I am going to guess that if you have arrived here, there is something going on in your life or the life of someone close to you that is puzzling or troubling, and you are seeking information to clarify a choice.

That information may involve thinking, feeling, or behavioral components, and you may have thought about talking to a professional counselor or are considering a career in counseling. (Yes!)

But before you make that decision, you want information about counseling tools, techniques, models, fields, ect.

I hope to provide you helpful tools, techniques, and recommendations based on my professional experience and training and my personal experience.

Counseling is an extraordinary experience. It works. My hope for you is that you find information here that will guide your search to a clinician or tool (many good educational programs online now) which enhances your sense of efficacy, brings more contentment,and allows you to live closer to your core values.

Counseling Defined

Counselors assist people with personal, family, educational, mental health, and career problems. Their duties vary greatly depending on their occupational specialty, which is determined by the setting in which they work and the population they serve.

Definition of Counseling from the American Counseling Association:

The application of mental health, psychological, or human development principles, through cognitive, affective, behavioral or systematic intervention strategies that address wellness, personal growth, or career development, as well as pathology.

First, The New Fields!

Neuroplasticity

Can the human brain change itself? Yes. Read here about neuroplasticity. The brain is a plastic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age. This revolutionary and recent discovery promises to overthrow the centuries old notion that the adult brain is fixed or unchanging. Yes, the brain can function more effectively, which makes us more effective for longer periods of time.

Brain Gyms

Our brains resemble our muscles in one key respect: don’t exercise them, and they’re likely to lose strength. Conversely, many experts now believe that brains stimulated in a healthy manner can better resist debilitating mental conditions such as Alzheimer’s. In fact, there are brain gyms opening now which utilize two of the programs found here, HeartMath and Luminosity.

Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The Positive Psychology Center promotes research, training, education, and the dissemination of Positive Psychology.

This field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

Positive Psychology has three central concerns: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions.

Understanding positive emotions entails the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future.

Understanding positive individual traits consists of the study of the strengths and virtues, such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, moderation, self-control, and wisdom.

Understanding positive institutions entails the study of the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturance, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, purpose, and tolerance.

Some of the goals of Positive Psychology are to build a science that supports:

Families and schools that allow children to flourish

Workplaces that foster satisfaction and high productivity

Communities that encourage civic engagement

Therapists who identify and nurture their patients' strengths

The teaching of Positive Psychology

Dissemination of Positive Psychology interventions in organizations & communities

More Traditional Counseling Fields

Educational, vocational, and school counselors provide individuals and groups with career and educational counseling.

School counselors assist students of all levels, from elementary school to postsecondary education. They advocate for students and work with other individuals and organizations to promote the academic, career, personal, and social development of children and youth. School counselors help students evaluate their abilities, interests, talents, and personalities to develop realistic academic and career goals. Counselors use interviews, counseling sessions, interest and aptitude assessment tests, and other methods to evaluate and advise students. They also operate career information centers and career education programs. Often, counselors work with students who have academic and social development problems or other special needs.

Elementary school counselors observe children during classroom and play activities and confer with their teachers and parents to evaluate the children’s strengths, problems, or special needs. In conjunction with teachers and administrators, they make sure that the curriculum addresses both the academic and the developmental needs of students. Elementary school counselors do less vocational and academic counseling than high school counselors.

High school counselors advise students regarding college majors, admission requirements, entrance exams, financial aid, trade or technical schools, and apprenticeship programs. They help students develop job search skills, such as resume writing and interviewing techniques. College career planning and placement counselors assist alumni or students with career development and job-hunting techniques.

School counselors at all levels help students to understand and deal with social, behavioral, and personal problems. These counselors emphasize preventive and developmental counseling to provide students with the life skills needed to deal with problems before they worsen and to enhance students’ personal, social, and academic growth. Counselors provide special services, including alcohol and drug prevention programs and conflict resolution classes. They also try to identify cases of domestic abuse and other family problems that can affect a student’s development.

Counselors interact with students individually, in small groups, or as an entire class. They consult and collaborate with parents, teachers, school administrators, school psychologists, medical professionals, and social workers to develop and implement strategies to help students succeed.

Vocational Counselors

Vocational counselors, also called employment or career counselors, provide mainly career counseling outside the school setting. Their chief focus is helping individuals with career decisions. Vocational counselors explore and evaluate the client’s education, training, work history, interests, skills, and personality traits. They may arrange for aptitude and achievement tests to help the client make career decisions. They also work with individuals to develop their job-search skills and assist clients in locating and applying for jobs. In addition, career counselors provide support to people experiencing job loss, job stress, or other career transition issues.

Rehabilitation Counselors

Rehabilitation counselors help people deal with the personal, social, and vocational effects of disabilities. They counsel people with disabilities resulting from birth defects, illness or disease, accidents, or other causes. They evaluate the strengths and limitations of individuals, provide personal and vocational counseling, and arrange for medical care, vocational training, and job placement. Rehabilitation counselors interview both individuals with disabilities and their families, evaluate school and medical reports, and confer with physicians, psychologists, occupational therapists, and employers to determine the capabilities and skills of the individual. They develop rehabilitation programs by conferring with clients; these programs often include training to help clients develop job skills. Rehabilitation counselors also work toward increasing the client’s capacity to live independently.

Mental Health Counselors

Mental health counselors work with individuals, families, and groups to address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote mental health.

They are trained in a variety of therapeutic techniques used to address issues, including depression, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal impulses, stress, problems with self-esteem, and grief.

They also help with job and career concerns, educational decisions, issues related to mental and emotional health, and family, parenting, marital, or other relationship problems.

Mental health counselors often work closely with other mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and school counselors. (Information on psychologists, registered nurses, social workers and physicians and surgeons, which includes psychiatrists, appears elsewhere in the Handbook.)

Substance Abuse Counselors

Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors help people who have problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling, and eating disorders.

They counsel individuals who are addicted to drugs, helping them to identify behaviors and problems related to their addiction.

Counseling can be done on an individual basis, but is frequently done in a group setting. These counselors will often also work with family members who are affected by the addictions of their loved ones. Counselors also conduct programs aimed at preventing addictions.

Marriage and Family Counselors

Marriage and family therapists apply family systems theory, principals and techniques to individuals, families, and couples to resolve emotional conflicts. In doing so, they modify people’s perceptions and behaviors, enhance communication and understanding among family members, and help to prevent family and individual crises. Marriage and family therapists also may engage in psychotherapy of a non-medical nature, make appropriate referrals to psychiatric resources, perform research, and teach courses about human development and interpersonal relationships.

Gerontological, Genetic, and Multicultural Counselors

Other counseling specialties include gerontological, multicultural, and genetic counseling. A gerontological counselor provides services to elderly people and their families as they face changing lifestyles. Genetic counselors provide information and support to families who have members with birth defects or genetic disorders and to families who may be at risk for a variety of inherited conditions. These counselors identify families at risk, interpret information about the disorder, analyze inheritance patterns and risks of recurrence, and review available options with the family.

Other Counseling Fields

Counseling and counselors can work in nutritional, or pastoral settings, using special tools, such as a counselor in an animal assisted setting, or use tools such as art, accupuncture, yoga, or are culturally based.

As this site grows, I will be providing information about counseling in all its myriad forms.

Please take advantage of the option on most pages to write me a note about your search. Your response will guide my work. Thanks from a counselor and a counselee.