Military

Militaryconnection.com

GiveAnHour.org

Along with providing information and resources to the military and veteran communities, MilitaryConnection.com has the honor to join forces on a regular basis with outstanding organizations.  GiveAnHour.org is one of these organizations.  The work that they do is nothing short of extraordinary.  They provide pro bono and free counseling to troops, veterans, family and extended family members.  They have a network of over 5000 mental health professionals nationwide who are dedicated to making a difference for those with PTSD and other mental health issues.

Along with extending aid to veterans and their families, Militaryconnection.com, has cemented a partnership with Give An Hour. GiveAnHour.com is a non-profit organization who has collected over 1700 mental health care professionals. Each professional is dedicated to providing aid to the returning troops and their families, who have been affected
by PTSD through a pro bono program.

Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer

Michael Scott

Michael Scott is an offensive, naive, over-the-line type of person and boss.  He is prone to crude sexual jokes, homosexual harassment, and racial slurs — all said out of ignorance.
But Scott, the boss in the popular comedy ‘The Office’, went too far for some suicide prevention groups in the recent Halloween episode of The Office.  In the episode Scott, played by actor Steve Carell, attempts to scare a group of young children with a joke where he struggles hanging from a noose.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has issued a press release criticizing the show for a “graphic depiction of the suicide method.”  In the release, the organization says, “there comes a point when jokes can go to far and are potentially dangerous and offensive.”  They continue by asking all of the entertainment industry to refrain from using suicide and mental illness for comedic entertainment.

The fear is that mentally ill people will take their own lives after seeing a graphic depiction of a suicide method.  The organization’s executive director Robert Gebbia had a few comments about the depiction:

“We’re not trying to be censors or fall into the trap of wanting everything to be PC, politically correct,” Gebbia said. “But on the other hand, it’s offensive to some people who have lost relatives to suicide by hanging.”

Other organizations were also in on the call for sensitivity, including Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Suicide Awareness Voices in Education.  They claim that research shows that vulnerable people may copy an explicit depiction of the suicide act.

The problem though, is that the act was not necessarily a suicide or a suicide attempt.  In fact, it was just a gag to scare children from an offensive character.  Scott, trying to teach the children a lesson, actually says, “Remember kids, suicide is not the answer.  It is the easy way out.”

This was not the first time that the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has protested depiction of suicide in the media.  Two years ago, they protested a General Motors commercial that depicted a robot jumping off a bridge.  They also protested a Volkswagen ad with a man threatening to jump off of a ledge.

Tim Du
Counselor Network Writer

Alcohol Addiction

What is alcohol addiction?

Alcohol addiction is the compulsive need for an intoxicating liquid. Some think that it is just a matter of will to stop drinking, but an alcoholic’s craving for alcohol is so great that it suppresses their ability to stop drinking. Take for example, an alcoholic arrives in the ER suffering from nausea, vomiting, sweating, and anxiety. His blood alcohol content (B.A.C.) is measured and returns a 0.12 reading. This person’s physical alcohol addiction has reached the point where his body suffers from withdrawal symptoms despite having a B.A.C. high enough to constitute a drunk driving offense.

With groups such as alcoholics anonymous enrolling over two million members, it is no question alcohol addiction is a huge problem. Some research shows that up to one half of all U.S. adults know at last one person with an alcohol addiction. It is important to participate in individual counseling for alcohol addiction because it is here that you can focus on your own individual issues. If individual counseling is not part of your alcohol addiction treatment program, you should consider seeing a counselor on your own.

Alcohol addiction also places an enormous economic burden on our country. In 2001, the estimated cost to society was an estimated $230 billion tax dollars due to highway DWI collisions.

What is substance abuse?

Substance abuse has come to refer to the overindulgence in and dependence of a drug or other chemical leading to effects that are detrimental to the individual’s physical and mental health, or the welfare of others. However, medical professionals have concluded that substance abuse is an issue that may lead to addiction and dependence which are actual physiological problems.

People abuse substances such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco for varied and complicated reasons. The toll for this abuse is seen in hospitals across our nation. For example, one of the top risk factors for kidney cancer is cigarette smoking, by 1985 crack cocaine attracted a user base of almost 6 million Americans, and in recent times, heroin has resurfaced in suburban towns with young teens being the main consumer.

The cost of substance abuse

In fact, according to a new book “High Society – How Substance Abuse Ravages America And What To Do About It” by Joseph Califano, a former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the cost of substance abuse has grown to approximately $1 trillion dollars per year. He points out how substance abuse is a major causative factor in America’s most wrenching problems: Poverty, violent crime, academic underachievement, soaring health care costs, family breakup, child abuse, homelessness, teen pregnancy, work problems, and AIDS.

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), of the estimated $38 billion was spent on corrections, the branch of law enforcement that deals with incarceration, in 1996. More than $30 billion was spent incarcerating individuals who had alcohol or drug problems or alcohol/drug related crimes.

Everyday, 1,500 people die due to substance abuse or substance abuse induced ailments. It is clear that a former substance abuse has reached epidemic proportions in America. Crime, violence, divorce, cancers, cardiovascular disease, financial problems, and family problems are all consequences of alcohol and general substance abuse. All these consequences have financial costs. This means that all businesses, consumers, and taxpayers are affected. We are all affected by the negative consequences of substance abuse.

Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer

Career Counselor

Amidst the terrible recession, your company sends out a memo to all employees that they will be laying off 15% of the working staff in 2 weeks.  Surprised, you start to worry about your job security, and begin to lose sleep and focus at your work place.  Your co-worker and friend notices this change in your behavior and recommends that you see a career counselor for career counseling.

If you are struggling with career issues, there may be an answer for you.  Career counseling is a type of traditional counseling that focuses on issues dealing with the career.  It focuses on issues such as possible career choices, career change, and the development of your own personal career.

Career counselors are professionals who usually have a background in psychology.  Through interviews, interest inventories, ability tests, and tests that assess personality, these career counselors can help you through the stress of possibly being laid-off.  Additionally, career counseling may help you, as a working professional, find other, possibly better, options for your career.

The career counselor may help you assess your interests, skills, personality tendencies, and values to better help you understand and explore your career options.  For those still in school, career counseling may refer to a high school’s guidance counselor, or a student dean.  Finding the right major or career opportunities during schooling can jump start your career, and a career counseling can help point you in the right direction by helping you understand yourself better.

So when do you know when to delve into career counseling, or if it is even the right answer for you?  There are many different factors that can make career counseling more or less effective for each person.  The rest of this article will highlight several tips to help you understand how career counseling may help you:

-  Are you about to have a career breakdown?  Visiting a career counselor before your career breaks down may save you plenty of headache and financial troubles.  Career counseling can help you get into a situation where you are happy with your employment, fulfilling your dreams, and enjoying work every day.

-  In reality, career counselors are still human beings.  They can not answer questions such as “what job should I apply for?” Instead, career counselors will help you answer questions such as “what job might I be good at?” or “what job would I enjoy?”  Learning about yourself will help you develop, commit to, and implement an action-oriented plan for your career.

-  If you have already been let go, a career counselor can help you find a new job.  He or she can help you conduct a smart career search.  Career counselors are experts at helping you develop strategies, powerful resumes, and proper use of all available resources.

-  In some states, career counseling does not require a license, so be careful.  Do your best to find a counselor who has the designation of National Certified Career Counselor (NCCC).

Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer