News and Ideas for Your Career
The latest from Counselor Magazine: practice, policy, leadership and the people doing the work.
Emergency Management for Behavioral Health Care Professionals, Teams, and Organizations
An emergency management plan for behavioral health organizations is a written set of instructions that outline what the workforce at any workplace should do in an…
Overdose Safety Planning: A New Approach to the Opioid Epidemic
Defining the Problem Since the increase in prescription opioid supply in the 1990s, the United States has grappled with a staggering rise in opioid-related overdose deaths.…
Forensic Evaluators: Their History and Their Role in the Industry
Psychological forensic evaluations have historically been dominated by psychiatrists and psychologists, with credentialing bodies specifically designed to serve these professionals by providing the necessary training and…
Are You Training Your Staff for Their Next Job? Retaining Your Clinical Workforce
It would come as no surprise to anyone working in the substance use disorder (SUD) prevention/treatment and recovery industry that there is an obvious staffing problem…
When Darkness Becomes Light and Light Becomes Darkness
Oriental medical practitioners like me use the concept of ‘opposite interdependent energies’ to explain and highlight the necessity of balance in the body and in the…
Navigating Medical, Health Plan, Social Service, and Other Systems
Our two previous articles discussed caregiving as a public health problem; types, recipients, and challenges of caregiving; and the effects of caregiving on the health and…
Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in the LGBTQ+ Community: Challenges, Support, and Destigmatization
Mental health constitutes a pivotal component of overall well-being, impacting every individual regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Nevertheless, members of the LGBTQ+ community…
The Pervasive Myth of the Evidence-Based Practice
The 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, once said that “The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie—deliberate, contrived and…
Securing Patient Data: Best Practices for Behavioral Health and Addiction Treatment Professionals
The behavioral health and addiction treatment industries handle some of the most sensitive and valuable patient data in all of health care. And yet many professionals…
Creating Inclusive Recovery Cities
What is the background and foundations to the Inclusive Recovery Cities model? Recovery is a global phenomenon, but it is very clear that while there are…
Bridging the Gap: A Practical Crosswalk Between the 12 Core Functions and the 12 Core Competencies in Substance Use Counseling
Introduction For more than three decades, the 12 Core Functions have provided the backbone of professional alcohol and drug counseling. From screening to consultation, these functions…
Evolving Addiction Treatment: Terminology and Policy Changes
In recent years, the field of addiction treatment has undergone significant transformations, particularly regarding terminology and federal policies governing medication dispensing. These changes aim to reduce…