This article discusses the complexities associated with adopting a not-knowing stance in Child and Youth Care practice. By highlighting some of the challenges, it also clarifies the distinctions between practitioner lack of knowing how to proceed and an intentional, uncertain attitude when working with children, youth and families. Recommendations…

Background: While school-based mental health professionals obviously must provide mental health services to students directly, the literature is increasingly identifying an empowerment role for these professionals, whereby they support teachers as primary service providers. The purpose of this study was to identify subtypes of school social…

Counseling is a professional field that requires as much or more courage than virtually any non-life-threatening occupation. In a fashion analogous to both the fire fighter or the police officer who is in direct physical danger, effective counselors must fortify themselves and prepare themselves as well as possible when they enter the unknown and…

This chapter presents counseling ideas and strategies to promote family trust and confidence. These steps include getting the family into the office, the role of proper attire, displaying of credentials, seating arrangements, and the acquisition of informed consent. Also presented is the author's approach to a first family counseling session, with…

This article presents the results of a study intended to establish baseline information and a database relative to counselors' receipt of third party payments. This database provides information against which to measure the success of future efforts to gain recognition and benefits for counselors with insurance agencies and other third party…

This article discusses characteristics and needs of gifted children, the counselor's role in developing giftedness, counseling techniques useful with gifted children, and skills needed by counselors. The counselor's role is seen as including consultant and coordinator as well as counselor. Cognitive, psychoanalytic, and self-directed approaches to…

Summarizes major changes in popular music associated with youth cultures, including lyric content, buying trends, and listening patterns. Implications for counselors are discussed. (BL)

Calls client resistance a frequent occurrence within the helping profession. Defines client resistance, provides a brief review of related literature, and offers counselor attractiveness as one way of addressing the issue. Identifies attractive counselor behaviors and attitudes and presents case study illustrating specific attractive counselor…

A successful alcoholism counselor needs to have a suitable personality, the proper training, and a realistic idea of what it is like to work in the field. In order to assess the necessary personal qualities and training, and to obtain firsthand information about working as an alcoholism counselor, alcoholism counselors and supervisors (N=50)…

Although self-employment is a growing career option in Canada, many career practitioners find it personally difficult to make the leap from being an employee to starting a business. E-mail surveys completed by 13 self-employed career practitioners and counselors revealed six key factors that contributed to their business success: vision and…

This review examines literature on counseling techniques for use with gifted underachievers (GUA). The review begins with a discussion of definitions of underachievement and the various types of underachievement. The paper then evaluates types of counseling, counselor variables, length of counseling intervention, and grade level of counseling.…

Interpersonal behaviors and factors may facilitate or hinder the ability of one person to exert influence over another. To investigate the impact of counselor smoking behavior and status on potential clients' perceptions of counselor attributes, credibility, and expected helpfulness, 134 female college students viewed one of three vignettes…

There is a growing trend for some counselors to adopt and advertise specific value positions and counseling orientations. To explore potential clients' perceptions of information contained in "traditional" and "feminist" therapists' announcements of services, 52 males and 52 females received one of four announcements…

This chapter begins with a historical perspective of multiculturalism and diversity issues within the counseling profession. The author hopes to challenge counselors who conduct family work to adopt a personalized approach to cultural self-understanding and skill development through personal introspection. Case examples, questions, and…

Proposes three ways in which counselors may be seen as contributing to client resistance: counselor wants client to be and to behave in counselor-imposed ways; counselor actively constructs complementary role that client is to fulfill; and counselor maintains entrenched belief in truth of "client resistance." Suggests strategies to help…