Ohio Counseling Conversations
The official Ohio Counseling Association podcast. Our mission is to host experts from our membership, leadership, and throughout the counseling field to bring listeners relevant conversations around what it means to be a counselor in Ohio. In addition, this podcast will provide a platform for Ohio Counseling Association divisions, chapters, and committees to share information and updates. Made for counselors by counselors, we hope to highlight important conversations in the profession that will inform our work as we continue to grow as professionals and as people. Thank you for tuning in! Views, beliefs, or references mentioned in episodes do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the Ohio Counseling Association. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the view of the Ohio Counseling Association or any of its officials.
Episodes
A single change in the law can decide whether a teen gets help today or has to wait until it’s too late. We’re tracking a major Ohio proposal, Senate Bill 274, that would require parent or guardian consent before a minor can receive any mental health services, reversing the current minor consent pathway that allows limited outpatient care for teens starting at age 14. We walk through what the bill could ...
Tune in to part two of “Unpacking Headlines of 2026” where this episode we wrestle with how therapy speak shapes real-life relationships, how financial stress and subtle uncertainties of the economy show up in the counseling office, and explore third spaces and why Cleveland’s WNBA return can rebuild belonging and collective joy.
Pop culture “therapy speak” is everywhere, and the s...
Dolly Parton’s death hit a lot of us harder than we expected and that reaction is not “dramatic,” it’s human. We start by naming what counselors often see beneath celebrity loss: parasocial relationships, memory, identity, and the way grief can quietly turn into mortality anxiety. When clients bring these moments into the therapy room, they are often grieving more than a person, they are grie...
We’d love to hear from our listeners!
In our August Couch to Capitol Episode, Lauren Collins-Knight, MA, LPCC breaks down ongoing legislation at the state and federal levels that may be helpful for counselors to keep an eye on. While the legislators are on break, that doesn’t mean our advocacy needs to be put on hold. Listen on to stay informed and involved with ongoing OCA advocacy efforts!
Stat...
It’s a question we’ve all been asked time and time again: “What’s your theoretical orientation?” We first heard it in grad school, but answering that question has never really gone away. Picking a counseling modality can feel like choosing a side, but real counseling rarely works that way. In this episode of Let’s Unpack That, we talk through what has actually helped us decide the...
Trauma work gets more effective and more honest when we stop pretending identity is optional. We sit down with Dr. Claire Martin, professional counselor, counselor educator, complex trauma specialist, and incoming AMCD President-elect, to talk about what culturally responsive, liberatory, trauma-informed care looks like in real clinical decisions and real professional leadership.
We start with the personal ro...
Laws don’t feel abstract when they land on your schedule, your billing, or your client’s ability to get through the front door. We’re back with a summer policy check-in that connects Ohio legislative news, federal rulemaking, and real clinical impact for counselors across the state.
We start in Ohio, where a vetoed absentee voting bill highlights how barriers to civic participation can hit t...
Getting on an elevator shouldn’t feel like a group therapy exercise and yet, at a counseling conference, it somehow does. We’re pulling back the curtain on the weird, funny, and honestly inevitable ways the counseling profession rewires your brain. If you’ve ever found yourself in a politeness standoff at a hotel elevator, you already know the vibe.
We talk through the counselor habits...
If you’ve ever felt like counseling is happening in three places at once the therapy room, the classroom, and the policy arena you’re not imagining it. We talk with Dr. Chase Morgan-Swaney, an assistant professor at Baldwin Wallace University, an LPCC-S, and the newest president of the Ohio Counseling Association, about what it takes to practice and lead with clarity when the profession feels stretched t...
Surprise insurance clawbacks, fast-moving Medicaid rule changes, and a growing stack of bills that reshape client access can make it feel like the ground is shifting under counselors’ feet. We lay out what’s changing in Ohio right now and translate policy language into practical realities for counseling practices, community agencies, and the people we serve.
SB 162 (SUPPORT) Third party payments are consi...
A three-minute song can do something a 50-minute conversation struggles to pull off: it tells the truth fast. We’re exploring “accidental music therapy,” the tracks that were never designed to teach counseling skills, yet somehow nail grief, self-compassion, boundaries, identity, and resilience with a few lines and a melody that sticks. To be clear, this is not a replacement for counseling, and it&...
Talk therapy is powerful, but sometimes words are the slowest route to the truth. We sit down with Amanda Cole, LPCC-S, counselor educator, and doctoral candidate, to unpack psychodrama as an experiential action method that helps clients move from “thinking about it” to actually feeling it safely in the room. Amanda breaks down what psychodrama is (and what it is not), why warm-ups matter so much for pac...
Policy can feel far away until it lands in a session as grief, fear, shame, or burnout. Join the Ohio Counseling Conversations Team as we bridge the gap between the clinical couch and the Ohio Statehouse with a rapid, practical briefing on the bills most likely to affect counselors, and clients across Ohio.
We start with House Bill 698 and its push to withhold public university funding based on DEI compliance, includ...
Sunshine can feel like a promise: more energy, better mood, fewer heavy days. But we’ve learned the hard way that seasonal change, especially the spring shift into warmer weather, can also bring real mental health risks and clinical surprises. Victoria Frazier sits down with Jared Sparks, clinical counselor and supervisor at Cleveland Sex and Intimacy Counseling, to talk about what actually happens when the te...
Your next mentor might be one conversation away, but most of us still hesitate to reach out. We sit down with Dr. Jake Protivnak, counselor educator at Youngstown State University, past president of the Ohio Counseling Association, and current president of Chi Sigma Iota International, to talk about what mentorship actually is and why it shapes who we become as counselors.
We start with Jake’s own story...
A payer suddenly demands money back, lawmakers debate how long clawbacks should even be allowed, and the Supreme Court redraws the lines around counseling regulation when speech is the treatment. We walk through the urgent CareSource of Ohio recoupment news and the concrete steps we recommend right now: push for claim-level specificity, document everything, review your provider contract, consider for...
“If they wanted to, they would.” “Be the bigger person.” “Time heals all wounds.” These lines can sound clean and confident, but when you’re living real life with limited capacity, messy relationships, and actual grief, they can land like a brick wall. We sit down as two counselors who hear these sayings in sessions, group chats, and counseling rooms, and we pull them apart ...
You can be skilled, ethical, and deeply caring, and still end up overwhelmed if you try to do counseling alone. We’re joined by Dr. Charity Anne Kurz, counselor educator and clinician, to make the case for the “collaborative counselor” and to get painfully practical about what collaboration looks like when it’s more than a nice idea. We talk about why collaboration is both a mindset and an ac...
Laws passed in Columbus do not stay in Columbus, they show up as stress, grief, fear, and conflict in our clients’ lives. We sit down as Ohio counselors to translate what just moved at the Statehouse into what it changes in the therapy room, from school-based messaging on pregnancy to new barriers that can delay or derail care. If you want a clear, clinically grounded Ohio legislative update for mental health ...
Your next conference can feel like a recharge, not a marathon. We’re sharing the playbook we wish we had sooner—how to plan with purpose, protect your energy, and turn both sessions and hallway chats into momentum you’ll feel back at your desk.
We start with simple planning moves that pay off: choose sessions tied to your CEU needs and your core why as a counselor, then add a wildcard outsid...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!