This study proposed that maternal bereavement in women who experienced miscarriage and women who terminated for fetal abnormality would differ related to the existence of a grief reaction, and to identify the factors that differentiated the two groups. There were no significant grief differences between the miscarriage group and termination group. The groups were then combined to analyze within group factors. Six fixed variables were found to be related to vulnerability for a grief reaction. Factors included: time since the most recent loss; intervention of counseling; employment outside the home; feeling responsible for the perinatal loss; age of the mother as related to guilt; and gestational length of pregnancy.

The relationship between child sexual abuse and adult sexual functioning is well-established. Given the documented high incidence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and negative consequences for adult sexuality, many mental health counselors will encounter and provide therapeutic services to members of this population. Counselors must have a good understanding of how sexual victimization during childhood impacts a woman's sexuality and sex life. We discuss the prevalence of CSA among women in different populations and the significant impact it has on women's sexuality. Generalized practice issues are applied using a case study and phase-oriented approach.

Psychology, counseling psychology, and professional counseling are at a crossroad. The growing movement to establish professional counseling as a distinct profession, based on an increasingly narrow definition of professional identity, is particularly relevant to counseling psychologists and professional counselors and has implications for the broader field of psychology. A brief systematic historical analysis of these professional specialties in the U.S. provides the context to examine current challenges, including proposed restriction of master’s level training, licensure or other authorization to practice, and employment to graduates of programs accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). These restrictions reduce services to the public and threaten the viability of counseling psychology and professional counseling in the U.S. These challenges also have significant implications for counseling psychologists in Europe and internationally given similar efforts. Going beyond a call to action, the article concludes with recommendations for counseling psychologists and allied professionals to address shared challenges, maximize shared opportunities, and foster enhanced intra- and inter-professional collaboration and cooperation.

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