Voice of Experience

Sofia’s clothes were stylish and neatly pressed, and her jet-black hair was immaculate. Cropped short, not a strand was out of place. Subtle makeup highlighted her athletic features and youthful appearance, making her look much younger than…

Boundary violations happen in two general ways — a momentary bad decision or a long series of bad decisions that leads to a huge error. Here are examples of each. A clinician friend attended a client’s graduation party. She had worked with…

If you want to be a good counselor, know everything. Did I get your attention? I don’t really expect counselors to know everything, but I use this simple phrase to make a point. Remember how exciting it was when you finished your graduate…

My colleague sat across from me, teary-eyed, in the conference room where we had met so many times before while she was under my supervision. Now, only a few months into her new life as a fully licensed clinician, she had lost a client to…

Seven-year-old “Adam” (not his real name) concentrates on the project in front of him. He is coloring on a piece of paper on the floor in my therapy room, and I am sitting close beside him. Crayons litter the floor, and I can see him…