pertinent. This article explores this question in more depth and provides a rationale is provided contextual overview of the evolution of hypnosis. A to support the use of clinical hypnosis as an effective intervention. Additionally, the integration of clinical hypnosis with cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of physical and mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and irritable bowel syndrome is pre ented. Implications and recommendations for counselors and counselor education programs are discussed.