Over the years, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been applied to a variety of client populations in a range of treatment settings and to the range of clinical problems. This chapter provides a general overview of the cognitive behavior history, model, and techniques and their application to clinical social work practice. It begins with a brief history and description, provides a basic conceptual framework for the approach, highlights the empirical base of the model, and then discusses the use of cognitive, behavior, and emotive/affective interventions. Cognitive behavior therapy is based on several principles namely cognitions affect behavior and emotion; certain experiences can evoke cognitions, explanation, and attributions about that situation; cognitions may be made aware, monitored, and altered; desired emotional and behavioral change can be achieved through cognitive change. CBT employs a number of distinct and unique therapeutic strategies in its practice.

The treatment of the suicidal individual is perhaps the most weighty and difficult of any of the problems confronted by the clinical social worker. Some frequent comorbid pathology with suicidal behavior includes alcoholism, panic attacks, drug abuse, chronic schizophrenia, conduct disorder in children and adolescents, impulse control deficits, schizophrenia, and problem-solving deficits. Suicidal harmful behavior appears in all ages and characterizes clients in a large spectrum of life. There are four types of suicidal behavior namely rational suicider, psychotic suicider, hopeless suicider and impulsive or histrionic suicider. This chapter presents some primarily cognitive techniques for challenging suicidal automatic thoughts. Recent reports suggest that individuals suffering from alcohol or substance abuse are at an increased risk both for attempting, and for successfully completing, a suicidal act. The therapist must develop an armamentarium of cognitive techniques, and the skills to use these effectively in ways that are appropriate for each individual client.

This chapter discusses the psychosocial influences of environmental and natural disasters on individuals and communities. Environmental and natural disasters are envirobiopsychosocial by nature. Many times there are contributing factors involving substantial interaction effects between the person and the environment with which he or she lives. Thus, it is of paramount importance for mental health professionals to recognize that disaster survivors do in fact have some degree of control and responsibility over their internal and external environment for healing traumatic experiences. The chapter addresses commonly occurring environmental and natural disasters and offers disaster mental health counselor’s important issues for consideration based on the typology of each disaster. Four major events are discussed: earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Mental health counselors may best serve clients involved in environmental and natural disasters by being culturally attuned.

There are significant mental health challenges for individuals who have acquired a medical–physical disability during a disaster or trauma experience. This chapter discusses some of the more major prevalent medical conditions that are acquired from exposure to person-made and natural disasters. These conditions include traumatic brain injury (TBI), blast wounds, amputation, spinal cord injury (SCI), and musculoskeletal and chronic pain conditions. The chapter describes and discusses the major health conditions that are most prevalent and have the greatest challenges for individuals who have acquired an acute medical–physical injury during extraordinary stressful and traumatic events. It highlights the fact that acquired medical-physical disability, as a direct result of trauma and disaster, has a pervasive effect on the individual, which imposes chronic and persistent mental health conditions. The medical aspects of chronic illness and disability are critical to address clinically during a disaster mental health response.

This chapter reviews the current scope of practice in rehabilitation counseling and the impact that counselor licensure legislation has on the field concerning eligibility for counselor licensure and becoming an independent rehabilitation practitioner. It defines the foundational skills and scope of practice required for effective, competent, and ethical rehabilitation counseling practice. The chapter explains a psychosocial model for rehabilitation counselors (RCs) who want to structure therapeutic interactions with clients who have chronic illnesses and disabilities. The counselor uses the counseling relationship to help clients draw from their personal history, knowledge, coping abilities, resiliency skills, and overall life experiences to derive meaning. Counselors across a variety of work settings and theoretical orientations must be proficient, competent, and ethical in working with a range of people with disabilities who may be culturally different. There are both universal and specific counseling approaches, programs, and services used during therapeutic interactions for people with disabilities.

In this chapter, the book’s editors, Marini and Stebnicki presents a compelling and provocative reflection on the counseling profession. They summarize salient aspects of dealing with culture and disability that reflect how services are provided in an evidence-based practice environment. Each editor offers opinions and considerations for counseling professionals in the 21st century. Together, they hypothesize an inconvenient and potentially frightening future for Americans, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status, many of whom are minorities with disabilities. The chapter explores the ramifications of social class and classism, whereby social injustice perpetuates and exacerbates classism. In particular, Marini and Stebnicki call on counselors and related helping professionals to take a more active role in advocating beyond their traditional narrowly focused job duties of working almost exclusively with the client to adapt and survive in an able-bodied world.

This chapter offers (a) a description of the empathy fatigue construct as it relates to other professional fatigue syndromes, (b) a recently developed tool (Global Assessment of Empathy Fatigue [GAEF]) that may be useful for screening and identifying professionals who may be experiencing empathy fatigue, and (c) resources for self-care of empathy fatigue and building resiliency. The chapter’s author hypothesizes that empathy fatigue may be different from other types of counselor impairment and fatigue syndromes. The experience of empathy fatigue is both similar and different from other types of counselor impairment or professional fatigue syndromes. Thus, it is hypothesized that the cumulative effects of multiple client sessions throughout the week may lead to a deterioration of the counselor’s resiliency or coping abilities. Developing a clearer understanding of the risk factors associated with empathy fatigue is pivotal in developing self-care strategies for the professional counselor.