The COVID-19 pandemic and heightened awareness of racial injustice and discrimination in the United States are likely to have a negative impact on mental health. This is concerning, given the already alarming prevalence rates of trauma exposure and adverse childhood experiences in the U.S. general population prior to the current pandemic, their immediate and long-lasting effects on human development across the life span, and their documented effects on adult chronic health conditions. For clinical mental health counselors (CMHCs) to respond effectively to the needs of the U.S. general population, entry-level counseling programs must provide comprehensive trauma training and education. The purpose of this article is to provide information about clinical competencies and relevant training requirements for CMHCs in trauma prevention and treatment to highlight the need to require comprehensive trauma training in entry-level academic training programs for CMHCs through relevant research and policy.
Most individuals receiving mental health treatment have trauma histories, yet counselors and counselor educators trained in traditional counseling programs have insufficient background in trauma and trauma-informed care. Here, we describe the literature-supported approach we use to integrate trauma knowledge and competencies across the graduate clinical mental health counseling program.
K E Y W O R D Scounselor education, sanctuary model, trauma, trauma-informed pedagogy, vicarious trauma
GAPS IN TRAUMA COMPETENCIES IN GRADUATE TRAININGThe standard graduate clinical training curriculum offered across mental health disciplines provides insufficient knowledge and competencies to prepare students to work with trauma-exposed clients
This study explored the experiences of addictions counselors who have undergone client death and the immediate and long-lasting impacts of client death on addictions counselors through the consensual qualitative research (CQR) method. We conducted semistructured interviews with 10 participants exploring their lived, in-depth, experiences in working with clients with addictive disorders with focus given to the death of clients and how they responded to the experience. Results from a data analysis process using the CQR method indicate eight domains: (a) professional ethics, (b) coping skills, (c) client care, (d) preparation for profession, (e) experience of addiction, (f) agency impact, (g) exploring the death experience, (h) recommendations, and 28 categories embedded in each of these domains. Implications for counselor education, training, and practice are discussed.
K E Y W O R D Saddictions counselors, client death, client care, consensual qualitative research, grief and loss
NEVER READY: ADDICTIONS COUNSELORS DEALING WITH CLIENT DEATH THE NATURE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF SUD-RELATED DEATHAlthough many individuals who bereave respond to bereavement adaptively, it is imperative to identify risk factors for those who might develop bereavement-related negative consequences such as mental health conditions (Crunk et al., 2017). In order to promote such efforts, it is critical to
The American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) standards of practice contain the only comprehensive currently existing set of standards for neuroscience-informed counseling. While these competencies exist, titled the Biological Basis of Behavior Standards, little direction has been provided to counselor education programs or current practitioners about how counselors should best develop these competences. An AMHCA Neuroscience Taskforce was commissioned by AMHCA President-Elect Eric Beeson in 2017 to develop a pilot neuroscience training program for counselors that addressed the AMHCA Biological Basis of Behavior Standards. During the first year, the taskforce recognized that a training model was needed to outline the training content and sequence that counselors should complete before a pilot training program could be developed. In this article, taskforce members describe the training model and discuss directions for implementation of this training model by counselor education programs and continuing education providers.
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