The Need for an Awareness of Specialized Issues in Counseling Alcoholic Women

Because of the increase in the number of women seeking treatment for alcoholism in recent years, it is essential that counselors give careful consideration to how this client population can most effectively be helped. Three counselors from the Alcohol Institute of the Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, were interviewed for this article. Their perceptions and experiences as alcoholism counselors are integrated with some of the current research on alcoholic women to provide a framework for professionals in a variety of settings to develop an awareness of the specific issues affecting alcoholic women and to begin to address these issues with their clients.     

Selected Trends in the Economic Status of American Women (1900–1986): Implications for Employment Counselors

The author compares selected data since the turn of the century to identify trends that affect the economic status of women in a changing world economy and the implications for counselors.     

Counseling Issues for Adult Women in Career Transition

This article addresses current psychosocial issues facing women in career transition and the implications of those issues for career counselors. Specifically, psychosocial developmental trajectories, the roles of family and relationships, the importance of underlying physical and mental health issues, and sociocultural and contextual stressors are relevant for women in the midst of career change. The author discusses how career counselors can prepare for this complexity and addresses clients' current economic and social milieus. A checklist is provided to aid the career counselor in addressing the multiple issues that a new client brings to the 1st counseling encounter.     

Mental Imagery in Counseling

Heightened interest in conscious mind phenomena such as mental imagery has been evident among professionals and lay people in recent years. In this article the author discusses some of the uses of mental imagery techniques in counseling. Special emphasis is given to the potential of mental images in the tapping of creative energy and other positive aspects of the “higher self that may enhance daily living. These uses of mental imagery have significant implications for contemporary counselors.     

Investigation of Ethnic Self‐Labeling in the Latina Population: Implications for Counselors and Counselor Educators

Using a qualitative approach, the author explored the process of ethnic label selection, change, and the meaning assigned to ethnic labels. Ten women of Mexican descent participated in semistructured, in‐depth interviews. Phenomenological analysis of the data revealed several themes, including the importance of family, ancestral traditions, and cultural traits; label as identity; and labels as complex and dynamic. Factors that influenced label choice, meaning, and change; implications for counselors and counselor educators; and limitations and suggestions for future research were addressed.     

Midlife Transitions in Women: Cultural and Individual Factors

Traditional views of women at midlife are often inaccurate and may be deleterious to the emotional and physical well‐being of women. The author reviews quantitative and qualitative research that may help guide counselors in their work with midlife women.     

Selfishness,Greed, and Counseling

Although the concepts of greed and selfishness have often been used in discussions about human nature, there seems to be little attention to these characteristics in the disciplines of psychology and counseling. The author considers characteristics of greed and selfishness as encountered in counseling from a multidisciplinary perspective. Factors that modify selfish behavior in social science research are identified. The author discusses implications for counselors in clinical practice.     

Women at Midlife: Implications for Theories of Women's Adult Development

Research on midlife transitions in women is reviewed, and implications for theories of women's adult development are discussed. Findings on menopause, the postparental period, and the roles of women at midlife are presented. Research on women at midlife suggests that new theoretical models of women's adult development should continue to emerge to accommodate the diversity of women's experiences at midlife. Several theoretical approaches are discussed in light of the research findings, and recommendations are made for future research on women's adult development. Implications for counselors working with women at midlife also are discussed.     

Doing and Undoing Gender in Commuter Marriages

Much recent literature has focused on how women and men “do” (and potentially “undo”) gender when juggling home and work responsibilities. Commuter marriages—in which dual-income professionals live apart due to the demands of their jobs—present a strategic context in which to investigate these gendered processes. Drawing upon theoretical work on doing and undoing gender, prior literature about gender dynamics at the nexus of home and work, and data from in-depth interviews with 97 other-sex commuter spouses, this analysis finds that in some ways these nontraditional arrangements are unique sites for undoing gender; yet, in other respects, standard gender roles are crystallized within these relationships. Specifically, for some women, these arrangements provide a respite from domestic demands, enabling them to function as hyper-productive, “masculinized” workers. However, commuter spouses also perform gender in ways that replicate the conventional gender structure. For example, living apart crystallizes many women’s roles as caregivers. These findings have implications for broader literature on gender, family, and work. They also have implications for counselors, institutional practices, and social policy; for instance, they caution against equating female autonomy with gender parity in making family policy.     

Counseling Adult Males

This article suggests that counselors must examine their own gender-role issues, become aware of the body of knowledge about men which is emerging in the literature, examine the implications of that literature on counseling men, and develop an effective approach to counseling men. The author presents a counseling focus on male gender-role issues similar to a decision model for counseling and explores the use of that focus for both counseling and research with adult males.     

The Impact of Parental Divorce on College Student Development

The author explores the developmental consequences of parental divorce on college students. A critique of the literature in this area and its implications for counselors are provided.     

Preventing Vicarious Trauma: What Counselors Should Know When Working With Trauma Survivors

Counselors in all settings work with clients who are survivors of trauma. Vicarious trauma, or counselors developing trauma reactions secondary to exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, is not uncommon. The purpose of this article is to describe vicarious trauma and summarize the recent research literature related to this construct. The Constructivist Self‐Development Theory (CSDT) is applied to vicarious trauma, and the implications CSDT has for counselors in preventing and managing vicarious trauma are explored.     

Men's Liberation and the Men's Movement: Implications for Counselors

This article briefly describes some of the changes in men that are a result of “men's liberation” and examines some of the evidence for the Men's Movement, a network of men and women across the United States and Western Europe that is a counterpart to the Women's Movement. The article also explores some of the implications of men's liberation and the Men's Movement for counselors who work with men wishing to change, especially in terms of developing partnerships as equals with women.     

Marihuana and the counselor: it's not so simple

This invited article takes a different position on the topic of marihuana from that discussed by William Camp in the previous article. The author of this article presents recent reports on marihuana research and points to the need for counselors not only to keep abreast of current developments in the area but also to “get it together” themselves before attempting to deal with clients who use marihuana and other drugs.     

An Investigation Into the Cognitive Functioning of Bulimic Women

The present study examined differences in selected areas of cognitive functioning of 18 bulimic and 23 nonbulimic women. The participants were compared on variables related to cognitive and behavioral coping and self-efficacy. Our results indicated differences between bulimic and nonbulimic women on all measures. Bulimic women demonstrated higher levels of dietary restraint; lower self-appraised problem-solving ability; lower sense of personal efficacy with regard to successful performance in a variety of life tasks; and a tendency to attribute positive events to external, global, and unstable factors. The results are discussed in the context of previous research and also present implications for practicing counselors.     

Physical Activity and Exercise: Implications for Counselors

The authors address current recommendations for physical activity and health, physical activity and mental well‐being, and implications for counselors and the counseling profession. Specifically, they review a recent article (P. M. Dubbert, 2002) published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and examine in detail the resulting implications for counselors and the counseling profession.     

Creating a Space for Spiritual Practice: Pastoral Possibilities with Sexual Minorities

Is a religious gay person an oxymoron? It appears possible, given that the research on religion and spirituality among sexual minority individuals is so limited. While books written on the intersection of religion and psychotherapy may include a chapter addressing the religious and spiritual lives of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, there are no critical texts focusing solely on this issue. In this paper, we review some of the most recent research on homosexuality, religion, and spirituality, and discuss how LGB individuals may integrate these two identities. A case presentation is offered and implications for pastoral counselors and methods of supporting the integration of the spiritual/religious identity in tandem with a LGB identity are also discussed.     

Gestalt therapy interventions for group counseling

Much interest has been focused on Gestalt therapy in recent years. Many counselors, however, are unfamiliar with this style of therapeutic intervention. The author offers a brief introduction to some of the basic tenets of Gestalt therapy, noting goals that are similar to those in counseling theories. He also suggests several interventions from Gestalt therapy to be considered for group counseling and discusses their applications.     

Predictability in Testing and Counseling

The concept of predictability is examined and its relevance for testing and counseling is assessed. Two types of studies, those designed to evaluate the concept, and research on deviant achievement suggest its potential value for test research and practice. Predictability, as such, has not been investigated in counseling, although many counselors realize that while some counselees move in expected directions (not necessarily “good”), others do not. To better understand the factors involved, counselors could make predictions and later compare them with actual results. Ethical problems arise, however, when “no help” or “harm” is predicted. Several types of research having implications for prediction of predictability are reviewed.     

Spiritual Dark Night and Psychological Depression: Some Comparisons and Considerations

The author contends that spiritual dark night and some forms of psychological depression share commonalties yet have distinctly different features that call for different responses from caregivers. The author presents comparisons between the 2 phenomena; highlights differences between them to offer counselors guidelines for making informed responses to their clients' issues; and compares professional preparation for spiritual directors, pastoral counselors, and traditional counselors. The article focuses on effective caregiver responses to dark night challenges that may be misperceived as manifestations of depression and stresses the importance of counselors and spiritual directors knowing their limits of expertise.