On the fourth of my trips to Adler’s Vancouver campus last fall, I came before the Canadian border officer, as I had each time before. I was ready for the questions about why I was coming to Canada, and gave the same explanation as previously – that I had been asked to teach a class… Continue Reading Let’s Try Saying “Americans” Instead of “America” – A Lesson from Canadians
It’s hard to say anything calming or therapeutic since the election in November. Many people are feeling vindicated and many others are feeling betrayed, fearful, and even traumatized. But a major factor in the anxiety many of us are feeling is the sense that we cannot believe what we hear any longer. We’re subjected to… Continue Reading Ethics, Truth, and Our Political World of 2016
In May, I presented at the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology’s annual conference in Minnesota, along with colleagues from Adler University’s Chicago Campus. Our panel discussion was on encouragement, and we spoke about the different ways we have experienced encouragement in our lives and tried to pass it along to others. In my discussion,… Continue Reading Encouragement, Pain, and Survival
This week will be the annual conference of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology, held this year in Bloomington, Minnesota. This is the largest show of support on the continent for Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology tradition. I will be joining a number of my colleagues from Adler University’s Chicago Campus, and our students, as… Continue Reading Adlerians Gather in Minnesota This Week!
An article was published by US News and World Report yesterday, and it has mixed news about the Affordable Care Act and mental health treatment: the number of people with mental health conditions who are uninsured decreased in 2015, but the number of people who received mental health services using insurance plans obtained on the… Continue Reading Obamacare and Mental Health: Good News and Bad News
The American Counseling Association has published a Code of Ethics for years, and it was recently updated in 2014 (http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethics). On the subject of providing services to clients, and when it is ethical to terminate with a client, the Code has been clear that the rights and needs of the client, not the values or… Continue Reading Dear Politicians: Counselors Serve All Who Seek Their Services
The boosters of the free market have long tried to argue that market forces will lead to socially responsible behavior… Posted by Fitzgerald Counseling – Chicago and Hinsdale, IL on Sunday, February 21, 2016
For the new year, I thought I’d try a new theme for my website… and it’s called, appropriately enough, “Twenty-Sixteen.” Yes, I know it’s a standard theme that WordPress puts out there and revises every year, but sometimes simple is best. I’ve been experimenting with some others and didn’t like them too much. So what’s… Continue Reading Happy Twenty Sixteen!
At this time of year, I and my family want to wish all of you reading this – my clients (past, present, and future), my students, and my colleagues – much “Comfort and joy” and true peace. This is a time of year when we all realize the need to address one of life’s main… Continue Reading Comfort and Joy, Peace and Good Will
The recent tragedy involving the murders of a news reporter and camera operator on the air in Roanoke, Virginia is a reminder that workplace grievances and grudges can erupt into violence very easily, and that terminating a person’s employment can be the trigger that causes a marginally disturbed person to become violent. Taking away a… Continue Reading Predicting and Preventing Workplace Violence: An EAP’s Worst Nightmare