Blog

While counseling continues to expand its influence within various domains of mental health, one area in which there seems to be an observable lack of counselor impact is the field of neuroscience. By promoting “neurocounseling”—a therapeutic approach informed by neuroscience principles—many hope to build a future in which counselors can become neuro-savvy practitioners as well as active contributors to a larger scientific conversation. In fact, one such conversation is already beginning to take shape in Counseling@Northwestern’s newest neurocounseling initiative: BRAINSTORM.

Ever been around someone who is short-tempered before a visit to the dentist? People who fear the dentist may experience an increase in frustration levels and a reduction in tolerance levels. These responses, although uncomfortable, are short-lived and a normal activity of your nervous system. Typically, the nervous feelings decrease or end after the stressful event.

However, for some, the nervous feeling continues and can create problems in daily living. Here, we will look at types of anxiety, how anxiety affects the brain, and how to treat this common experience.

What do Drake, Pink, and Luke Bryan have in common? These artists have the most songs with at least one reference to alcohol in the Billboard Hot 100 year-end music charts. The Counseling@Northwestern marketing team crunched a decade of Billboard 100 data to investigate how often popular songs mention alcohol. Take a closer look at the data.

The Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development provides a space for people of color to meet, have their ideas heard and conduct research. At the ACA Conference in March, we sat down with the President of AMCD, Dr. Kimberly Frazier, to talk about the organization’s history, successes, and presence at the ACA conference this year.

At the American Counseling Association conference in March, Counseling@Northwestern faculty member Dr. Eric Beeson and online graduate student Babatunde Aideyan presented twice on the emerging field of neurocounseling. In a session titled “Creating a Neuroscience Agenda for Counseling Research,” they focused on how to conceptualize research using the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) External link , a framework for neuroscience research created by the National Institute of Mental Health.

To be admitted into the Counseling@Northwestern program, applicants must participate in and complete a group interview. This unique aspect of the application process can cause confusion or even anxiety for some applicants. Here, we will go through why we conduct the group interview, what to expect, and tips for excelling during this important part of the admissions process.

From neuroscience, adoption, addiction recovery and multicultural mentorship—read on to get a glimpse into some of the workshop topics that our team took part in on the second day of the conference!