Avoiding Boundary Violations: Recommendations for Managing Attraction to and From Clients in Response to the Healthcare Providers Service Organization’s 2019 Report

The standards regarding sexual relationships with clients are among the most clearly stated in the codes of ethics for the American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association. However, the majority of liability claims filed against counselors are for boundary violations of a sexual/romantic nature. Aggregate insurance liability data are presented, followed by management strategies related to attraction.

Disability Content in the Journal of Counseling and Development and Social Work: A Comparative Analysis

The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of how disability is addressed in the Journal of Counseling and Development ( JCD), the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association. A review of disability content in JCD was compared with a review of disability in Social Work ( SW), the flagship journal of the National Association of Social Workers. A series of between and within analyses for JCD and SW addressed the frequency, focus areas, and trends concerning how both journals addressed disability content over their histories. Overall, SW published a higher rate of disability content articles. Mental health was the most common disability domain addressed in both journals; however, JCD has published most of its disability content articles on mental health over the past two decades. The findings of the present study are discussed concerning prior research, historical events, and implications for accreditation.

Robert L. Smith: Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Mentor, & Beloved Colleague

This remembrance of Dr. Robert L. Smith, 63rd President of the American Counseling Association, contains recollections, tributes, and anecdotes about the life career of a major contributor to the profession of counseling. Dr. Smith's roles as collaborator and mentor are evidenced in the words of students, colleagues, and leaders. He founded the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and served as Executive Director of the organization. Personal qualities enabled Dr. Smith to share his gifts with those he mentored. His influence in counselor education will continue through the lives of those who knew and loved him.

Ethical Considerations for Play Therapy Supervision

This chapter will address the ethical considerations for play therapy supervision. The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics will be discussed in relation to the supervision process. Ethical issues that will occur during the play therapy process will be presented and discussed. The role of the supervisor in assisting the supervisee during the play therapy process and working with parents/caregivers will be explored in relation to ethical issues. A case study will highlight some ethical issues and provide some implications for discussion.

A Call for Social Justice in the American Counseling Association (ACA)

Leaders and members of seven social justice-oriented divisions of the American Counseling Association (ACA) met at a Social Justice Summit called by the Counselors for Social Justice in March 2019 at the ACA National Convention in New Orleans. The goal of the summit was to create conversations among members of these seven divisions around ways to improve social justice within the ACA. These discussions at the summit were transcribed and summarized for the purpose of creating a document to outline how ACA could improve its social justice practice. The resulting call for social justice in ACA includes three topics derived from discussions of social justice in the counseling profession: social justice in the organization of ACA, social justice for the people in ACA, and social justice at the ACA conference. Implications for improved social justice practice in the organization are provided.

Knowledge is Power: An Analysis of Counseling Professionals’ Medicare Policy Proficiency

This study examines counseling professionals’ knowledge concerning the Medicare program and related advocacy efforts. American Counseling Association members (N = 5,097) answered a series of true-false questions that were intended to measure proficiency in two areas: Medicare policy and the counseling profession’s advocacy for provider eligibility. Statistical analyses indicated that members have a wide range of Medicare knowledge. A significant difference in advocacy history knowledge was found when comparing counselor educators, practicing counselors, doctoral students, and master’s students. However, no differences in policy knowledge were present among these groups. Implications for the counseling profession and counselor training are discussed.

The innovative breakthrough of neurocounseling through overview of phobia student’s brain waves

Counselors are striving to make sure that their counseling process is scientifically based. A new Counseling paradigm that related to neuroscience, called Neurocounseling, is acknowledged by the American Counseling Association (ACA) and became a new branch of Counseling in 2015. This study is used Neurocounseling paradigm to understanding the psychological condition of the client (student) in the counseling stage. Preliminary study showed us that 46 students from 80 students had showed phobia symptom. It means that 50% students are suffering learning disorder with various levels. We designed our research to record students with phobia symptom’s brainwaves through Electroencephalography (EEG). The record of counselee brainwave will make counselors achieve a better result of counseling because it will help them to choose the right counseling technique. We used qualitative approach and case study to find out student with phobia symptom’s brainwave and mental condition. We used some data collecting techniques: interview, observation, and documentation. The finding showed us that the main brain wave of counselee with phobia symptom is Beta wave in frequency 20-30Hz, it means counselee has a high level of anxiety. Counselee also had a deep tension on nerves and muscles during brainwaves record in the counseling process.