[ Browse by Service Category : Counselling Services : Sub-Topics of Specialized Counselling Services (204) ]
Abuse Counselling
Programs that provide individual, conjoint, family or group treatment for people who are experiencing physical, sexual, emotional and/or other forms of abuse in the context a marital, parental, sibling or other family relationship or, in some instances, outside the family. Included are programs that provide therapeutic interventions for perpetrators and/or for individuals who have been victimized.
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Adolescent/Youth Counselling
Programs that specialize in the treatment of adolescents, usually age 12 or 13 through 17, who have adjustment problems, behaviour problems, emotional disturbance, a personality disorder or incipient mental illness. The programs may help youth troubled by low self-esteem, social isolation, peer pressure, bullying, school performance issues, truancy, anger management issues, family problems, grief and loss, sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted disease, alcohol or drug addiction, eating disorders, oppositional and defiant behaviours, depression and anxiety, suicidal thoughts or other difficult issues.
Anger Management
Programs that provide educational and/or therapeutic opportunities for people who are interested in or who need to learn how to deal with their anger in a positive, functional way. Participants may include people who internalize their anger as well as those who act it out verbally or in behaviour toward friends, family, children, employers or other people in their lives. Included are court-ordered and voluntary programs for people who are involved in domestic violence or child abuse as well as general workshops for people who are uncomfortable with the way they express their anger.
Bereavement and Grief Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, problem-solving assistance, information and guidance for people who have recently experienced a loss, such as the death of a loved one, divorce or separation. Included are counselling programs for widows and widowers, children who have lost a parent, parents who have lost a child and people who are in other similar situations.
Caregiver Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in individual and/or group settings for family members, friends, significant others, non-familial caregivers or attendants who are caring for someone who has a serious illness or disability or who is elderly and increasingly unable to provide for his or her own care, and are feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities and the effect that their caregiving role has had on their lives.
Child Guidance
Programs that specialize in the treatment of children from infancy to age 12 who have adjustment problems, behaviour problems, emotional disturbances, a personality disorder or incipient mental illness.
Crime Victim/Witness Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals and families who are attempting to deal with their fears, their feelings of being violated and other negative aftereffects of being burglarized, robbed, assaulted or otherwise victimized. Also included are programs that provide counselling for people who have been traumatized by witnessing an act of violence.
Cultural Transition Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals, often refugees or other immigrants, who are experiencing stress, confusion and other feelings which result from difficulty adjusting to the language, customs, values and other aspects of a culture that is different than their own. Counselling may be available in the individual's primary language.
Divorce Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals who are divorced or have decided to divorce or separate, and for their families.
Ex-Offender Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for people who recently have been released from a correctional facility and are having difficulty coping with adjustment to life in the community.
First Responder Trauma Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for firefighters, disaster workers, police officers, paramedics, EMTs and others who arrive early at the scene of a tragedy, medical emergency or crisis to provide what help they can, as well as border services officers and correctional workers. Public safety personnel who are repeatedly exposed to difficult situations may become emotionally troubled by their experiences and develop bouts of anger, pain and sadness as well as insomnia. Others may develop serious reactions to the stress including moderate to severe depression, signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other anxiety disorders, or be at high risk of developing a substance use disorder or resorting to suicide. In some cases, assistance may be offered to their families.
Gambling Disorder Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for people who are having difficulty controlling their compulsion to gamble, and for their families. Some programs may include a financial counselling and/or management component which helps individuals deal with issues related to their spending and accumulated debt.
Gender Identity Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals whose gender identity is not in harmony with their birth assignment, and who may have a desire to change their biological sexual characteristics to conform physically with their perception of self and want to explore their options including hormone replacement therapy, gender transition and/or reassignment through surgery.
Geriatric Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for older adults who are having mental, emotional or social adjustment problems that have arisen as a result of the process of aging. Geriatric counselling services are provided primarily by social services professionals including licensed social workers rather that psychiatrists or other medical personnel.
Health/Disability Related Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals who have a disability; who are concerned about or have any of a variety of illnesses, including those that may ultimately be fatal; or who have experienced the disabling or disfiguring effects of an illness, injury or surgery. The counselling may deal with the realities of having a disability or being ill, coping with their illness/disability, life adjustments required by their situation, and helping them evaluate their alternatives and make personal choices that will maximize their ability to function independently. Included are programs that provide counselling for individuals who have a family history of a particular health condition or disability and need assistance in coping with the emotional problems that are associated with having or being at risk for developing the condition.
Human Trafficking Counselling
Programs that provide treatment services which may include emotional support, problem-solving assistance, information and guidance in a variety of counselling settings for victims of human trafficking, most frequently people who have been coerced into unpaid or underpaid labour, servitude, prostitution or forced marriage.
Internet Addiction Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for people who are having difficulty controlling their compulsion to spend time on the Internet.
Juvenile/Youth Delinquency Diversion Counselling
Programs that provide individual, conjoint, family and group counselling for people younger than age 18 who are at risk for or have committed delinquent acts and who are directed to participate in counselling for a period of time as an alternative to arrest, a hearing in a juvenile delinquency or youth court, or, in some cases, another court-ordered disposition. These programs are often provided by agencies which also offer other types of counselling for young people and their families, which coordinate with the referring agency concerning the client's responsible use of services and which involve the client's family in the counselling process as needed.
Marriage and Relationships Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, problem solving assistance, and guidance for one or both married or cohabiting partners who are having problems with their relationship and need assistance to identify the root of their difficulty and explore alternative resolutions with the objective of enhancing the relationship for both partners. Counselling may be available in a variety of settings and may include individual or group counselling for one or both of the partners, conjoint counselling and encounter-type experiences for groups of couples who are experiencing marital problems and/or who want to enhance their marriages.
Overspender Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals who are having difficulty controlling their compulsion to spend money they do not have.
Parent Counselling
Programs that provide a wide variety of therapeutic interventions for parents who are experiencing emotional difficulties or conflicts concerning their role as parents. Included are individual or group counselling for one or both parents or conjoint parent counselling which focuses on and explores the mental, emotional or social problems of the individual(s) which contribute to their parenting problems.
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Treatment
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance in a variety of settings for individuals who have symptoms of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder or postpartum psychosis, mental disorders that are associated with PMADs and affect an estimated 15% to 21% of pregnant and postpartum individuals in the weeks before and/or after their baby's birth. Therapists providing counselling and other services tailor therapeutic interventions to each person's PMADs diagnosis. But there are general recommendations that can be incorporated to support each client's ability to benefit from the interventions specific to their individual PMADs diagnosis which may include normalizing and destigmatizing the situation (reassuring them that it is normal to feel ambivalent during pregnancy and motherhood), prioritizing sleep, encouraging exercise and finally, developing a strong social network which may involve other individuals experiencing PMADs, a general "new moms group", or activities that focus on interests other than motherhood.
Postabortion Counselling
Programs that provide individual, conjoint or group counselling for individuals who have terminated their pregnancies and, if appropriate, for their significant others, which focuses on their feelings about the abortion and its effect on their lives.
Post Trial Juror Counselling
Programs that provide post-traumatic stress counselling for jurors who have experienced a harrowing trial and need an opportunity to share their reaction and debrief.
Psychiatric Disorder Counselling
Programs that specialize in the treatment of individuals who have identified mental or emotional disorders with the objective of helping them to eliminate or reduce the severity of their symptoms, to mediate disturbed patterns of behaviour, to promote positive personality growth and development and to maximize the individual's ability to function as independently as possible. Treatment may utilize therapeutic techniques derived from one or more theoretical counselling approaches.
Runaway/Homeless Youth Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for children and adolescents who have run away from home and for the entire family, if appropriate, with the objective of identifying and resolving the problems that prompted the youth to leave home and/or assisting the youth to formulate and implement a workable plan for his or her immediate future.
Sex Offender Counselling
Programs that provide voluntary or court-ordered individual or group counselling for people who have committed or are at risk of committing sexual offences which may include rape or other sexual assault, nonfamilial child sexual assault, indecent exposure, or voyeurism, with the objective of eliminating violent and/or abusive behaviour.
Sexual Assault Counselling
Programs that provide crisis, short-term, and/or ongoing in-person counselling for people who are coping with the emotional trauma of being forced to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual acts without their consent. Counselling and support may be offered in a variety of settings and may include individual, conjoint, family and group therapy sessions for the survivor and/or significant others.
Sexual Orientation Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for people who want to explore their sexual orientation in order to enable them to identify and feel comfortable with their orientation. Counselling and support may be offered in a variety of settings which may include individual and group counselling sessions and, if appropriate, conjoint and family counselling sessions with significant others.
Sexual/Love Addiction Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for people whose behaviour is characterized by a compulsive need to engage in a repetitive series of sexual encounters and/or romantic attachments which interfere with the their ability to develop positive intimate relationships and to learn to cope with life stresses in a healthy manner. Counselling and support may be offered in a variety of settings which may include individual and group counselling sessions and, if appropriate, conjoint and family counselling sessions with significant others.
Spiritual/Religious Issues Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, problem-solving assistance, information and guidance for people who are questioning their religion or experiencing a loss of faith, are leaving a religion, particularly a fundamentalist one, are converting to a new religion, or have questions relating to religious or spiritual values; are having experiences such as visions or near-death experiences which they are having difficulty interpreting and integrating; or are clergymen or women or others who no longer have a religious vocation and want to leave their cloistered lives.
Suicide Counselling
Programs that provide in-person individual, conjoint, family or group treatment for people who are experiencing an emotional crisis and are attempting to cope by threatening or attempting self-destruction; or for people who have experienced these feelings, made such threats or attempted to fatally harm themselves either on one occasion or repeatedly; and/or for the families and significant others of these people.
Terminal Illness Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for individuals and families who are dealing with the reality of impending death and the stress; the intense feelings of depression, anger, anxiety, fear, guilt and grief; and the resultant strain on family and friendship relationships that arise when an individual is in the terminal stages of an illness.
Veteran Reintegration Counselling
Programs that provide emotional support, information and guidance for veterans who have emotional problems including post traumatic stress disorder relating to experiences in the service, or who are having other difficulties adjusting to their civilian status.
The above terms and definitions are part of the Taxonomy of Human Services, used here by permission of INFO LINE of Los Angeles.