I've been thinking about this post for quite awhile; "how best to serve from the truth". I'm aware that no matter how well I word things here today, there are going to be a good handful of readers that will be upset with me because I'm not "staying in my lane". Well, I can't afford to care about that anymore. Our clients deserve counselors that are on top of what's going on out there (especially the bizarre issues of the past two years), understand how things relate to the issues they're facing, and are open to treatment modality alternatives that may be helpful.

Acting on Instinct

I stopped watching the main stream media (TV and radio) several years ago. I found that what I was being told just didn't match up well with what I could see, or what my gut was telling me. Now I follow a lot of alternative media companies and individual citizen reporters of all professions. (No, not the tin-foil hat fringe voices. I don't think Bigfoot or aliens have anything to do with our current global or economic issues and I don't think Elvis is still alive running a mega-church somewhere).

One of the benefits of obtaining my information from these alternative sources is that these media outlets quite often specialize in one subject-area, like medicine or law, to a degree that the MSM outlets and their "house experts" can only dream of. They typically dive much deeper into topics and I like that.

I get to use my God-given gifts of discernment, which we all have to some degree, to determine what's professionally researched and presented and what's not. I now have a choice of highly competitive information sources so I choose to follow the best to help me develop my own worldview about what-the-hell is really going on out there, on a lot of different levels.

Serve From the Truth: Why is This Relevant to Counseling?

Because there are far too many people with their noses to the daily grindstone trying to keep their heads above water (I get it!!) who don't keep up with what's going on or think about how it affects their lives. This has everything to do with the people coming through our front doors and the issues they're presenting right now. They don't know what they don't know.

Someone in the counseling session needs to understand the larger picture and be able to put things in perspective. We're not living in a static bubble anymore. The better I know and understand what's going on, based on the best research and facts I can find, the better I'm going to be able to help my clients think and process for themselves what's going on. That means they'll be better equipped to determine what they should do about it.

What I'm Not Suggesting

I'm not suggesting we bring politics or unproven fringe beliefs into our counseling practice, not at all. I'm definitely staying in my lane when it comes to professionally and ethically delivered treatment options. I'm just driving a bigger truck now, hauling a larger variety of treatment methods based on real-world events and information I glean from carefully vetted sources. Bleeding-edge stuff and I get regular, positive feedback from clients about it.

Summary

I'm suggesting we expand the pipeline of information we're consuming daily and listen to what our gut is telling us. I am also suggesting, as clinicians, we begin to expand our minds by exploring, taking CE's, in none medication options/alternative treatment modalities (and there are MANY), to introduce to our clients.

Think it through and ask yourself how best you might use that information to help your clients. Then, act on it where appropriate just like you do with all of the traditional information and treatments you've encountered since you first entered this most noble of professions. More of the same with a bigger flow of information for the benefit of our clients. Done. (If you need suggestions where to find these alternative media sources just ask me in the comments and I'll make a couple of recommendations.)

I'm also suggesting we question every single action our Board is taking going forward and hold them accountable for each and every one. The days of Board members voting for some new thing they haven't even read because another committee recommends it, or an association they belong to wants it done, or their alma mater is pushing it are over. I want to hear their justification for what they put into place. Don't you?? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

One more blog post on the recent BHEC Council meeting coming up then I'm gonna tell you what I really think about all this multi-cultural nonsense that's being forced down our throats. That may be a 2-3 part series if I can keep it short!

Plan Smart. Be Safe. Serve Others.

Kathleen Mills, LPC-S, CEAP