current issues in clinical mental health counseling

With experiencing an existential crisis often comes a confrontation of how one is living their life and the meaning they are making within the life they are given. It doesnt feel hopeless, but as a person and a clinician, it is hard to always maintain that positive reframe in the face of all this, Ms. Fasten said. Climate change, exponential population growth and other factors will contribute to a further shortage of resources, and society will struggle with the conflicts that will ensue. Julia Bryans work in school-community-family partnerships is a serious testament to employing culturally responsive partnerships to further engage culturally diverse and historically marginalized students, especially students who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. "Just as we should rely on epidemiological science to tell us when there is a vaccine ready for mass use, we have to rely on psychological science to guide us through these mental health issues." And following an election that, for Challenge: A major implication of the above is that counselor training programs need to include training counselors for online delivery in their curricula. When I think about the direction of the counseling profession over the next five to 10 years, I think about the most recent spotlights on social injustice in the U.S., and I also think about how established we are becoming as a profession. A medical model emphasis on the importance of external symptoms necessarily undermines efforts to understand internal experiences. Counselor education and continuing education are filled with courses on the use of neuroscience, especially with people who are having difficulties coping because change is so fast. Given our knowledge and skills as counselors, we are ideally positioned to contribute to environmental advocacy, disaster preparedness and community resilience. However, as counselors, we know that all struggles hold opportunities for positive change. We are a well-prepared profession. As we are reflecting on the future of the counseling profession, it may be the recency effect, but many of the things we have seen in the past year or so seem like they will be relevant areas of focus for some time to come. A major change is that international accreditations are more prevalent and influencing counselors in positive multicultural ways more than ever. Counselors and clients are truly experiencing a global pandemic and existential crises together. Dee Wagner, a licensed professional counselor and dance/movement therapist since 1993, is the originator of Chi for Two-The Energetic Dance of Healthy Relationship. Examining these circumstances creates an opportunity for counselors to understand multiculturalism and marginalization in new ways. The opportunity and gift I believe COVID-19 has given us is a chance to reconstruct rather than live in complacency. Nine out of 10 therapists say the number of clients seeking care is on the rise, and most are experiencing a significant surge in calls for appointments, longer waiting lists and difficulty meeting patient demand. The next five years will bring greater opportunity for counselors to reach individuals in their respective communities who may have never had therapy or entered treatment. Black Lives Matter and other movements are engaging in social justice action to heighten societys awareness of oppressive systems of power and privilege. They dont have time to miss and desire each other.. Ideally, Millions of older adults have struggled with isolation, worthiness and mattering, yet gerontological counseling was dropped as a specialty area, and structural barriers (i.e., Medicare reimbursement) have made working with this population difficult. Of importance will be well-curated information and the digital literacy of both the counselor and the client. The month prior, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity published a study detailing the inflammatory predictors of anxiety and depression in COVID-19 survivors. Fortunately, suicidality is highly susceptible to intervention, and professional counselors are uniquely equipped not only to effectively intervene, but also to foster growth through adversity. I have come to believe that shaping the practitioner of the future is a critical task for the counseling profession. The voices of marginalized individuals and stakeholder groups must be heard. Exciting initiatives are imminent, similar to those provided by the Cultural Encounters Task Force ACA members who are standing in the gap and extending to counselors evidence-based practices designed to help facilitate difficult dialogues pertaining to race and culture. At minimum, mental health professionals will need to hold consistent awareness of what their public social presence beams to clients, along with the potential ascribed ethical, professional and ecological impact. Worldview - Addresses the appreciation of the perspectives of others and a personal development of a personal philosophy from which action and service arise. This past year, we also witnessed unprecedented numbers of Americans engage with the political process. By design, diverse governance provides role models and opportunities for mentorship and empowers aspiring leaders. By the medical model, I mean the alignment of specific treatments with particular symptoms or disorders, such as antibiotics for infections or cognitive behavior therapy for depression. Fighting: The infant fighting rhythms and the mismatching dances help us individuate within relationship as long as these moves do not trigger fight/flight in our caregivers. The year 2020 highlighted the creative ways that we do and do not attend to our wellness. Find yours and then join other counselors to make the change. Often when people think about the future, they think of technological advancements such as hovercrafts, holograms and artificial intelligence. Thats still true, but in the next decade, counselors will be known for being agents of growth and healing. Therapists described scenes of chaos in the background during online visits, and clients retreating to a closet, a bathroom or a stairwell for privacy. I live in a rural town, but I still get approximately seven to 10 inquiries a week that I have to turn away, said Amy Wagner, a marriage and family therapist in Carrollton, Ga. I know the other therapists in my area are also full and have been since the pandemic started., Every single day there are new inquiries, said Jacent Wamala, a marriage and family therapist in Las Vegas. COVID-19 has exposed the deep interconnectedness that our belief systems and actions have on each other and underlined the imperative of personal action for the greater good. Taking a trauma-focused approach equips us to acknowledge and understand how various traumatic experiences, whether they occurred in childhood or adulthood, may impact clients across multiple dimensions, including physical, emotional, cognitive, social-relational and spiritual well-being. The pandemic has changed public health and shone a brighter light on health care disparities, and it will leave a trail of lingering physical, economic and psychological effects across the globe. For that matter, will science prevail? Constant changes that do not slow and seem to impact multiple aspects of our lives. We need to join our interdisciplinary colleagues in creating new evidence bases for these emergent interventions. However, moving forward, contributions such as the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) will offer the muse that challenges the counseling community and affords us opportunities to grow both personally and professionally. So, what comes next? At the same time, we need to balance the growing knowledge base about intersectionality for all marginalized groups from a social justice lens. Research substantiates that nearly every system of the body the central and peripheral nervous systems, immune system, endocrine system and gastrointestinal system influences mental well-being and how our environment influences that process. Taking a contextual, integrative approach: Again, we have allowed ourselves to be limited by others definitions of evidence-based practices. How is technology used for mental health treatment? Others might scoff at digital communication. Understand the current state of the profession and the scope of mental health counseling practice across various settings Identify trends shaping the future of clinical mental health counseling practice. State Issues - American Counseling Association Heather Trepal is the immediate past president of the American Counseling Association and a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Social justice: Both the pandemic and climate change have in common a disproportionate impact on people of color, who not only are exposed to greater risks but also have fewer available resources to cope with these threats. This led to the creation of gatekeeping practices, deciding on access for opportunities in an educational setting that was founded on white norms. We heard from mental health providers in all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Although our survey did not ask about therapist burnout, about 10 percent of respondents raised the issue on their own. We are on the verge of a watershed moment in how mental health for centuries an enigmatic phenomenon is conceptualized. With increased issues with substance dependence, we need to make sure all counselors are prepared to assess for substance use disorder and provide appropriate treatment and referral if needed. Although training in addictions has been added to our professional standards, too many counselors do not feel adequately educated to address these issues. Three thousand six hundred fifty days in the future is a lot of days and I mean a lot a lot. And we have the opportunity to contribute to the overall understanding of how the climate crisis will impact the mental health and well-being of our most vulnerable neighbors. I predict that within the next 10 years, counselors will recognize all therapeutic work as bodywork an energetic dance that facilitates self-regulation. We must strategically take the time to build upon traditions that positively impact the lives of people across the globe. As Americans head into a third year of pandemic living, therapists around the country are finding themselves on the front lines of a mental health crisis. During my career, I have asked hundreds of people (mostly counselors) this question. For many counselors, we were distinctly trained to do our best to distinguish between our personal selves and our professional selves keeping boundaries clear. More educational support and training programs, including loans and scholarships, are needed to increase the number of trained counselors, particularly for people of color. However, the ramifications of these events will last long into the next decade. My highly work-motivated client is considering leaving her career. Not only are my clients reaping the benefits of this understanding, but I have as well, personally and professionally. You are trying to unearth what is going on, what factors contribute to the symptoms, and what you can do to help this client/student. There is a tremendous opportunity for counselor training programs to expand educational opportunities in the area of addictions counseling. Opportunity: This move to online or virtual services, of course, also provides a major opportunity. On Nov. 9, Psychology Today emailed our survey to a random sample of its verified professional membership. We work hard to advocate for and with our clients to meet their needs. When we attain Medicare reimbursement, will our profession be ready to meet the needs of older clients? Some clinicians said waiting times for psychiatrists and practitioners who can prescribe medications had also increased. Find your opportunity to make a difference. Telehealth is a part of social justice and advocacy, and the ability to seek counseling services becomes a clear social and ecological issue. Its true, there is a lot of work to be done, but I am hopeful. Now we are seeing its role in all social interactions. I have seen mothers while theyre nursing babies, men seeking help without their wives knowledge, people sitting in cars, said Susan Bisignano, a licensed independent clinical social worker in Scituate, Mass. The common factors of effective counseling will look and feel differently through text compared with face-to-face sessions. Our challenge: To conduct more outcome and process-based research and disseminate our findings in an accessible way. Whatever means are undertaken to address these barriers must prioritize client safety, emergency procedures and the reality that not all counselors practice ethically and safely, unfortunately. Chapter 3: Contemporary Theories and Models of Clinical Mental Health Counseling. We are entering a greater use of the semantic web (Web 3.0) where your device looks at your work, recognizes your preferences, and then provides you with choices for products and services that may interest you. 1. I think the future will hold more online practice and training than we had pre-pandemic. We have also seen the fear and insecurity that our neighbors who are members of the LGBTQ community feel who are afraid that their rights may be stripped away. Counselors will need to meet clients where they are, wherever they are. It is not too extreme to say that trauma is often an unseen factor affecting the two or three most troubling (and troublesome) patients a physician will see in any given day. It is clear that various forms of trauma mark broad swaths of practice. Our new professionals will be role models as a workforce generation that takes the counseling profession to the next level. If you are busy serving your clients, we need you to share your stories about turning away Medicare-insured clients. While telehealth seemed like a niche modality before the pandemic, clients, clinicians, insurance providers, and state and federal governments quickly recognized its benefits to meet the need for increased mental health services while being mindful of social distancing protocols. If we fail to address collective trauma in our profession, we risk becoming irrelevant (at the very least). Many changes have occurred within the counseling profession over the past three decades: gaining licensure in all states, strengthening professional identity, being recognized by insurance panels and government organizations, and increasing use of telehealth during the health pandemic. These conversations have emphasized counselor self-awareness, an understanding of client and community worldviews, and a call to action to minimize factors and conditions that might hinder client and group-level well-being. Since emotions like anxiety and grief settle deep in our cells, providing clients with ways to emphatically and consistently prioritize their own mental and physical health will be important future opportunities for counselors, including networking with complementary professionals whose practices supplement our roles.
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