Good evening, and welcome to Counselor Weekly! We keep it real here!

Thanks again for being part of the community!

Until I have an official sponsor, looks like I'm the sponsor!

I'm launching a new site in the next couple weeks and you can sign up to be notified when it's ready to go! Just click HERE, or the photo above and it will take you right to the site. If you are an LPC Supervisor in Texas (sorry, starting in Texas only and will look at options for other states down the road), or a potential Supervisee looking for a Supervisor, this is the place for you! It's a directory for LPC Supervisors to market their services by listing their information so that potential Supervisees can connect with them and hopefully find a perfect match! If you have any questions, click REPLY to this email and I can answer any questions you have. Thanks again for allowing me this personal promotion! 🙏

So let's get to it!

Today is 4/12/23 and it's National Licorice Day! I'm just gonna say it... licorice is disgusting, but here's to all you folks who enjoy it!

Here's the short and skinny of today's newsletter:

• Adding Certifications. Is It Worth It?

• Interesting Articles

• Statistic of the Week

• Cat Photo

Additional Certifications- Yes or No?

Certifications are a growing trend in our field. There are a TON of specialties one can be "certified" in. My question is does it matter??

Why you should earn additional certifications:

• Additional expertise in a specialty/niche market.

• You can offer additional services to help clients and grow your business.

• Extra letters behind your name (I'll actually come back to this shortly on why it's not beneficial as well).

• Some certifications can enable you to market different types of services such as EMDR and CSAT (if you don't know what those mean, it proves my point that most people have no clue about the letters behind your name. Many clients don't even know what LPC stands for!).

Why you might avoid additional certifications:

• They can be expensive.

• It doesn't change your actual licensure status.

• Most "certifications" aren't worth the paper they were written on. A lot of times the only person who benefits from your additional certification is the person selling the program to you.

• Your clients don't know (or care) about all those letters behind your name. They just want you to be qualified and competent.

• You don't need a certificate to be highly competent and trained in a niche practice.

No offense to anyone who has it, but I've never understood the need to pay money to also have the NCC certification? What is the benefit? If you're NCC certified, feel free to send me an email with your feedback on the benefits. I'm actually quite curious!

The Takeaway:

Overall, it's totally up to you. Certifications may offer you some opportunities, but it seems to me it's more valuable as a resource to learn and become an expert in a specific counseling niche.

And now some interesting articles:

Interested in Learning More About Medicare Reimbursement?

Above is a link to a webinar hosted by the American Counseling Association (you may need to be a member to attend) about navigating the process of becoming a Medicare provider. If you haven't heard, starting Jan 1, 2024, LPCs will be approved to join as Medicare providers!

Four Tips for Effective Meditation, According to One of the World's Best Mindfulness Teachers

I think mindfulness and meditation are becoming more common in the counseling process. Knowing how to teach these skills to clients can be extremely beneficial.

What is Your Mental Age?

Just for fun. It's a short quiz to determine your "mental age".

Statistic of the Week

In 2020, 16.5% of adults took prescription medication for their mental health.

And, Finally the Cat Picture

Catnado! By my son, Cole.