ACA MEMBER BLOGS

When you and your child are frustrated with each other try not to match their tone of voice and body language. This is difficult to do but you constantly have to remember as the father your child is paying attention to you even in the darker moments of family life and how you react along with tone of voice can do wonders for helping improve communication of true feelings.

Just how much of yourself do you need to change to belong to a community? What are you giving over when signing on that dotted line, whether it’s an actual sheet of paper, verbal declaration or taking on the community’s label? There is much talk about tribalism and the seemingly inherent problems it creates, pitting one group against another in some form of quest for supremacy.

The epidemic of Veteran Suicide is pervasive and insidious. As we prepare to celebrate those who served our nation, it would be well if we could take the time to have an honest conversation about the impact of veteran suicide.

The end of a long campaign between two very different, historically unpopular candidates is at its end.

This past week I’ve been focused on utilizing Motivational Interviewing with my clients. Although the concept is straightforward, actually practicing the technique in sessions has been a learning curve for sure. Thinking quickly to be able to pick up on the client’s emotion, reflecting that emotion back to them, and then following that up with a statement of fact has been a challenge at times.

The cornerstone of counseling is empathy. Without it we are ineffective in our work. Empathy is a skill we can teach and cultivate. Empathy involves perspective taking wherein a person takes the perspective of another person, refrains from judgment, recognizes emotion in other people, and communicates all of that. “I see where you are at, I feel where you are at, I feel with you.”

The polls have been tightening for the last ten days, but still show Hillary Clinton ahead. Here are trends and tactics to look for from both campaigns.

We often describe adolescence as the point where dramatic changes occur, both developmentally and socially. Teenagers are gathering information, trying to gain a sense of self as it relates to others. Adolescence becomes a journey of self-discovery, risks, decision making, and the forming of interpersonal relationships that they choose.

Recently I was struggling with remembering the meaning and purpose behind my work and my life. As a career counselor, I KNOW what to do about that but sometimes that’s the hitch: I know too much and it’s not easy sometimes to sort through thoughts and feelings on your own.

Losing one’s father can be a turbulent experience and time for a person of any age. The closer the relationship with one’s father the more acute and persistent the pain will last.