Mental Health Professionals Serving the Military: Who Has Access?

Licensed counselors are underrepresented as mental health professionals (MHPs) servicing military-connected clients (service member/Veterans and their families). Mixed-methods research, conducted by the authors, highlights key viewpoints of MHPs (counselor, psychologist, and social worker) interested in working with the military and on their level of confidence in working with this population. MHPs’ experiences, perspectives of their profession’s responsibilities to military clients, and their role in comparison to other MHPs is explored. Findings aid in advocacy efforts for the military population to receive counseling from qualified providers and support counseling program development to increase counselor employability among this group

Wellness-based Writing Retreats: Promoting Academic Productivity across Professional Stages within Counselor Education

The need to publish is a pressure that academics face regardless of discipline. Counselor educators are subject to professional expectations including academic writing and mentorship. Structured writing groups and writing retreats are known to increase writing productivity. This practice based article describes the impact of a wellness-based writing retreat carried out by early career faculty and doctoral students. Suggestions for how to integrate wellness into academic writing retreats and its added benefit to mentorship are included