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

Joining a counseling profession is about more than understanding licensing requirements and reading step-by-step guides. This is a profession committed to continued education, listening, and learning. To be a successful counselor or therapist, you have to be engaged with and aware of the larger conversations in the community.

Whether you are just starting your counseling career or already working in the field, CS features cover topics relevant to you. It holds scholarship and resource guides, expert interviews, tips for avoiding burnout and compassion fatigue, discussions of the latest academic research, and detailed analyses of the most pressing advocacy issues within counseling professions. Overall, we bring you into the conversation around the biggest issues in counseling and professions today.

What Is a Nudge in Counseling?

Calendar Icon 08/03/23 Laura Freberg, PhD

Nudges can be distinguished from more formal demands, such as travel bans or vaccine mandates because the latter do not involve choices. Instead, warnings about dangerous behavior can be nudges such as a sign that says no lifeguard is present and you’re swimming at your own risk. This sign provides information that “nudges” the person not to swim there but does not take away the ability to do so.

Kink, BDSM, and Sex-Positive Counseling

Calendar Icon 07/26/23 Alex Stitt, LMHC

Affirmative counselors recognize how vital it is to validate a client’s sexual orientation, yet some mental health practitioners are reticent to talk about sex-positive identities and alternative sexual lifestyles like kink and BDSM. This can be very stifling for clients whose sexual journey is a foundational part of their lived experience.

Counseling Supervision: Types & What to Know

Calendar Icon 07/17/23 Lisa Hutchison, LMHC

Supervision is required to complete master’s or doctoral degrees, practicums, internships, and state licensure. Many companies require their counselors to meet with a supervisor regularly. Supervision is necessary for each counselor’s growth and support.

Memory Basics: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Calendar Icon 06/27/23 Laura Freberg, PhD

We all think we know a great deal about memory and have decent study skills. While that might be true, we can always do better. Cognitive science provides insights about where we can make the learning process easier and more efficient.

What is the Interstate Counseling Compact?

Calendar Icon 06/22/23 Rachel Drummond, MEd

The Interstate Counseling Compact is an ideal solution to one of the most pressing issues in mental healthcare today: access. By introducing a new agreement that enables licensed counselors (LPCs) and their clients to remain connected across state lines, this groundbreaking development eliminates the hindrances brought about by out-of-state moves, such as disrupted patient/therapist relationships and time pressures for counselors facing financial losses due to slow transitions.

Indigenous Healing Techniques and Counseling

Calendar Icon 05/26/23 Matt Zbrog

Through a long history of colonization, Western society’s Eurocentric views have excluded not only individuals and cultures but entire modes of thought. That myopia has hindered the efficacy and reach of counseling and psychotherapy. Fortunately, it’s starting to change.

Instilling Hope in Your Clients

Calendar Icon 05/09/23 Lisa Hutchison, LMHC

When clients show up for therapy, they often have exhausted all other resources, such as Internet searches, self-help videos, books, and other people’s advice. They may feel drained and unsure if therapy can help them.

LGBTQ+ Family Dynamics in Therapy

Calendar Icon 05/03/23 Alex Stitt, LMHC

LGBTQ+ clients can face some unique challenges in family therapy, especially when it comes to disclosing their sexuality or gender identity, setting boundaries with intolerant family members, and helping those in their life accept who they are.

How to Stay Motivated in the Field of Counseling

Calendar Icon 04/25/23 Lisa Hutchison, LMHC

A lack of motivation can be caused by a variety of sources. Some of these include stress, change, or an underlying mental health or physical condition. Other times, a lack of motivation can be a signal to make important changes in your career and lifestyle.

What is Ethical Non-monogamy? Power, Prioritization, and Fidelity

Calendar Icon 04/17/23 Alex Stitt, LMHC

Ethical non-monogamy, also called consensual non-monogamy, is an umbrella term for all the safe and consenting relationships beyond monogamy. This includes a spectrum of polysexual relationships with more than one sexual partner, and polyamorous relationships, which have more than one romantic partner.