Creating a counseling symbol that clients can trust

Key quotes:

• "Group counseling can be an ideal addition to any practice, but coming up with group therapy activities for adults that don’t revolve around sitting in a circle in a cold dark room isn’t the easiest feat."
• "As the group leader, you’ve already pre-screened the members in your individual sessions to make sure that everyone will mesh well, even if they have different personality types."
• "Here are five innovative group therapy activities for adults you can use in your practice."
• "Art therapy is a great tool to include in group settings."
• "Ellen Kanner, the author of Feeding the Hungry Ghost, was quoted in Psychology Today as saying, “Getting a meal on the table means putting aside differences and grudges and focusing on the task at hand.” Of all the group therapy activities for adults, this job relies on attendees working together."
• "(Just don’t forget to bring a blender!) Icebreakers are important group therapy activities for adults."

Key quotes:

• "According to the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct standard 4.05(b), “Psychologists disclose confidential information without the consent of the individual only as mandated by law, or where permitted by law for a valid purpose such as to (1) provide needed professional services; (2) obtain appropriate professional consultations; (3) protect the client/patient, psychologist, or others from harm; or (4) obtain payment for services from a client/patient, in which instance disclosure is limited to the minimum that is necessary to achieve the purpose.” In section 1.07 c of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, it clearly states, “Social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons."
• "Counselors consult with other professionals when in doubt as to the validity of an exception,” in section B.2.a."

Key quotes:

• "I’ll do better.” Then the persecutor feels bad about whatever he did or said and goes down to the victim position and gets depressed."
• "He says to himself, “Poor me, every time I try to help, look what I get.” The persecutor then feels bad about whatever he did or said and goes to the rescuer position and says something like, “I was stressed out, off my meds, tired from the kids."
• "I don’t need to take over.” Two of the problems the rescuer and victim have in their relationship is that they do expect a lot of mindreading — you should know what is going on or how to help without my having to say so — and then feel frustrated or disappointed or angry when the other does not."
• "If that doesn’t work, Jake is likely to switch to one of the other roles: He may shift to the persecutor, get angry, and threaten divorce and custody of the kids or cut off money; he may get nice, tell her how he is going to start going to AA meetings to appease her and bring her back."

Key quotes:

• "How to use service design to increase client retention NYC Financial Empowerment Centers (Centers), operated by the Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE), provide free, one-on-one financial counseling and coaching."
• "Private Partner: Citi Community DevelopmentAgency Partner: Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) and Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners (NTFP)Design Team: FOOSSA and Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability (DESIS) Lab at Parsons School of Design Journey Map: To document how a service is experiencedPrototyping by Storyboarding: To map the current experience + contrast it with the ideal experience With these tools in mind, the team asked: How can NYC Financial Empowerment Centers encourage more long-term engagement from their clients? After creating an initial map of the journey, the team facilitated a workshop with NYC’s Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners (NTFP) to map out the NYC Financial Empowerment Center (Center) service journey from its perspective."

Key quotes:

• "If it’s been awhile since you’ve updated it, use a therapist voicemail script, so you know you’ve covered all the bases in the quick message."
• "This will reduce hang-ups and those wasted messages that you feel urged to respond to even though you know the caller isn’t looking to connect with you."
• "Don’t say you’ll return all calls within 24 hours if it usually takes you two-to-three business days to call someone back."
• "Here’s a simple therapist voicemail script if you want to keep your message to the point."
• "Here’s a more detailed therapist voicemail script you can use, just remember to change the details to suit your practice."
• "We are currently unable to take your call, so please state your name, phone number, and a detailed message after the beep."