CS Features – Expert Interviews, Guides, Professional Advocacy & Research in Counseling

According to The Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health and Sustainable Development, there are four common underpinnings to struggles with mental health: isolation, a lack of access to fundamental rights and services, exclusion, and prejudice.

Accidental injuries, a category that includes drug overdoses, are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45—a situation that seems unlikely to change any time soon. A major contributing factor to this crisis is the opioid epidemic, which continues to ravage the country. More than 105,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in November 2023, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Virtual counseling is a form of mental health counseling provided through digital platforms like video calls, phone calls, or messaging. Think of it as telehealth for counseling. Popularized during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s here to stay.

Although it has been years since the world moved past the challenges of Covid-19, many organizations are still working to provide all the benefits of the conference experience to those within the professional counseling community.

I subscribe to a number of medical newsfeeds, and the responses from the physicians to the GLP-1 agonists can only be described as “giddy.” Doctors spoke of their joy at “finally” having something that could help their patients lose weight.

When you think of the best moments of your childhood, outside of your home, who comes to mind? A favorite teacher, coach, neighbor, friend? Whether formal or informal, positive relationships with mentors benefit youth and adults.

The Association for Play (APT) provides the official definition of play therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.”

Starting out with essential archetypes like houses, bridges, animals, heroes, villains, and family figures, sandplay therapists soon become avid collectors, amassing all kinds of cultural symbols to be as inclusive as possible. However, since it can be difficult to find LGBTQ+ representation when shopping for miniatures, let’s explore some recurring themes in LGBTQ+ mental health, and how sandplay therapists can diversify their collection.

Racism and bias permeate every facet of American society, including the nation’s schools. As mental health professionals, school counselors have the unique opportunity to help students unpack, communicate, and confront the racism and bias they experience in and out of the classroom.

Prior to the global health crisis, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans were already at greater risk of mental health problems, illicit drug-use, and suicide. Gay and lesbian youth are 3.7 times as likely to attempt suicide as their heterosexual peers, and transgender teens are almost six times as likely.