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MH, CSSA, CSL & CAS students –
Looking for electives this Spring? Consider the following special electives:
1146 CSL-597 01 Positive Psychology
Mondays at 4:30 p.m.
This course will introduce students to the scientific study of positive psychology. Historical perspectives, research, and the application of positive psychology principles will be applied to individual as well as societal paradigms. The course will explore the study of positive emotions, individual personality traits, and human communities where positive living is promoted. Students will examine emotional strengths, mores, and ethical principles, as they relate to human self-actualization. The course will provide opportunities for students to self-examine, develop psychological strengths, and facilitate growth in others.
2217 CSL-597 02 Coll. Admissions CSL
This is a hybrid course; some classes will meet Wednesdays at 7:15, others will be online.
This course explores the college admissions process, with emphasis on current issues confronting school counselors. Application and admissions criteria for various types of colleges will be reviewed along with the financial aid process. Issues around counseling the college bound student will be explored with an emphasis on college counseling for special student populations. Students will gain an understanding of the resources available to counselors in the college admissions process including print material, software, web sites and organizations. Professional, ethical and legal issues will be discussed.
HESC College Access and Financial Aid Training for School Counselors
We cordially invite all school counselors to join HESC's staff and NYSFAAA for the 2010 HESC College Access and Financial Aid Training For School Counselors. This series of half-day workshops for school counselors offers an ideal opportunity for attendees to learn about available federal and state financial aid programs, including recent developments, with particular emphasis on providing financial aid and other information useful in assisting students who are at risk of not attending college.
Meeting Resources
- Registration Form
- Workshop Dates and Locations
- Meeting Agendas
(additional agendas coming)
- Saranac Lake, November 3
- Syracuse, November 19
- Albany, November 22
- Binghamton, December 8
- Rochester, December 9
Many of the high need students and families you deal with everyday face obstacles that may hinder them from receiving financial aid. This may be due to a lack of available information about their particular situations or difficulty in navigating the financial aid process and completing the FAFSA. This workshop will address special circumstances in financial aid such as non-traditional families, homelessness, and residency, as well as strategies for dealing with difficult families, and early awareness opportunities.
The sessions will be offered at no charge. We look forward to your participation.Locations and Dates
This year the workshops will be held between November 3 and January11 at the following locations:Buffalo, Syracuse, St. Bonaventure, Albany, Long Island, Binghamton, Rochester, North Country, and New York City. For specific information about dates and venues use the quick link above.Reservations Required
Registration is required. Reserve your place at a workshop using our online registration form. We recommend that you register early since seating is limited.
There is no limit on the number of individuals who may attend from each institution, but each person planning on attending must register individually.
Please check in at the registration table for admission to the workshop.Day-of-Workshop Check-In
Check-in at all sites will start at 8:30 a.m., with training beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at about 12:00 p.m. Use the quick link above to learn more about the topics that will be discussed.Questions?
If you have any questions regarding the training, please call George Cuprill at (518) 486-7159.
*Information taken from Website.
Day of Mindfulness for Therapy Friday, November 19, 2010
Student Discount: $50.00
Sign up TODAY!
See Below Blog post for more information on the workshop.
This day-long program offers an introduction to mindfulness practice for therapists and other helping professionals. We will practice mindfulness and explore the benefits of mindfulness for both self-care and authenticity in the therapeutic relationship. Consider this a day of relaxation, reconnection and replenishment
Background
Over the past decade, mindfulness, the cultivation of intentional, present-focused awareness, has emerged as a significant influence on contemporary psychotherapy. Grounded in the 2500 year-old tradition of Buddhist meditation and psychology, mindfulness is a key component in a wide variety of empirically validated interventions, including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Neuroscientists are mapping how mindfulness training can change the brain, and scholars are taking a fresh look at the nature of “self,” emotion regulation, com-passion, wisdom, and the far reaches of human potential. The principles of mindfulness offer a compelling, new understanding of how psychological problems are created and alleviated.
Mindfulness is a core healing process in psychotherapy. It can be used to strengthen the therapy relationship and to enhance the lives of patients and clients through the formal or informal practice of mindfulness meditation. Clinicians who practice mindfulness meditation may reap the rewards of more sustained interpersonal connection and enjoyment of the therapy process.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is defined by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, as “The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.” Through mindfulness, we learn to cultivate freedom and joy within our everyday experience.
With the busy pace of our lives, it is easy to find ourselves lost in the past or carried away by the future. Mindfulness practice helps us to return to ourselves and an inner sense of steadiness, ease and well being. We cultivate a nourishing connection to ourselves in the present moment that becomes a source of strength and support in facing pain, anger, confusion, self doubt, shame, and other difficult feelings and thoughts both in ourselves and with our clients. Thus, mindfulness is a skill that allows us to be less reactive to what is happening in the present moment. It is a way of relating to all experience – positive, negative, and neutral – such that our overall level of suffering is reduced and our sense of well-being increases.
When we are mindful, our attention is not entangled in the past or future, and we are not judging or rejecting what is occurring at the moment. We are present. This kind of energy generates clearheadedness and joy. By not judging our experience, we are more likely to see it as it is.
Mindfulness in Psychotherapy
As clinicians, mindfulness is a profound support to our work. By cultivating acceptance and awareness in the face of all of life’s experience we create a reservoir of ease and a capacity to be with our own and our client’s experience. This Day of Mindfulness for Therapists is an opportunity to refresh your practice and cultivate a depth of stillness and attention that will enhance your therapeutic skills. Moments of mindful attention are often available to us – but they can be fleeting and easily lost to the habitual power of discursive thought. By practicing mindfulness, we enhance our ability to remain present and connected both in our work and in our lives.
This workshop is appropriate for therapists and all others who seek a deeper ability to connect in a helping relationship through the practice of mindfulness.
Karen Beetle, LMHC
This program is facilitated by Karen Beetle MA, LMHC. Karen is a psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher, and long term meditator. She provides therapy through the Colonie Youth Center, Capital EAP, and in private practice. She teaches mindfulness-based stress reduction, and offers workshops on mindfulness and wilderness meditation retreats. Read her blogs on mindfulness for the Times Union at http://blogs.timesunion.com/holistic health.
Registration
For more information, contact the Colonie Youth Center’s Counseling Program at 422-4356 or Karen Beetle atkabeetle@aol.com. The cost for this workshop is $85. Lunch is included.
To register, send your name, address, e-mail and a check for $85 made out to the Colonie Youth Center to: Colonie Youth Center, 21 Aviation Rd. Colonie, NY 12205. You will receive confirmation and directions by e-mail.
A Welcome Back Night at Siena College where members and nonmembers can network with new and veteran colleagues. Gloria Jean, CDCA Present, and other CDCA officers will welcome you with news of coming programs and opportunities. Join the casual chat with light fare and cocktails provided by Siena College.Keynote: Gloria Jean has been an elementary, middle and high school counselor as well as a counselor educator and guidance director. Now working as an education consultant and volunteer for CDCA and NYSSCA, Gloria is looking forward to leading us through a great year!
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued qualification standards formally recognizing licensed professional counselors as mental health specialists within the Veterans Health Administration. The standards, released internally to VA staff late on September 28th, and available online athttp://www1.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=507&FType=2, are the culmination of years of work by ACA, the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) to open up mental health provider jobs within the VA to professional counselors. This is a landmark step forward for the counseling profession as well as an important means of expanding the pool of mental health service providers available to meet the large unmet treatment needs of our nation's veterans.
You can learn more about the new VA standards and other ACA policy work by participating in our conference call TOMORROW, OCTOBER 5th, at 1:00pm Eastern Time. To join the call, dial 1-866-220-0969, and enter the passcode *1603550*.
The new standards set categories and criteria for employment within the VA. The standards establish several levels of employment within the GS-101 series for counselors–entitled "Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors" (LPMHC)–similar to and on par with the positions currently in place for clinical social workers:
GS-9: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Entry Level – for individuals with a graduate degree in counseling but who have not yet become licensed)GS-11: Licensed Professional Mental Health CounselorGS-12: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Program CoordinatorGS-12: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor SupervisorGS-13: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor Program ManagerGS-14: LPMHC Program Manager Leadership AssignmentsThe regulations require counselors to have a master's degree in mental health counseling or a related field from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to addiction counseling; community counseling; gerontology counseling; marital, couple, and family counseling; and marriage and family therapy.
If not yet licensed and hired at the GS-9 level, a VA counselor must become licensed at a date set by her or his supervisor. Failure to become licensed within two years from the date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-101 LPMHC series and may result in termination of employment. Once licensed, counselors must maintain a valid and unrestricted license to independently practice mental health counseling, which includes diagnosis and treatment.
While it is the last formal step in the VA employment process, it will take time for counseling positions to be posted on http://usajobs.gov orhttp://www.vacareers.va.gov, and for counselors to be appropriately recognized within the VA health care system. ACA, NBCC, and AMHCA are continuing to work with the VA on implementation of the new position descriptions and their use by VA facilities, as well as on obtaining the adoption of the standards by the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for their use throughout the federal government. We will also be suggesting modifications to the standards, and monitoring their implementation to ensure that licensed professional counselors are being adequately recognized for–and hired in–mental health specialist positions within the VA.
To help us ensure the process is working, we strongly encourage counselors to contact us to share their experiences in seeking positions within the VA under the new standards. Please share your experiences with me at the e-mail address below.
If you have questions about your eligibility for VA positions, please contact the human resources staff at your local VA office.
*from: website
New York State School Counseling Association is putting on its annual conference November 5-6, 2010
at the Doubletree Tarrytown, in Tarrytown, New York. I am looking for graduate student volunteers to help at the conference. Volunteers are needed to help at the registration desk, the nyssca store , introduction of conference presenters and collection of workshop evaluation forms. Volunteering is a great way to network with fellow graduate students and people in the counseling profession. If you are interested please email me at jcawley@nscsd.org. If you have any questions you can email me at the same address.GUIDELINES FOR VOLUNTEERING1. You must be able to volunteer both Friday and Saturday of the conference.2. You must be a graduate student at the time of the conference3. There is a registration fee of $150.00 This is a reduced rate for volunteers. (You will be ableto attend workshops as part of your volunteering)
All graduate students who become a member or renew their membership between August 1 and October 31, 2010 will be eligible for the drawing for the grants. Winners will receive either a complete convention package (registration, hotel, travel) or convention registration only. All grant winners will be invited to a reception with the Governing Board in the president’s suite at the ACPA Baltimore 2011 Convention.
You must register for the convention between October 6 and November 15, 2010. Join ACPA today.
“Healing from a Holistic Perspective”
Sage is sponsoring a daylong Mental Health Conference on serving the needs of veterans and their families on November 12, 2010, as part of their week-long series of events and activities on November 8-12 2010. Mental Health Professionals are invited to learn
“from interdisciplinary speakers on a variety of topics including therapeutic, spiritual, & practical approaches for treating complex issues confronting veterans as they reintegrate into an ever changing societal landscape”.
Monday, Nov. 8 : Women and War from 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Tuesday, Nov. 9 : Multimedia Day from 12:30 to 2:00 PM
Wednesday, Nov. 10 : Community Day from 1:00 to 7:00 PM
Thursday, Nov. 11 : Veterans Day from 11:00 to 4:00 PM, 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Friday, Nov. 12 : Mental Health Clinical Conference from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
To learn more details about this week’s events and registration form please visit http://www.sage.edu/veterans/week/
The Stop Abuse Action Committee is holding a shoe drive to collect shoes (new and unwanted or gently used) from both males and females of any style to be used for a creative/educational display called "Every Sole Has a Story" around campus during Domestic Violence Awareness Week (October 18-22). This display will help to educate students on campus about domestic violence, while also giving voice to survivors' stories. Shoes are being collected September 20th through October 1st in a drop box in the Student Affairs office. Once the display is over, all shoes will be donated to a local domestic violence shelter.
*Click on Image to view flyer*
This workshop is aimed toward people with at least a basic understanding of Cognitive Therapy and any mental health professional or doctoral level student is invited to attend.
The workshop will focus on discussing participants' cases. We will encourage you to bring DVDs of your challenging or complex patients. We will use these cases to develop, as a group, cognitive conceptualizations and treatment plans. We will do demonstration roleplays and divide into small groups to practice skills through roleplaying. You will have the chance to interact with and learn from workshop presenters Dr. Aaron Beck and Dr. Judith Beck and senior faculty of the Beck Institute. You will watch DVDs in which Dr. Aaron Beck and I are the therapists and you will attend a case conference in which Dr. Aaron Beck conducts a live therapy session with a patient.
Don't forget that through our CBT for Soldiers Initiative, if you work with soldiers, veterans, or their families, you may be able to attend the November workshop under partial scholarship, for a cost of $800 (instead of $1200).Experiential Workshop is nearing capacity, but you still have time to apply,We routinely run wait-lists for our workshops, and applications are reviewed in the order they are received -- so, if you have not yet applied, we encourage you to do so right away.
Tip #5: Use websites, blogs and eNews to spread the word about Counseling
Awareness Month :)
Please follow the directions on the official application located on the next page. NYSSCA Contact: Sal Emanuele, Immediate Past President, NYSSCA,(718) 739-5942 x2181 or at pastpresident@nyssca.org"Given the evolution of the school counseling profession and the emphasis in
education on accountability, how should school counselors be held accountable
for fulfilling their duties and responsibilities?"
Kevin McFerran, a school counselor at Van Antwerp Middle School, wears many hats. But the bottom line is always the students.
"TRIO Upward Bound serves: high school students from low-income families; and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education. These positions from 6/30/10 through 8/12/10 are part of a federally funded grant program designed to assist eligible 9th-12th grade students to develop the skills and motivation necessary to graduate from high
school, enter and succeed in higher education."
(from the Trio Upward Bound Homepage)
