It’s time for another episode of Mastering Counseling! On this show, Megan was joined by Dr. Barb LoFrisco of CounselorBarb and author of MastersInCouneling.org’s own blog. Together, they discussed tips and advice for new clinicians (therapists and counselors) in the field. Dr. Barb LoFrisco has written many posts on this very site covering everything from advice on how therapists should approach dressing, receiving gifts from clients, and so much more. She was able to distill much of her best advice during this interview!
Dr. Barb LoFrisco is a licensed mental health counselor and marital and family therapist who owns and operates her own psychotherapy practice in the Carrollwood area of Tampa, Florida.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- How to set appropriate boundaries with clients around physical touch and gifts.
- How to handle the issue of money and billing with clients.
- How to manage countertransference (when a therapist reacts emotionally to a clients experiences or challenges).
- How to deal with feeling ineffective or incompetent as a new clinician.
- And many more important pieces of advice!
Featured on the Show:
Counseling Spotlight: CounselorBarb
For twenty years, Barb worked as a professional software engineer in the corporate sector before deciding to leave it all behind in 2004 to pursue her long-time dream of becoming a counselor. After receiving her degree in counseling from the University of South Florida and completing her clinical training, she started her own private psychotherapy practice in Tampa and now provides counseling services for individuals and couples.
CounselorBarb’s site has a lot of information for those interested in learning how to better manage their relationships and more. Some of the most popular items covered include “How to Stop Arguing About Chores!” , a lengthy discussion answering the question “Is Pornography Good or Bad?” , tips for sexual communication, and so much more. If you’re interested you can also subscribe to CounselorBarb’s newsletter and of course book an appointment to see her directly.
If you’re a student or professional looking for a great model on how to maintain a quality web presence as a counselor – CounselorBarb is a fantastic one to familiarize yourself with.
Best of the Counseling and Mental Health Web: The Better Therapy Blog
Each episode we award a site or organization as the “Best of the Counseling and Mental Health Web”… as selected by Mastering Counseling Podcast listeners! Whether you’re a current mental health professional, or a student studying to become one, there are so many great resources out there discussing counseling and mental health. Some of these resources could even help your clients and be worth recommending to them.
This episode, we want to recognize a blog that has been around for a long time and has provided so much wonderful insight for those interested in therapy, The Better Therapy Blog.
The Better Therapy Blog is run by Rune Moelbak, Ph.D who is a psychologist and psychotherapist based in Houston Texas.
The blog itself was created for “the critical consumer of psychotherapy” and educates readers on a variety of topics, and a greater understanding of their own mental health and treatment. For example, the latest post as of this recording is all about understanding maladaptive grief… or why grieving can turn into depression, isolation, or simply be overwhelming.
New posts generally come up on a monthly basis, and they are always incredibly in depth. It’s the kind of web site that truly offers fantastic information and content for free. We here at Mastering Counseling think it’s worth a visit for anyone, even therapists themselves, interested in learning about more perspectives and viewpoints on various topics in the psychotherapy world.
Huge congrats to Dr. Rune Moelbak on the selection and keep up the great work!
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