Expert Interviews & Perspectives in Counseling

Even though we’re very excited to be accepted to college, the experience can be stressful. Moving away from the support of home, accepting financial burdens, coping with roommates, figuring out how a bureaucracy works, and preparing for seemingly endless tests and papers can be overwhelming.

Broadly speaking, social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing a learner’s social and emotional skills with the same level of focus as shown to other core subjects like reading, math, and science.

Expressive art techniques promote mental health and wellbeing. When clients allow themselves to laugh, let go, and relax, they can experience relief from painful thoughts and sensations, which helps decrease depression, anxiety, and stress.

Well-trained and dedicated sex therapists can play a life-changing role for their clients and for a sexually-empowered world.

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.

Variations of the word narcissism, which comes from a Greek myth about a handsome youth named Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection, have been around for millennia. But in the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud published a paper on narcissism, generating interest from the psychology community. It has since been seen as a legitimate psychological condition.

Music is an effective tool to bring forth strong emotions from the past. Sometimes clients cannot find the words to express what they feel in a counseling session but can choose, sing, or play a song.

Anticipatory grief is a form of grieving before a death or loss. It can present at the end of life, during a terminal diagnosis, the end of a meaningful relationship, or a significant life shift. For some clients who have experienced trauma, anticipatory grief can appear at any time during the life cycle, being triggered by traumatic stimuli.

Career counselors often work with high school students, college or university students, or veterans. Any adult seeking educational, vocational, or career advice can find career counselors in private practice settings. Career counseling is a process that can begin in high school and continue throughout an individual’s working life.

In the first part of this series, we gave an overview of mental health disability and employment, focusing on resources for creating a mental health-friendly workplace. In this piece, we explore the rights of individuals with mental health conditions in the workplace, common challenges, and advocacy efforts. Aaron Konopasky, senior attorney-advisor for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), offered his expertise as an attorney specializing in disability law, rights, and policy.