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
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 temperat...
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 and...
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 with the nuance they rarely get online.
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 action, how cultural humil...
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 counse...
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 outside your comfort z...
What if your first lesson about therapy came from a horror villain or a five‑minute breakthrough montage? We dive into the stories that taught us what counselors are supposed to be—stoic saviors, boundary‑blurrers, or secret masterminds—and compare them with what ethical care actually looks like. From Ted Lasso’s Dr. Sharon holding firm lines to the seductive manipulation of Hannibal, we explore why writers lean on ...
When the headlines won’t quit and the room feels charged, how do we stay grounded, ethical, and genuinely helpful? We sit down with counselor educator and MI trainer Kim Barrella to explore motivational interviewing as more than a technique—it’s a way of being that centers autonomy, partnership, and compassion, even when politics enter the session. Together, we unpack how MI helps clients and clinicians navigate ang...
Policy moved fast this month, and we break it down so you can protect clients and plan your next steps with confidence. From real wins on Medicare telehealth to high‑stakes proposals that could reshape LGBTQ care and counselor ethics, we connect the dots between statutes, board guidance, and day‑to‑day practice in Ohio.
We start with clarity on the Consolidated Appropriations Act that extends Medicare teleh...
Your feed offers endless tips, bold diagnoses, and confident scripts—but what happens when all that noise walks into the therapy room? We dig into the real-world impact of mental health content on client expectations, counselor boundaries, and the ethics of showing up online. With guest counselor Lauren Collins-Knight, we examine the tension between short-form advice and the slow, relational work that actually chang...
Certainty can feel like safety, especially when life hurts. Our conversation with Laura Dunson Caputo, an assistant professor and trauma counselor, and Alexis Gilan, a newly licensed clinician whose research centers on cultic dynamics, digs into how high-control groups trade belonging for obedience and why that bargain is so hard to recognize from the inside. Rather than chasing sensational headlines, we map the rea...
We share major wins and warnings for Ohio counselors: streamlined licensure, a new path to cross-state practice, civil rights amendments with clinical stakes, a brief but chilling federal funding scare, and a push to document insurer barriers that block care. We close with a reminder to seek support, protect your capacity, and stay engaged.
• new single-exam pathway from LPC to LPCC and required supervision...
We share the metaphors that help clients grasp complex ideas fast, from skill trees and storm shelters to gumballs and garden care. We focus on choosing images that fit culture, age, and context so insights translate into action.
• coping as skill trees and gym habits
• grief as a ball in a box with changing hits
• safety and boundaries with weather and field conditions
• attachment styles with ...
Laws and budgets rewired the counseling landscape this year, and the ripple effects reached every waiting room in Ohio. We unpack what changed, what stalled, and where small advocacy moves can still flip outcomes—especially around parity, youth privacy, LGBTQ protections, and the counseling workforce pipeline.
We start with the three forces that kept shaping care: access as infrastructure, higher education ...
We play Unpack or Put It Back to test “therapy rules” against context, ethics and real human needs. From snacks and coffee tables to hugs, swearing and self disclosure, we explain how intention and relationship guide what helps and what harms.
• modeling self care with snacks and breaks
• room design signals safety and collaboration
• measured praise that scaffolds internal validation
• nuanc...
Feeling the squeeze of staffing shortages, rising acuity, and endless admin while trying to hold real space for clients? We sat down with Dr. Alicia Hall—counselor, supervisor, and advocate—to talk about a path forward that doesn’t rely on grit alone. The conversation centers on vitality, a grounded sense of aliveness that fuels resilience, powers meaning making, and opens the door to vicarious transformation. Rathe...
Policy isn’t background noise—it’s showing up in our sessions as missed appointments, longer waitlists, and clients afraid to speak. We take you inside the real-world consequences of Ohio’s latest bills and federal shifts, translating headlines into the clinical realities counselors and clients face every day.
We start with the federal shutdown’s lingering impact on Medicaid processing, VA mental health ser...
Why is it so hard for counselors to take their own advice? Despite preaching self-care and healing to clients, many mental health professionals struggle to prioritize their own therapy. Victoria Frazier and Marisa Cargill dive deep into this paradox with refreshing honesty and vulnerability.
The hosts challenge the harmful misconception that seeking counseling somehow diminishes a counselor's credibili...
What if cultural responsiveness wasn’t a training you attend, but a posture you carry into every session? We welcome Carmella Hill, current president of the Ohio Counseling Association, to unpack how engagement, competence, and identity come together to strengthen counselors and the communities we serve.
Carmella traces her path through OCA leadership and shows why unity across divisions, regions, and specialties is ...
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